RobEdwardsLive.com

This coming Tuesday our nation will once again go to the polls to elect a new President. I am not going to belabor the point, but regardless of which party wins the White House, it is an historic election.

Growing up, my family was involved in the political process, and I remember campaigning for Howard Baker when he was running for Senate, attended rallies for Winfield Dunn and Nat Winston and walked with Lamar Alexander when they each ran for Governor.  I’ve voted in every presidential election since 1984 (when, notably, there was a woman on the ticket in the VP slot).

For the record, I have been registered with both parties. I’ve voted for Republicans and Democrats. I’ve won some, and I’ve lost some. And there have even been a few times when Catherine and I have canceled each others’ vote out.

So this post is not to endorse one candidate or another in any race before us on Tuesday.  But as we prepare to vote, there are some things that have been weighing on my mind, and I want to get them out into the air.

I know the title of this post is not original to me. It’s on t-shirts, bumper stickers, church signs, and websites. But it’s pretty good advice.

1. Pray. Before we begin to examine the candidates’ claims, we need to seek God’s perspective on things. We need prayerfully to determine what the core issues are for us. For some, the core issue will be the economy, for others the environment. Still for others it will be abortion or taxes or Social Security reform or national security, or any of a hundred other different priorities. The question I would pose is this: Which of these has ultimate significance? Which transcends the temporal and reaches the eternal?  So before we do anything else, we need to pray.

2. Vote. Countless men and women have sacrificed their lives to ensure our freedom to vote. In this election, there has already been controversy about the registration process, and there will doubtless be challenges to the outcome of the election in various places. There will likely be those who, out of despair or frustration or fear or intimidation, won’t vote on Tuesday. This is wrong.  There will be those who won’t go to the polls on Tuesday out of apathy–they feel their vote doesn’t matter.  This is equally wrong. Every vote is important. If you dont’ vote, then you deserve the representation you get. And you forfeit your right to complain. Only when you vote do you have a credible voice.

3. Pray. Irrespective of who occupies the office, they need our prayers. Governing–whether nationally or locally–is a monumental task.  The Prayers of the People in the Book of Common Prayer entreat us to “pray for all who bear the authority of government, in this and every land…“  We must pray that our new President, Vice-President and members of Congress will be men and women of integrity, who will seek to govern us in ways that ensures the common good of us all, not merely special interest groups or adherents to particular ideologies.

So….here are my predictions about this election:

1. Someone will win.
2. Someone will lose.
3. Everyone will be disappointed.
4. God will still be in control.
5. God’s ultimate desire is for us to learn (or deepen) a helpless dependence on Him, regardless of who moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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