Election Anxiety

Steve Bateman at TGC

I do not know if you have seen the advertisements yet, but did you know there is an election coming up It is a pretty significant one.

And with an election of this magnitude there can be anxiety

Be prepared for a deluge of desperate pleas, dire warnings, accusations and rumors.

The sense of panic will heighten as we’re told, once again, that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. The result will be a national case of political anxiety.

The anxiety in churches is partly fueled by Christianity’s declining influence in America. The church at Philippi knew something about living in a spiritually hostile environment.

Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything.”

Anything. Even politics.

The answer to political anxiety isn’t political surrender. Christians should engage in the political process for the common good, but there is another condition. Anybody know what the verse before this says

Philippians 4:5–6 ESV

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

That is a good way to enter the election season as a Christian

“Reasonableness” is the fair, equitable, and impartial thinking required of a good and wise judge. It was originally an expression for a “balanced, intelligent, decent outlook . . . a considerate, thoughtful, attitude in legal relationships.” A reasonable person is judicious—not given to extreme opinions, carried away by passions, abusive in leadership, harsh in speech, or reactionary to personal insults. If anxiety is the disease, reasonableness is the cure.

If anxiety is the disease, reasonableness is the cure.

This trait is essential managing the mountains of divisive political messages assailing us every election cycle. Here are four traits of reasonableness from Philippians.

1. Reasonable people do the right thing and trust God with the outcome.

Only in Philippians does Paul exhort believers to live “worthy of the gospel [politeuesthe]” since “our citizenship [politeuma] is in heaven” (1:27; 3:20). These words, unique in Paul’s letters, convey political overtones. Caesar is lord, but Jesus is Lord of lords. Caesar will soon judge Paul, but Jesus will soon judge Caesar. Many knees bow to Caesar now, but every knee will bow to Jesus then. Knowing he’ll share Christ’s future victory motivates Paul to share Christ’s present sufferings (3:10).

Throughout Scripture, success is doing the right thing and trusting God with the outcome. The outcome may not impress the world: and it may not end with the result we wanted. Just as Daniel, Paul and Stpehen

Our nation’s current political turmoil might tempt us to compromise our ethics to win. If “they” lie, insult, slander, boast, break oaths, and cheat, so will we. Instead of trusting God, we’ll trust in political expediency. The end (my guy wins) justifies the means. DO whatever it takes

We’re enticed by doctrinal compromise. Pastors, whose primary calling is the ministry of the Word, may be persuaded to enter political alliances with false prophets to increase access to political power. Is it reasonable to break the commands of Christ with the goal of shaping a government that makes it easier to keep them?

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”?

2. Reasonable people accept the outcome as God’s sovereign plan.

Momentary passions like anger, fear, greed, and lust compel us to justify the action we prefer—even when it goes against reason, justice, and truth. James Madison understood the danger of passion-driven politics, arguing that the Constitution tends to guard citizens from the “tyranny of their own passions.” Unreasonable people ruled by emotion take the short view.

Paul warns against the moral reasoning of people whose “god is their belly” (Phil. 3:19). Reasonable people won’t trust their gut on any issue—ethical, theological, or political. Rather, they let the Scripture inform their moral choices while taking the long view.

That’s why reasonable people see God’s hand in adversity. He daily permits what doesn’t please him, even the passion-driven sin of our political opponents. He causes our present losses to contribute to our ultimate joy. Yes, by doing the right thing, Paul ended up in prison. But because prison prevented a personal visit then, we have the book of Philippians now. And becoming a loser in the world’s eyes “served to advance the gospel” as he shared the good news with Caesar’s household (1:12; 4:22). People went to heaven because Paul went to prison.

Maybe the upcoming election will go the way you want. But even if it doesn’t, “our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Ps. 115:3). This doesn’t mean we give up on the political process. But it does mean we play by the rules, even if that loses votes. No matter the outcome, we “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4)—and thereby show our neighbors the true object of our worship.

3. Reasonable people check facts.

Paul’s world and ours is full of political propaganda. The same Roman roads that carried Pauls letters carried the message of thieves and liars and false prophets.

The same media we can use to propagate truth carries all the oppositions message. How do you know what you see, read, and hear is true?

Paul’s letter traveled the same roads with a competing message. There were trolls and frauds on this imperial internet. Many “enemies of the cross,” the couriers of heresy, traveled these roads slandering God, forging letters in Paul’s name, and frightening believers (Phil. 1:28; 3:18; 2 Thess. 2:2). There’s nothing new about fake news.

So Paul warned them to check the facts as they consumed the news. Since Eden, falsehood has increased anxiety by fostering division. To experience the peace of God, we should consistently think about “whatever is true” (Phil. 4:8), and this assumes we work to discern the truth.

4. Reasonable people pray.

Paul urges us to replace anxiety with prayer (Phil. 4:6). Before God’s throne, we ought to intercede “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life” (1 Tim. 2:1–2). In effect, that life describes the religious freedom protected by the First Amendment, and we pray that our freedoms endure. All in authority, not just our guy.

To keep the information highway open for the gospel, God may choose to work through our principled political persuasion, honorable nonviolent protest, and well-reasoned argument in the public square (Acts 16:37). But in the end, the peaceful lives we rightly desire will come about only by the power of a gracious God.

Yes, Paul exhorts you to be famous on earth for your reasonableness. But in heaven, you must be famous for your requests. Then “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).