A Life in Exile

Do American politics affect our work on the mission field? Will the outcome of the November 5, 2024, elections change the dynamics here where I serve? What do I say to people who ask me who I voted for or if I voted?

Does God really care about the USA elections?

As Christ-followers, no matter where we live, I’m grateful for the ultimate truth that Christ is on the throne and God the Father is sovereign over all. It’s easy to let that be our go-to phrase when nationals or even other mission colleagues bring up the election. The topic is hard to avoid as this week is the culmination of what seems like four years of campaigning in the United States. Somebody has to win, which means others will lose.

While most of us will simply be glad it’s over, we do have to come to the realization that the world watches our elections. Before I answer the why of that statement, I need to respond to the first question: Are our elections important to God?

God the Father is the grand planner and designer of all things. From the beginning of time, he had a purpose for mankind. It began with creating a beautiful garden, which would serve as a sign of an even more beautiful world to come. No, not the one we currently enjoy, but an even more magnificent one to come. We’re in the in-between time, as believers, we have a downpayment on the abundant life, but still live within a fallen world that needs the hope of Christ we hold dear.

Much of what happens in our world reveals God’s sovereignty over even the fallen ways of man. He can use wars, natural disasters, and even political intrigue to shift and move peoples toward that feeling of desperation that leads them to long for a Savior. This world, even the glitter and glamourous parts of it, do not satisfy. Elections do not solve all the problems. One president is not the be-all-end-all to a country’s trials.

As we see in Scripture, Israel and Judah had their share of good and bad kings. Some were really good or good for a season, and others were really bad, or started out good and then had some massive failing at the end. All these fallible kings proved the answer to Israel’s desires could only be found in the Lion-King of Judah, the Messiah, we know as Christ. Our modern-day elections prove the same point—there is no perfect president. But God allows for rulers and governing authorities for a purpose:

Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. (Romans 13:1-4a CSB)

So, just as in every nation, God uses governing rulers and laws to keep chaos at bay, to reward good behavior and punish bad. He allows our specific system in America to flourish and bring to power the person for our good in that moment of time. Sometimes it’s to teach us a lesson and sometimes it’s to bless us and help us be a strong model of democracy to other nations.

Should I care about elections? Should I vote?

I served over twenty years in various nations of this world. Though I’d been voting since the age of 18, my first opportunity to vote absentee while overseas was in the 1988 election between George H. Bush and Michael S. Dukakis. I repeated that practice another five times before our return to the States in 2009. Why? Because it was my duty as an American citizen.

During those years, I lived in countries with dictators and presidents who had been in office for decades. I was always reminded that our system was different—our presidents can only serve two four-year terms. I also knew that my vote counted, unlike in many of the places I lived. It was also a vote freely given, not under compulsion or threat. The longer I lived overseas, the more I knew the importance and blessing of our system of government in the United States, and as a citizen, I did not want to miss out on being a part.

How do we speak about voting and elections?

When I was growing up, my father worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which he saw as essentially a government job. Because of his work, he did not put up signs in our yard at home about a specific candidate (he did after he retired). Though he voted his conscience, he did not talk about politics or express his feelings to anyone outside the family. I carried that practice with me overseas.

As a missionary, my first and primary allegiance is to Jesus Christ. Political opinions are a secondary matter, and I didn’t want my opinions about a specific candidate to interfere with the message of the gospel we shared. The same held true about local leaders. I kept my opinions to myself.

That did not stop nationals from expressing their opinions about our elections, and I did not stop them. I knew, however, that certain of our choices for President could impact how nationals treated Americans. That’s where prayer came in for many of our elections and changes within the government. What a president or senator says publicly can impact the ability of American ex-pats to safely live in a certain place. Prayer and wisdom are key for discernment.

No matter who wins the race, we, as Americans, can be thankful for the system of government we enjoy. There is nothing wrong with explaining that system to others, and it can even be used as a great segway to the gospel. One day the King will return and all nations will bow before his throne. Who is that King? Jesus.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Mission Monday post, click HERE, or check out these posts about elections: Where Our Loyalties Lie, The Morning After, Your Rights, and When History Affects Life.