img_3930For many of you this is already a reality. More people have cast early votes this year than in many of the recent years on record. We’re seeing larger than average turnout for this year’s presidential election. Whether or not you’ve cast your vote there’s still some work to do. 

While it’s pretty obvious that this election carries with it some pretty important change potential for our country, I do have a little good news. Even though some of us will be disappointed by the results of the election, both presidential and local, there’s still hope. Even though we may disagree with the one we feel most likely to lead this country into the future, there is something around which we should all come together.

The reality of the matter is, at the end of the day nothing is really going to change all that much. At the end of the day, this country will still be standing. We may be more or less bankrupt financially that’s true. We may have safer or more dangerous borders. We may even have easier or more difficult access to healthcare. But there’s still a bigger issue that none of the candidates for president have addressed.

You see, the issue facing our country that is more critical than debt, healthcare and border security is the issue of morality and conscience. We’re quickly becoming a nation that is trying to blur every line possible. We’ve successfully determined that the lines of life and death are really not all that easy to navigate. We’ve indicated that relationships between genders, races and people of different religious expressions are to be seen as our enemies. We have arrived at the place in history when a disagreement is a personal attack.

There are two things we need to do as I see it. The first is to take responsibility for our own personal failures. As a country we are a collection of namby-pamby sissies! We are too afraid to say we have failed. And to be honest, until we admit our failure we’ll never find the better way. We’ll never be able to fix what we have broken until we admit that it’s broken. Friends, this is broken! When we can’t sit down and disagree without fearing someone will harass or shoot us – it’s broken! When we can admit that our action was hasty and caused a landslide of devastation – it’s broken! When we refuse to take responsibility for our actions – something is broken.

The second action that stands before us is to pray. Some of you are probably going to stop reading but hear me out. You may not be a religious person but I’m pretty sure that if you were watching the election process you saw the same thing I saw. It was a pathetic demonstration of childish name calling and back biting by all involved. NO one was above-board in this political season – no one! The issues facing our nation will not be fixed by one of these candidates. Not to be super negative, but there isn’t a candidate out there who could do what we really need done.

This is why we need prayer. Our hearts are just messed up. We love to live in a black and white world and pretend as though it’s all gray. I say we need prayer because this problem isn’t a problem of actions but a matter of hearts. The bible tells us that our hearts are far from him. This couldn’t be more true. Perhaps you don’t believe in the whole Jesus thing. I would wager a guess that we can agree there is a dilemma in this country far bigger than party affiliation. It’s a problem that only prayer can address. It’s a problem is heart.

Today I leave you with the words of Paul to his young protegé Timothy.  (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—  for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Pray. Vote. Pray.