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As I write this, election results are still coming in. Many of us have been watching those returns with bated breath in expectation that the results of this election will determine the course of the nation! As Christians, we are anxious because we believe the election of our next President will impact the moral character of our country, and most of us have a clear choice in who we believe can best do that.
There is probably some truth in this, despite the fact that there is a great divide among Christians about who that person should be. So, we go to the polls and wait with bated breath to hear the results… to live with the consequences of the American Democratic system and the vote of the people. We believe that this is how we collectively discern God’s will… not just for our nation, but for our churches, for the selection of our pastors, and for the direction of our Baptist (and other) denominations and conventions. We place our hope in the election of our next leader.
Still, we know that in all of these elections, despite our best efforts, many of the people who vote for a leader vote not out of a desire to discern God’s will but out of self-interest, ignorance, and the subtle persuasions of political campaigns, media, and emotion.
We might as well roll the dice or flip a coin.
That was what the early church did when they decided to replace one of their fallen leaders.
They cast lots!
Sure, they had winnowed down the candidates to those most qualified, but ultimately, they left the choice to chance…to the roll of the dice or a flip of the coin. At least, that is how our more educated and sophisticated culture seems to understand it!
How could this be…. even in what we consider to be a more primitive and naïve culture?
Maybe it is because, at their core, the people of the Old and New Testament held on to two very important beliefs: God's sovereignty and control over our world and God’s willingness to bless His people despite the brokenness and sometimes even the evil nature of their leaders. Consider how God blessed the nation of Israel despite Saul's overt and evil actions in his attempt to hang onto power and, later, David's own sinful nature and the actions he took to satisfy his lust and cover up his sin. God still blessed the nation of Israel during this time.
So, as I sit here consciously not listening to the election results out of my own anxiety about who we will elect, I try to take hope not in the people's choice but in the grace of a God who loves us and will provide for us even when we make the wrong choices. Our hope comes from the Lord… not politics.
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