by Rev. Christopher Lewis,
Nothing is Impossible Ministries

Well, the big day has passed, and we have had another presidential election in the USA. How do you feel about the results?

I am writing this article before the election, so at the time of the writing I don’t know the results yet. However, I do believe I know a lesson we all need to be reminded of. The lesson is that, regardless of who won the election this week, the results are not as important as many of us have made them out to be.

Don’t misunderstand me. It does matter who is elected as President of the United States. It’s a position of great power, not only locally, but in the world. A good president has the power to do great things; a bad president has the power to do some very frightening things that could affect the whole world in very negative ways.

However, whether or not your favorite candidate won will have less of an effect in the long-run than many would lead you to believe. The world will keep on turning, people will keep on living and dying, and life will go on. If you’re elated that your candidate won, congratulations! If you’re upset, don’t despair!

Any president we elect will only be in power for 4 or 8 years and will have the power to perhaps effect some change. I’m not discounting that. BUT in the end, no matter who ends up in office, I’m always comforted by Psalm 2:

“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, 3 ‘Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.’” (NIV)

It’s a picture of the kings of the nations conspiring against God thinking that they will throw Him out. And verses 4-6 give God’s response:

“The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. 5 He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, 6 ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.’” (NIV)

When people get all tied up in knots about politics and fall out over it, I picture God laughing, saying: “Chill! I’m still in charge!”

I sincerely think the answer to the problem starts in the home. We have to be families that pray together, worship together, love one another, and demonstrate the values of GOD’S KINGDOM. If we’re not doing that, we will never really be a part of the change because change isn’t something we can argue into place. We also can’t force other families to follow suit, but if we can provide an example other families will follow.

It does no good for us to cry that we need God in the center of our nation if He isn’t at the center of our family first. I’m not discounting politics as we need to be involved and try our best to vote according to our understanding of Christ-like values, but if we don’t actually live Christ-like values in our churches and homes nothing will really change in a lasting way no matter who we put in office in Washington D.C.

I’ve studied where radical positive change has been genuine amongst people and nations, and it seems that it’s almost always been from the bottom up rather than the top down. Personally, I think the change needs to happen first at the level of church, community and family. As long as churches, communities and families divide over politics, worship styles and carpet colors, they fail to fulfil their real purpose in glorifying Christ together and effecting change around them. And the leaders chosen in a democratic country will usually reflect the moral tenor of the majority of the country and have only a very small influence on changing it.

Real change is not something you or I can influence as much as we would like from the top down, but it is something that we can influence if we start at home. God still has His True King on the throne, so don’t worry so much about who is in Washington D.C. Life goes on regardless, and God’s Kingdom cannot be stopped by kings or presidents. His Kingdom will still be here when every other kingdom has passed away. Let His Kingdom be lived out in your life and home, and you will begin to see change around you that matters and lasts.

You can find many other such articles by Christopher right here at KRL.

Christopher Lewis is an ongoing contributor to our Helping Hands section, and recently moved with his wife Karen to Leeds, England to pastor a church there.