IT'S THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER! AND THIS COUNTRY (AND THE REST OF THE WORLD) NEEDS PRAYER!!!

At Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, Indianapolis. On the left of the bouquet on the Communion Table is the American flag, and the Christian flag on the right.

First blog in over two weeks, and I get inspiration on the National Day of Prayer!

I'm sure you've been reminded how divided our country is. Are you, like me, sick of all the negative political ads going on, making you wish the election is over? Not unusual for me to feel that way early November, but early May? After the primaries?

For those who aren't in the area, we have an open Governor's race (like many states, we have a term limit on governors, and the current one is finishing his second term), and an open U.S. Senate seat (the incumbent announced two years ago he would be leaving the Senate to run for Governor), as well as all the congressional seats.

Now, I find the Senate race peaceful. Basically because all the Republican candidates except one dropped out, and the two Democrats have been very quiet.  In fact, I haven't heard or seen any ads by Democrats. 

Unfortunately, the Republicans aren't so quiet. There are six candidates for Governor, and some of them have hit the airwaves on how bad the other candidates OF THEIR OWN PARTY are. The one that grieves me is the current Senator is paying for attack ads on a challenger, though he also is running positive ads promoting himself. One of the U.S. Congressional races is no better.

Of course, I'm chuckling. A couple of candidates are using the support of Former President Trump as a reason to elect them. Five months from now, the Democrats may quote those ads as a reason to oppose the same candidate.

I used to like primary elections, though I felt the purpose was to weed out the good candidates. I had seen some Primary fighting - years ago the Marion County GOP leader would send out flyers tearing apart one Republican candidate, but this takes the cake. 

Yes, I'm discouraged. No, I don't think the country's going in the right direction, and the in-fighting of the Republicans is, I believe, hurting their chances of having an influence.

But the solution is to pray! I'm weekly praying for the people currently in office, whether Democrat (which most of them currently are) or Republican. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 encourages us to pray for our kings and those in authority, and to give thanks for all people. 1 Peter 2:17 tells us to honor all people and to honor the King. (You want to hear a bad joke? It's those who say that we have a President, not a King, so we're not obligated to honor and pray for them.)
 

DON'T TRUST IN PRINCES: POST '23 ELECTION BLUES AND THE ANSWER

Christians United Church, Indianapolis, IN

"Don't trust in princes or in a son of man, in whom there is no help." Psalm 146:3 

Is this the worst case of post election blues I've ever had? Probably others were at least as bad, but for mayor/city council elections, this takes the cake. Let me make several points why.

First, the scorecard. There were eight offices I voted for: Indy mayor and City Council, and Lawrence mayor, town clerk, district councillor and three at large councillors. The Indy Councilor was the only one I didn't vote for the loser, and that's because that candidate was unopposed.

Second, the challenger for Indy mayor focused on the incumbent's record, specifically an annually increasing murder rate, loss in numbers of police force, and telling the police to stand down during the George Floyd riots. The Incumbent's party responded with the charges that the Challenger was a Trump supporter, had an extreme view on abortion, and had an A+ rating from the NRA. Any of those mayor issues? Even if they were, those views are similar to mine; are they saying I'm a deplorable because I lean Republican? That you need to be a liberal lemming to be worthy of being elected?

In Lawrence township, the Republican mayor candidate and his party's town clerk and council candidates visited my apartment complex. I had great conversations with a couple of the gentlemen. I didn't have great conversations with their Democrat counterparts because they never came. :'( Likewise, the GOP candidate had a billboard on a main road and I regularly drove by three campaign signs for him. Only one for the Democrat. Yet the Democrat won 53-47%. (The Democrat Indy mayor did better, with 60%-40%, normal result for the U.S. Congressional seat in the same area.) Is that saying that I'm not worth the Democrats trying to earn my vote? Worse yet, is it saying that a vote for a Republican is meaningless, the same claim they make when I vote Libertarian?

I'm also discouraged with voter turnout. We are ready to vote for President, where we represent 0.000001% of the eligible voters, but we don't have time when our vote may actually have an effect on the election. When the GOP showed up at our apartment with six candidates, it looked like those who came to talk to them were two residents per candidate. 😱

Last week (Nov. 5, '23), Pastor Jeremy Couture at Northside Baptist Church preached on James 4:11-17, and made the point that "Magnifying other people's problems violates the second greatest commandment." He said it includes "slander, gossip, and exagerated accusations (emphasis mine). Couture gave an example of lighting candles when the power is out, and added that we often try to make our light brighter by dimming the light of those around us. Doesn't this sound like political ads? What if we started treated our opponents with respect?

But the bottom line is I SHOULD NOT GET POST-ELECTION BLUES! The Democrats aren't the answer to our problem. The Republicans aren't the answer to our problems. No, not even the Libertarian Party is the solution. As the billboard I posted above reads, we should trust only in the Lamb, in Jesus Christ.

Things may not be as bad as I think, or they may be a lot worst. But we need to remember that the authorities  that exist are appointed by God (Romans 13:1), and the fact we're in a democracy does not change that fact. Also, we're commanded to honor all men and the king, and to give supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving for all men, including kings and those in authority over us (1 Peter 2:17; 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Post Election Blues are a symptom either of fear or idolatry in our party. Neither is what God has called us to. He did call us to pray, and I pray regularly for those in authority for me, from President to town council, Democrat or Republican.