I dive in here deeper explaining the spiritual significance of voting, enhancing previous posts that have identified a vote as a prayer, pinging democracy as evil and exhorting Christians not to vote. In essence participating in a ‘rigged’ system perpetuates it, for it is technically impossible to change a system from within it.
The three-year voting cycle in New Zealand has coincided (again) with the four year American Presidential circus thus in New Zealand we have the ‘delightful’ double-whammy. For a guy who loves watching the political show from a distance, this is Christmas time for me but as I have constantly shared, I don’t vote; never have; never will.
The reason is that I have more faith than the majority, and by this I mean REAL faith – faith that there is a God, one who cares; one who has set the value system upon His creating act; one who has sent His Son Jesus to show us the way; one who has conquered evil once and for all (showing His power over death); but most importantly, represented by the incredible power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit here, today in the present.
This last aspect is the one that is truly amazing and so very, very important in the Christian walk. It is when we know Him; know that He is good, true and worthy to be heard and obeyed that we actively seek to HEAR His voice . . . so that we can DO what He wants of us.
There is a world of difference between going to church on a Sunday; going to work on a Monday so that we can pay off the mortgage before we retire then going to the voting booth on a Saturday once every three years or so, to having faith.
When Jesus came to set the captives free there were actually two forces of oppression – it wasn’t just the Roman occupiers that squashed those little people of Israel. The religious leaders of the day had their people of the same day by the short and curlies too!
Having faith like a child, Jesus walked the walk, baiting those corrupt religious leaders and exposing them for the proud but empty, smart but shallow fools that they were. Interestingly He also largely ignored the politicians of the day and just did what His Father asked of Him. We too should do the same.
In previous posts I have explained how a vote is a prayer, essentially we put our faith into a human system of government, aka democracy when we vote. Whether it is the original sin – when mankind voted to go against God in the Garden of Eden or the people dancing around a Golden Calf, or clamouring for a political leader as the other nations had, democracy whereby the will of the masses is worshiped – the concept of democracy is totally condemned in scripture.
I’m not alone in my sentiments when I choose not to vote. Any person who genuinely has faith and the wisdom to know that they will be eventually personally accountable to their Maker will never vote either. I shared these thoughts again recently with a friend whom I respect – he has similar thinking and he said this:
I am intrigued that when I tell people I do not vote, they look at me as if I am crazy. Very few seem to have thought about it, and most just seem that it is the right thing to do. Faith in political power is still huge.
The last seven words (my emphasis) are accurate and astute.
You see when we vote for the various politicians, the good, the bad or the ugly, we take the allegiance that God seeks away from Him and that’s the point.
It’s the exact same thing that Adam and Eve were tempted with way back when . . . putting faith in anything other than the One who deserves it. Oh we all have faith whether we like it or not – we have to. The real question is where we choose to place it. If we vote for people who seek power, rest very assured that they will use it!
I choose to hear and obey, though. I trust Him that by doing what He says, today, here on earth around me and in my life, that He can and indeed will do exactly what He wants as a result. Oh, I might not see the world changed in my own lifetime, but I tell you as sure as eggs that I’ll be hearing the words, “Well done good and faithful servant!” at the end of my time.
In case you are thinking that I’m an angel and want your kudos for being some smart-arse, know-it-all, mamby-pamby, Bible-banging Christian just out to convert you – no way! I’m just looking after my own interests because I’m literally petrified of the alternative, which for the record is, “Nah! You can bugger off get away from me because I never knew ya!” – paraphrased of course a little, because God doesn’t swear!
My friend is correct that people don’t think about it (democracy & political power from a biblical perspective) and just assume that politicians and the government of the day are the answer. Sure, most Christians I know vote, but most Christians I know also deny conspiracy, accept evolution and use the currency of the day (the NZD) where they all pay and receive interest. For the record, conspiracy and corruption are the norm in a fallen world; [Macro] evolution is an utterly impossible & ungodly concept; and the use of any currency founded upon God-forbidden usurious monetary systems always activates the curse through enslavement. Likewise with the faith that most put into mankind’s political systems through democracy. Contrary to the constant spiel from Cindy & Trump – we’re all accursed.
So wassup? Where’s God in all of this and why do my friend’s observations ring so true to the observant and honest?
One has to understand His nature and the times that we live in. The Lord God does not fight evil like we do, in a physical war. He has already won the battle at the cross, two thousand years ago. He has no interest in forcing the world to bow down to Him. We will all acknowledge the Creator eventually whether we like it or not and He knows this. He is outside of time for He created it!
Instead of force, what He does is to speak to us all gently, one by one, encouraging us to do the right and honourable thing in due course. In regards to evil, He restrains it, holding it back until eventually when the time is right, in His time, He then lets it have its way. The coming implosion, like all other predicted inevitable events such as His second coming, and all the traumas of the end of the age, and the times of peace, will surely come.
Please don’t ask me when. I simply don’t know, but it has to come. Mathematically and economically a financial implosion could be decades away because if TPTB can write out cheques against the peoples’ credit for a trillion or two or ten today, they can also do this for a quadrillion or two or ten tomorrow. Socially we are miles away from the ungodliness that I understand has been predicted. There still appears to be some semblance of justice and morality in the current generations, thus the implosion to me seems to be a ways off yet.
In the meantime however, we have the increasing consolidation of power and wealth with the march towards globalised everything. Sure there are ups & downs, hiccups, scraps and digressions as people desperate to work things out for their own interests jockey for position. The rise of ungodliness, enslavement and globalism is indeed increasing, thus it is wise to get out of debt and stay out; stand for righteousness as or when we can do so.
People though (for the first time as a “global village”) must go through the difficult times to learn the futility of human focussed efforts at inventing rules simultaneously ignoring and flouting His ones. They must come to see that there is something so wrong; so bad; so empty that the “global consciousness change” that so many are seeking must come.
It’s not the calm before the storm . . . it is the storm.
In some ways I think it is cute to see so many around me worship a young woman whom I know as a shallow, inexperienced, ungodly, ignorant, BS artist and vote her back into political power in a landslide victory. There can only be one way from there – down, and I look forward to seeing that eventuate. Sadly, there will be another, because I’ve seen the exact same thing happen with other political leaders like Muldoon, Lange, Clark and Key. Up, down. Up, down. Still the people’s faith is put into those who seek, gain and then use power at the expense of the people.
I far prefer to put my faith in Him, the unchanging and faithful One. Chin up all!
True