Election Week
It is election week in America. While Election Day is Tuesday, November 5, 2024, nearly every state is currently in a period of early voting, so voters are heading to the polls across the country. While the presidential election is understandably attracting the most attention, voters will also be weighing in on down ballot races and issues.
As you would expect, there are a flurry of campaign activities as both candidates make their closing argument to voters:
- Former President Donald Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden and appeared as a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast, while Vice President Kamala Harris used a Houston rally to highlight high profile supporters, and former First Lady Michelle Obama rallied for Harris in Michigan.
- Both candidates highlighted their cross-over appeal by profiling notable support from outside their party. Vice President Harris has the support of former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney and is touting former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s criticism of Trump, while former President Trump has endorsements from former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (who also announced a party change) and Democrat-turned-Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Analysis and eternal perspective: As has been the case for numerous successive presidential elections, the polls suggest the race will come down to closely contested elections in a handful of swing states. It is entirely possible (perhaps even probable) the outcome will not be clear on election night, especially given that some states do not even begin counting votes until the polls close.
Perhaps the best time for all of us as Jesus followers to determine how we will respond to the results of the election is now—before we know what those results will be.
Some of us will be excited about the outcome. We will have a responsibility to use our voice to outreach to those who disagree and to understand that victory in an election does not validate every position we hold. Humility in victory will be essential to effective leading.
Others of us will be disappointed and perhaps even alarmed about the outcome. We will have a responsibility to respect the choice of our fellow citizens and to seek out ways—including through respectful dissent and disagreement—to avoid disengagement and to value self-governance over the comfort of an outcome we prefer.
Most important, Jesus followers should be prepared to lead through serving. This is our mandate from scripture no matter where in the world we live or what governing structure is over us. In fact, scripture reminds us repeatedly that following Jesus will most often cause us to be out of sync with the world around us (1 Pet. 2:9; Jn. 16:33). Therefore, an election that does not go our preferred way should leave us anything but shaken. Instead, it should reinvigorate our commitment to serving the way Jesus did, and to loving the way He does. Let’s collectively gird up now and equip ourselves for this work, and let’s do it before we know the outcome of a human election. Come what may, your God is on the throne.
The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.