SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 82: 3-4
Luke 11: 41-44

How to Deal When Your Candidate Doesn’t Win

Written by: Alex Mize

Before we dive into the Bible, I want you to read that title again and focus on the word “when.” Reflect on that. If you had a dream election with a ballot looking however you wanted it to look, who would be on it? I’m sure right from the start, the candidates might not be just “Joe Biden” and “Donald Trump,” if they are even on the ballot at all. So, right from the get-go, essentially your candidate isn’t going to win. I think that is an important perspective to take going into these set of verses and into this devotional as it means we all can learn something regardless of our views prior to this election and also after this election, as our “ideal” candidate probably wasn’t even the one who won, even if we voted for them.

So, when your candidate doesn’t win, what do you do?

My first set of advice isn’t from the Bible so I won’t dwell on it for long.

Feel what you feel.

This isn’t necessarily just isolated for “when your candidate doesn’t win” but it 100% applies here, too. Feel what you feel. Regardless of whether you feel grief because politics is a passion of yours or whether you feel grief because the candidate might do things you don’t agree with; feel those things, and express them. Don’t let anyone get in the way of how you want, and need, to feel.

My second set of advice is from the Bible and is the main focus of what this devotion is all about:

taking action.

As we are constantly feeling what we are feeling, we should take those feelings out into the field. Our faith is based around a God who came to Earth as a man who was as counter-cultural as it came. I don’t think Jesus was a huge fan of his government, either, y’all. The Bible simultaneously prophesies and references Jesus’s ministry as a ministry of social revolutionary change.

Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people. Psalm 82: 3-4

“So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces. Yes, what sorrow awaits you! For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on.” Luke 11: 41-44

In these verses we can see that in Psalms, it is said that the rights of the oppressed and the destitute should be upheld. Lo and behold, who is the one to uphold these rights? God, Themself: Jesus. These verses are important to bring up as a solitary example as to how we can support our country without the government and even, sometimes, how we have to work against the government to support our country, like Jesus had to do in Luke 11. Honestly, the work we do fighting for those that are oppressed and destitute in society should never change, regardless of who is in office. No one should ever take a deep breath and sit back if some random person takes office. Sure, some things might seem “better” for a community with someone in office, but our action should never cease.

Continue fighting for what is right. Remember that regardless of what happens this November, we are called as Christians to bring justice to the world. Politicians aren’t called to do that, Christians are. Go fight for those who can’t.

Amen.

If you have any questions about any of this, would like to debate any of these topics, or would like some reassurance during November, let me know! I’d love to talk more about this.