Wisdom for This Season.  By Sara Cain.

Wow! We’re less than two years away from our country’s 250^th anniversary.  We’re also approaching a presidential election. How I would love to be able to ask advice from our founding fathers! But then, I have an even better source for advice and direction; I have my Heavenly Father, the Father of Wisdom.  One of the scriptures I memorized quite young ought to be the beginning of our research and thoughts as we make our voting decisions.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and lean not on your own understanding;
 in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will direct your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 (MEV)

Trust in the Lord … this means that you will take your hands off and surrender your life to Him completely, trusting His wisdom and His will.

With all your heart … means with everything in you, holding nothing back to micromanage yourself fearing that He might remove you from something you want to hold on to.

Lean not on your own understanding…  accept the fact that your human understanding is limited to only what your physical eyes and personal experiences reveal to you, but what affects your life and your future is much broader and out of range of your human perception.

In all your ways acknowledge Him …  your life reflects unconditional love of God in your compassion for others. Your obedience to His law and His will reflects the glory of God as you walk out your life. You are the hands and feet of Jesus to the people around you. You eagerly and courageously share the story of how Jesus has restored your life.

… and then …

He will direct your paths …  His wisdom will guide you into making choices that bless you and the people around you. Following His guidance will rescue you from following people and paths that are destructive to yourself and the people you love.

There is a spiritual battle raging as the backdrop to this upcoming presidential election. As citizens of this country, we have a duty to be good stewards of what God has provided us through the freedoms and blessings of living here, and that means to vote in every election in a way that best upholds God’s laws and the Kingdom of Heaven.

There will seldom be the ideal choice, but there will always be one choice that better adheres to biblical principles than the other choice.  Throughout the bible, God called men and women to serve His purposes who were not the ideal or seemingly appropriate by human standards, nevertheless, God used them to accomplish His will.

Here is another scripture about wisdom that I find particularly interesting while discussing politics:

Wisdom’s praises are sung in the streets

And celebrated far and wide.

Yet wisdom’s song is not always heard

In the halls of higher learning

But in the hustle and bustle

Of everyday life.

Its lyrics can always be heard

Above the din of the crowd

You will hear wisdom’s warning as

She preaches courageously.

To those who stop to listen.     ~ Proverbs 1:20-21 (TPT)

This scripture makes it clear that wisdom is offered openly and freely, but only those who are willing to stop and listen will receive it.

My favorite sentence is:

Yet wisdom’s song is not always heard in the halls of higher learning but in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

This speaks to my heart because our society is so enamored of the culture of  college degrees and initials following a name, and puts the value of a person with these above those who did not take this route in their lives.  Wisdom and knowledge are two very different things. The only source of wisdom is God.  Those of us who follow God’s teachings have access to His wisdom, as much and as often as we are willing to ask.

It is not in universities where we will learn how to live successfully with other people and create communities that are safe for and respectful of all citizens, and learn right from wrong, which protects our society at large. We learn these lessons from living our everyday lives, working hard with and among other people, living compassionately in our communities by sharing what we have and what we know with others, and taking care of our families. Most of all, we learn how to build successful relationships and communities by hearing and heeding God’s Word.

This means that what we hear from God will almost always be different from what we hear from a politician’s mouth.  Most politicians were lawyers before going into politics. What that education teaches them is how to win an argument.  The focus is not justice or honor or truth. (Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is true.)  The focus is to choose a side, a person, a situation, a proposed law, etc., and hone your skills to win the argument for whatever side you have aligned with, in other words, to “sell your package”. This is a politician’s focus with the end game to promote and prolong their political career.

If you want to know what to expect from a candidate, you can track his/her Congressional voting record on C-Span and other government sponsored websites that publish their historical voting records.  You can watch sessions of Congress live on C-Span and hear what comes from their mouth when they are not speaking to voters. You can see how they interact with one another, how they conduct business, and how they shirk their responsibilities as well… note the many, many absences from sessions or abstentions from voting. You will see the authentic person rather than the one who tells you on camera they are working for you, and you will know if they are or are not!  Campaign speeches are usually written by professional speech writers who have been to law school. Need I remind you what their focus is?  Avoid the campaign speeches and go directly to the source.

Following God’s wisdom will also almost always sound different than a celebrity who is endorsing a politician.  There are certainly celebrities with integrity… I’m not saying otherwise.  But when a famous person endorses a certain politician or party, their purpose is to push the agenda that best suits their lifestyle and allows behaviors that continues to boost their success. In that respect, how is that relevant to you and your life?  When the taxes are increased, it’s just pocket change to them, but to you it could mean no more weekend outings with your family.  When they add additional taxes to support programs decidedly unbiblical, how do you feel about supporting something you believe dishonors God, and/or means you will have to cut out one of your child’s activities because you can no longer afford the fees or the extra gas to participate? I could go on and on with this, but you get the picture. Bottom line:  A celebrity’s lifestyle in no way is relative to the life you live with your family and work so very hard to support financially and to raise your family in a way pleasing to God.

So, who do we listen to?

“She preaches courageously to those who stop to listen.”

She = Wisdom, the wisdom from God that is found in His word.

We must anchor ourselves in God’s word, and go much, much deeper than a scripture or two.  We must KNOW God’s character, and by knowing His character, we will better understand His words of wisdom.

Find people who you witness the fruit of the Spirit in their lives, to study, research, and pray about politics so that God can show you how to vote in a way that will best further the Kingdom of God.  Keep personalities and party loyalties out of it. Rely on the Word of God and the revelation of God’s wisdom into your heart.

Compare the candidates’ actual political service record with how they measure up to representing, promoting, or opposing your personal needs and values. Think of the long game. Look at the laws and freedoms and opportunities that have endured for more than 200 years. What will the next administration add or diminish related to these originals? This election will not just affect the next four years, but will be influential for years, even generations to come. What laws and quality of life do you want for your children and your children’s children, and their children?

“Wisdom is a gift from a generous God, and every word He speaks is full of revelation and becomes a fountain of understanding within you.

For the Lord has a hidden storehouse of wisdom made accessible to his godly ones. He becomes your personal bodyguard as you follow His ways, protecting and guarding you as you choose what is right.

Then you will discover all that is just, proper, and fair, and be empowered to make the right decisions as you walk into your destiny. When wisdom wins your heart and revelation breaks in, true pleasure enters your soul.

If you choose to follow good counsel, divine design will watch over you and understanding will protect you from making poor choices.

It will rescue you from evil in disguise and from those who speak duplicities.”  ~ Proverbs 2:6-12

No matter who is elected, God will still be in charge, whether or not we understand how that can possibly be. But do not use this to shrug off your responsibility to be an informed, responsible, voting citizen thereby partnering with God in shaping the future of our country.