Tomorrow is election day; I hope most or all of our readers didn’t need that reminder.
While we don’t want to wade too publicly, as Oddwalk, into the political fray, one thought just today crossed Orin’s mind that is worth considering before stepping into the voting booth.
One tactic that has come up frequently in the last several days leading up to the election is the attempt to instill fear in voters. Who or what are we to be afraid of? Well, it depends. I won’t even bother listing the potential subjects here, we’ve seen plenty of them in recent political advertising.
What I want to note is what our faith tells us about fear. Our strength and courage is the Lord, the psalms tell us. Angels everywhere in the scriptures are telling us “Do not be afraid.” Care to see several dozen more instances about what the bible says about fear? Click here.
And what do nearly all of these passages have in common? We are to banish fear and put our trust in the Lord. The epistles of John further tell us that God is Love – and we need not look any further than the cross for ultimate proof of that. And as disciples, we are called to love like Christ loved, are we not?
If we are, at all times, to replace our fear with love, we ought to bring that to all parts of our lives, including the voting booth. I suspect (or at least hope) many of us have our minds pretty well made up at this point, but let me invite you to bring your choices to prayer one more time. Ask the Lord, and listen, in the silence of your heart, for him to answer: Am I afraid? What exactly is it that I am afraid of? Why? Is the fear even real? If I am to replace that fear with love, how do I do that, specifically as I participate in choosing our civic leaders?
Best wishes on election day, and let us all pray for our country and all the world’s citizens today.