A Post-Election Quiz

One of my professors sent this Post-Election Quiz around today. I'm not sure who wrote it, but it's timely for Christians who are struggling with the results of last night's election.

After the Election: Perspective Check

Jesus Christ, Icon, Eastern Orthodox Altar,
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

1. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, Jesus will still be King.
2. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our responsibilities as Christians will not have changed one iota.
3. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the greatest agent for social change in America will still be winning the hearts and minds of men and women through the gospel, not legislation.
4. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my primary citizenship will still be in this order – (1) the Kingdom of God, (2) America, not vice-versa.
5. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the tomb will still be empty.
6. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the cross, not the government, will still be our salvation.
7. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, our children will still be more concerned with whether or not we spend time with them than with who is President.
8. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my neighbor will still be my neighbor, and loving him/her will still be the second greatest commandment. (Do you know the first?)
9. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see abortion ultimately overturned will still be winning men and women to a high view of life through the gospel of Christ.
10. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, the only way to see gay marriage ultimately defeated will still be winning men and women to a biblical view of marriage through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
11. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, my retirement will still not match my treasure in Heaven.
12. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, “Jesus Is Lord” will still be the greatest truth in the Universe.
13. True/False: The day after the election, regardless of who wins, we will still know that God is in control.

As Christians living in a republic, we have a moral duty to vote according to a well-formed conscience, and we’re not called to ignore the world.  We’re called to bring the world to Christ.  Having said that, I think that we too quickly forget Psalm 146:3-10,

Christ the King, Świebodzin, Poland (2010)

Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help. When his breath departs he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish. Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign for ever, thy God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

Please, don’t misunderstand me.  Elections do have consequences, including eternal consequences.  The president’s re-election strategy centered on promoting abortion (and scaring voters about Romney’s plans regarding abortion) more than any major party campaign we’ve seen.  From a pro-life perspective, the growing embrace of abortion and gay marriage by (at least) one of the two major political parties is extremely troubling.

Part of the solution to that will come through the ballot box.  But the ballot box will do no good if it’s unaccompanied by prayer, because at the heart of these social problems are spiritual problems: a nation increasingly ignorant of, or apathetic to, the will of God.  I am reminded, and chastened, of two important anniversaries coming up next year: the 1700th anniversary of the legalization of Christianity, and the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  Psalm 95:9-10 says, “For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people who err in heart, and they do not regard my ways.’ Therefore I swore in my anger that they should not enter my rest.”

As a country, we’re very much at a crossroads, and we should implore God’s help and His guidance, and pray for our president and elected officials often.  Let this election chasten us, but not cause us to despair.  The solution to this crisis will ultimately come, not through a politician, but in the One who has already won the victory.