Let me just say it: Many Christians are sinful voters.

What on earth am I talking about? Let me explain.

Prayer people like me often love this verse as a foundation for our intercession:

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land. KJV

We intercessors then spend a lot of time praying that God will cause people (particularly non-Christians) to behave righteously.

But can I make a Biblical point? II Chronicles 7:14 says: If MY people.

It’s God’s people who need to turn from their wicked ways. I believe one of our wicked ways is: slothful voting.

Slothfulness is laziness. We Christians are often lazy. We vote what we are told to vote. We have an *assigned party* and we vote party line without ever checking in (and truly seeking his face and listening penitently) with God about His opinions.

I have noticed 4 things:

1. Each major party has what I call a *golden carrot* that it dangles in front of it’s members to keep them voting with the party. This carrot is powerful and party members believe powerfully about it.
   1. For Republicans the golden carrot is abortion. For 40 years, abortion has been the one reason many people stay with the party. It is the only party that takes a pro-life stand. (I’m pro-life and have been watching this for 40 years.)
   2. For Democrats the golden carrot changes, but each election cycle the carrot is the one reason many people vote with the party. Right now the golden carrot is climate change.
2. Each major party has no intention whatsoever to actually DO something meaningful about the golden carrot issue. Think about it:
   1. Republican party: Has there been any change toward pro-life legislation in 40 years? 40 years? Nope. Legislators often throw a weak bill into committee just to say they’ve done something or tack a regulation of abortion onto some other random bill knowing it will be dropped or the bill fail. But nothing meaningful.
   2. Democratic party: Is there lasting, powerful legislation about climate or the environment? Not really.
3. Why is it that the golden carrot issues never get fixed? I believe that if legislators actually take action on these issues and the problem is solved, the *one issue* voters won’t need to stay with the party. Think about it.

This is where our slothfulness as voting Christians comes in.

What if God wants us to tackle these golden carrot issues in a more effective manner? What if the Holy Spirit has wisdom about these issues that we are not learning from Him because we don’t listen. We just vote the party line and forget about it.

You know the AA definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

Here’s a question that leads into the 4th thing I’ve noticed:

4. God is not a Republican…or a Democrat. He’s God. His ways are not our ways.

What if we voting Christians become praying, seeking God, repenting of our laziness Christians? What if we open our hearts to God’s agenda, whatever that is?

In II Kings 19, King Hezekiah was faced with a hopeless situation. Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrians who had just sent him a letter with totally non-PC threats of what they were soon going to do the the city’s residents.

Hezekiah had exhausted his options. The situation was hopeless.

So Hezekiah tore his clothes in repentance, took the letter to the temple, spread it out before the Lord and prayed.

This is what God wanted from Hezekiah. God sent the prophet Isaiah to him to let Hezekiah know that God was fed up with the Assyrians. In the morning, the king woke up to the news that an angel of the Lord had slain 185,000 Assyrians during the night and the rest had gone home.

We Americans aren’t in Hezekiah’s situation but we still need God’s help. What if we seek God’s help:

• To identify what golden carrots are being dangled to manipulate us
• To learn how God wants to handle the truly pressing issues of the time
• AND Who God would like us to vote for in this election (it may come as a surprise)

May I encourage you to seek God’s face, pray and turn from any sinful/slothful voting ways? Wouldn’t it be cool if we aligned ourselves with God rather than one party? Let’s see what He will do in our nation.

I’ve been around a long time and learned a lot of things. Here is one thing I have learned recently: The world is not a better place.

I remember when I was a kid that grownups were telling us that each generation of humans were evolving to get better and better. They would say, “Look how much better the world is than back in the pioneer days!”

That generation of adults looked to my generation (the Boomers) with misty eyes, just knowing in their hearts that the wars they had fought and the economic despair of the Depression they had endured would be a thing of the past for our generation, or at least, our kids’ generation.

The adults back then would talk glowingly about how our democracy gets better and better with each generation. They knew that we would live in peace and prosperity. They sacrificed so much to bring the hope of a better world to my generation.

My generation is now nearing the hand-off to the present and future generations. And guess what?

The world is NOT a better place.

The world still is devolved into:

• Wars and rumors of wars. (My adult kids don’t really remember a time when our nation hasn’t been actively engaged in military conflict.)
• Hatred and distrust of other races and places. (Think about what it’s like being African-American and not knowing what will happen if you get pulled over for a traffic stop. Or what it’s like to be a Native American who wants clean drinking water and finds corporately funded, militarized *police* standing against their stand. Or to be an immigrant in our unfriendly environment. Or to be Jewish and just want to worship in safety.)
• Greed, corruption, self-serving-ness in those with power and money. (I don’t have room for the examples…)
• Egocentrism and lack of courtesy in everyday life.
• (And lots of other rotten stuff)

The world is not a better place…

…unless you look at the things that may be more true than the evil and the not-better.

It is true there is bad, but it is more true that there are people who take prayer, like I Timothy seriously. They pray.

I Timothy 2:1-2

I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. KJV

I imagine that in God’s eyes, these prayers are more important than the greed and corruption that perpetuate poverty and hopelessness, the wars and hatred. Maybe in God’s economy, there’s a different *currency* than money?

Maybe what is richness in God’s economy is:

• Graciousness
• Courtesy
• Fruit of the spirit
• Justice

Maybe *the world being a better place* is not the present goal for God, but us being the better people is most valuable.

Maybe in God’s economy, a few humble, praying people are more valuable than a group of greedy politicians and businessmen who profit from being in power.

The world is not a better place…

…unless you look at behavior that may be more true than the evil and the not-better.

Maybe what is most true is that there are a few people who show grace and courtesy, who live life according to Micah.

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

For instance, maybe the gracious act of the young man who courteously gave up his seat for me at an overbooked concert weighs more in God’s kingdom than the 3 young athletes and store employees that pushed in front of me during in my latest grocery store trip. I imagine that in God’s economy, 1 gracious young man is more valuable that 3 rude young people.

God’s economy is SO upside down from ours.

If we become better people, maybe we will seek God’s face before voting for any other greedy, bigoted, self-serving official to any level of government… Maybe God will give us wisdom to vote in wise and good men lead our local communities, states and nation.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land. KJV

Maybe if we seek God’s face, we will find His grace to live our personal lives justly, mercifully, humbly…more of the world will know grace and courtesy.

I’ve learned a lot of things over the years. One is that the world is not a better place.

But I’ve also learned that God has values and plans that are different than mine and He holds me (and all people) to a high level of accountability. He gives us mandates and we are required to live and act on them. Here are 3 mandates:

I Timothy 2:1-2, Micah 6-8, II Chronicles 7:14 (all quoted above)

I hope I will live closer and closer to that humble, God-seeking person He created me to become. I hope the same for my nation.

I want to choose to live gratefully in this present world because I know the more true world of God’s kingdom. (Even though, I admit it, I wish He’d just go ahead make the world a better place in the way I want…)

Want to pray together for our nation? I started an informal, non-political prayer group on Facebook. Join me? https://www.facebook.com/groups/553733668413863/