His Kingdom Come, His Will be Done.
The mainstream media has dubbed Joe Biden “President Elect,” half the country is in an uproar over the results of the election, claiming that Trump got cheated out of a second term, and Christians everywhere are questioning the future of our country. The left is being accused of tampering and fraud due to the obvious issues with mail-in ballots, statistic defying number shifts across states, and the fact that Joe Biden has been the least inspired candidate that the left has presented in decades.
What happened to our country that we have become so completely split in our political allegiances? I believe that this divide goes back to the roots of our founding. Our country was built on the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”—three things that everyone wants, but not everyone can have due to issues of prioritization. When it comes to life, the left prioritizes the lives of the poor and the minorities while the right prioritizes the lives of the unborn and service members (such as veterans and police officers). All lives are important, but the priority is generally different politically. This is also not to say that there aren’t pro-life democrats and republicans who support minority causes—but the political priority is still very much tied to each party.
When it comes to liberty, the left prioritizes sexual liberties, women’s rights, and the fight against racism. The right prioritizes liberty from big government, second amendment rights, and the fight against biased and deceptive mainstream media coverage. Again, there will always be the exception on both sides (for example, almost all Republicans think racism is disgusting even though many don’t agree with critical race theory, and almost all democrats don’t like being lied to even though they limit their news sources to CNN, MSNBC, and the New York Times).
When it comes to the pursuit of happiness, we see yet another disconnect in priority. It is a battle of logic versus emotion. It is a battle of “every person deserves x” versus “every person must contribute and earn x.” No side is completely right in these seemingly cut-and-dried matters, it is simply a difference of worldview and personality. This issue has come to divide more than just the country, we see it working in religious institutions as well. Many Christians on both sides are confused by the divide that has happened in our faith. Why is the Church so torn in it’s support of elected officials? Again, this comes down to priorities of individuals, and amazingly spiritual life is at the center of things. A study by Pew Research found that for the Republican, religion is the highest source of guidance for wrong and right (at 44%) and that science is a close second at (41%). For the Democrat, science is the highest source of guidance on wrong and right (at 47%) and is followed by religion (at a much lower 25%). Should an ever evolving science be the guide for an objective morality, or should this guide be the unchanging God of the universe? I know I’m begging the question, but it is a question many of us have been dying to beg.
The same study asked republicans and democrats about absolute standards for right and wrong by political party. Again, the republicans top two answers were balanced with 50% saying that right and wrong depends on the situation and 47% saying that there are clear standards for what is right and wrong. The left’s top two answers were, again, quite divided with 75% saying that right and wrong depends on the situation, and 23% claiming that there are clear standards for what is right and wrong.
Perhaps both of these findings make sense when we look at the way these two parties encounter scripture. 43% of Republicans read scripture at least once a week, while 38% seldom/never read scripture. On the other hand, 29% of Democrats read scripture once a week and 51% seldom/never read the scripture. Unfortunately, this is not even the biggest divide we see in parties when it comes to scripture. 69% of republicans believe that scripture is the word of God (although they are pretty evenly divided on whether or not it should be taken literally). Only 49% of democrats believe that scripture is the word of God (although they too are divided on whether or not it should be taken literally), but a staggering 43% of democratic voters do not believe that scripture is the word of God.
There are many other comparisons listed in this study and I implore my readers to look at them because it shows a pretty clear trend: when it comes to religious health and devotion, republican Christians (in day-to-day practice) seem to be in a place of faith that is stronger than not. This statement is not to condemn or diminish the faith of democratic Christians, for there are many people of faith (who I know and love) who are democrats. The big divide that I see is that democratic Christians believe that their vote is what will help “God’s kingdom come,” while republican Christians believe that with their vote “God’s will will be done.” It sounds the same, but there is a difference. Leftist Christians want to see the Kingdom of Heaven come here on earth, but are often trying to achieve it with legislation over faith, prayer, and ascetic living. Right leaning Christians do not think that they can make “God’s kingdom come,” because they believe that Christ is making this happen. Instead, they believe that their votes are as fair and as morally close to what Christ desires.
There are spiritual battles happening every day in our nation and like I said before, there are exceptions to the rule when it comes to voting. If your allegiance to Christ the King is unwavering, then disregard this entire article. If, however, you feel that your political beliefs have become the priority in your life, and the thing you rest your hope upon, you may want to reexamine the tenets of your faith.
Sources Cited:
https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/party-affiliation/