There. I said it.
Of all the things Jesus cares about that you get to decide on a daily basis, who you cast your ballot for in the upcoming 2020 election is far from the top of the list.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Jesus doesn't care who the next president is--the Bible is pretty clear that God does care who the governing authorities are (Daniel 2:21)--fact is, he already knows who it will be!
What I am saying is that you have thousands of tiny decisions to make throughout your day. Most of which, God doesn't really care about:
Do I wear my red tie or blue tie to work today?
Should I leave my house before rush hour traffic or at the last possible minute?
How many helpings of Lucky Charms can I get away with before someone notices how light the box has become?
Each decision has its own ripple effect and you have to live the consequences of each micro-decision. But most of our decisions on a day-to-day basis are pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
I believe that Jesus much more about decisions like:
How should I spend my free time today?
What can I do to help feed the hungry?
Should I give 10% of my money to God's kingdom here on earth?
Where should I live?
Where should I work?
Each of those decisions are aimed to radically shape your future self. Each of those decisions carries a pretty weighty end-game. Each of those decisions should be prayerfully and carefully considered. And each of those decisions counts for something BIG.
Who you vote for in the coming election is a really small deal. Don't believe me? Let's break out the numbers. Around 138 million people voted in the 2016 election. This represents 58.1% of our voting-eligible population, and 42% of our overall population of 328.2 million. This means that your 1 vote makes the difference of .000001% of the outcome of the election. Even taking into account the weight distribution of electoral college votes, that number should help you feel like your opinion is pretty insignificant.
So does Jesus care who you vote for? Does He care which grocery store you shop at? Does He care what grade of fuel you put in your car? Does He care what time you go to bed? The answer is somewhere between:
"Of course He does! He numbered all the hairs on your head, didn't He!?" and
"Of course not! Not even you care about those things! These are all questions of convenience and opinion and Jesus would just as soon you not worry about those things because those things have enough worry of their own."
I have democratic friends who tell me God wants them to vote Biden.
I have republican friends who tell me God wants them to vote Trump.
I walk between the parties and I feel like God wants me to vote third party.
And all of those are correct.
God wants you to do what helps you sleep well at night as an American citizen. But He cares much more deeply about your heavenly citizenship.
So go out there and hit those early polls and then don't worry about who gets elected. Focus your time and attention on something that you have the power to make a 100% difference about.
Yourself.
Well said and I feel exactly the same way.
ReplyDeleteThanks Michael!
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