Election Day: God Has Already Decided...

As a kid I have found recollections of election weeks in years gone by, but those recollections seem so trivial now.  I remember being upset when a show I wanted to watch was preempted by presidential debates – I mean who wants to watch those?  (I watched all four this year).  I was a child and I thought as a child, I did childish things – I still do childish things. 

This year is different, and I don’t think it’s because this election is being flaunted as the most critical in decades – I thought all elections were significant?  Neither do I think it’s because I am an adult and for some reason watch the news a lot more.  By the way in watching the 11:00 news last night for its allotted 30 minutes I think I tallied only two commercials that were not political ads...not surprising.  Nor do I think this year is abnormal because I am seeing how the policies of our government are affecting my family.  Going to the doctor, getting coverage for prescription meds, and getting the insurance to cover various tests is almost becoming a deterrent for going to the doctor in the first place – but maybe that’s the plot?  I think this year is different because I finally got it!  You know that feeling?  That moment in time when something that you’ve heard from numerous people, and been told many times, and read hundreds of times finally sinks in.  It’s that ah-ha moment that can be summed up in one verse from the book of Daniel:

“The Most High God rules in the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomever He choses.”    -Daniel 4:17

It is not by man’s might, nor by his strategies or plans, nor by his theories or philosophies, or his successes in this life that gains him a term in office.  It is by the decree and purpose of God, that man is ALLOWED to have a term or several terms in office.  In Daniel 1:2, the Bible says that the Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to take rule over Judah.  The American Electoral College will tell us today (hopefully) who will be our next president for four more years.  But the decision has already been made and today we find out which man GOD HAS CHOSEN to lead our country for the next four years.  When Jeremiah the prophet told the nation of Israel that God had chosen Nebuchadnezzar as their ruler and captor they did not believe his words.  Further, they decided to persecute him because of what he told them. 

If your candidates wins or loses their race today please realize that first, God has a purpose in who He choses; and second, make it a serious matter to prayer for your leaders who are in position of authority over you.  By the way, I also realized that one day there will be no more political ads on every conceivable form of media, no election coverage that preempts everything, no formal or informal debates, no political signs blanketing the median of highways, no politicians holding their signs on the roadside...

                Come quickly LORD JESUS!        

Chick-fil-A and the Book of Daniel

I know what your thinking...what in the world does Chick-fil-A and the book of Daniel have in common?

 Salisbury, MD (pic-WBOC TV)

Today is August 1^st, the day I normally text or call my sister and wish her a happy birthday.  But in addition to this routine, I made my way to Chick-fil-A for breakfast (and a good one at that) in support of the fact that they stand for traditional marriage.  I came to my office after breakfast, and began preparing some things for Vacation Bible School that has been going on all week at church.  This year we are doing a parody for VBS called “Soul Wars.”  But the content of what we are teaching is based on Daniel 1-4.  So then, as I was reading some Facebook posts about people going to Chick-fil-A and those not going, the connection between the ancient biblical story of Daniel and the modern day uproar over Chick-fil-A hit me like a load of bricks.   

In the book of Daniel, the man Daniel and his three friends (Hanniah, Mishael, Azariah) are punished for their beliefs.  In chapter one, Daniel and his three friends are being detoxed from their Jewish heritage and being injected with the Babylonian culture.  One of the things that they were asked to do is participate in the dinner feast that all captives would have attended.  However, Daniel and his three friends have an objection to eating the king’s meat.  They realize the meat was likely offered to idols and so according to their religious laws they are not to partake of it.  This causes a problem.   Likewise, in chapter three there is another problem that comes to the surface.  A golden image has been made, and the entire nation of Babylon is commanded to worship it by bowing down.  During this ceremony, Daniel’s three friends refuse to worship the image and are then punished for their beliefs in the one true God.  Daniel in the lion’s den in Daniel chapter 6 is very similar to chapter 3 as well.  In fact, in Daniel 1-6, each chapter has a thrust of competition or contest between the one true God and the false gods of Babylon.

Barboursville, WV (pic-Teresa Merry)

I look at the present Chick-fil-A uproar and I can’t help but see a man (and company) that are being punished for their beliefs.  You might say that’s not a fair comparison, your right.  If you lived in Babylon in 605 BC, then you had NO RELIGIOUS RIGHTS.  But we live in America, where our religious rights are protected by the first amendment – at least they are supposed to be protected.  Thankfully, we don’t have to endure a fiery furnace or lion’s den for our beliefs – or do we?  The lion’s that are out to get us might just be those conspirators (chapters 3 and 6) in the book of Daniel who were looking for something to pin on Daniel and his three friends.  And you know what?  The only thing they could find to pin on them was a religious complaint...sounds similar to our current culture.  At least in the culture of the book of Daniel, the discussion of worshipping God was still on the table.  It seems like the society of today is pushing that into the past.  It all boils down to humanism, which is man’s desire to control all things and find happiness in himself.  Man wants to be in control of his own destiny – his destiny for life, happiness, and death.  So why is traditional marriage under attack?  It’s because man wants to decide for himself what constitutes marriage.  He alone wants to make that decision.  The creature believes that he knows better than the Creator.

But don’t forget the most important thing about the connection between Chick-fil-A and the book of Daniel is the response.  How the characters in the book of Daniel responded is so crucial.  In chapter one, poise is the response knowing God was in control; in chapter two, prayer is the response knowing that God is the only one that can help; in chapter three, perseverance is the response realizing that God might not deliver; in chapter four, praise is the response when you realize Who is the Most High God; in chapter five, perspective is the response because God’s ways are often different than ours; in chapter six, peace is the response because the most high God rules in the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomever he chooses.  The character in the book of Daniel did not respond harshly, were not mad, upset, or went off a rampage.  In fact, the respect and dignity which Daniel had towards Nebuchadnezzar, and all the prayers he offered for him, were rewarded as Nebuchadnezzar came to accept the one true God in chapter four.   

Jonesboro, AK (pic-John Redman)

Believers in Christ need to respond to others who don’t hold our beliefs with respect and dignity.  It does not make sense for liberals to have the desire to boycott companies based on their beliefs, but then again politics might have something to do with it, or maybe the money trail.  I wonder what would happen if 100 CEOs of the world’s largest companies came out with statements that clearly stated their beliefs in traditional marriage? If I were to base my consumption of goods on my beliefs then I could no longer buy gas, have a cell phone, eat at certain restaurants, stop going to the movies, buy groceries from certain stores...but wait, at least three times a day I could eat at Chick-fil-A.