Page 62 witness of our conscience, and the witness of the Scriptures. But in making non-moral decisions, God has promised to give wisdom to those who seek it. Allow me to add a footnote to that. All decisions and plans we make should be subjected to the sovereign will of God. This is important. Planning is fine, and it is quite Scriptural. But when we plan, our inward attitude is one of submitting to God’s sovereign will, for God may decide to change our plans. In his epistle, James encourages planning. But he exhorts that all plans should be subjected to God’s sovereign will. Come now, you who say, ,Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ,If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that. But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16, NKJV) God’s sovereign will is over everything we do. Acknowledging the Lord is to acknowledge His sovereign will and to yield our plans to Him. In doing so, we have an attitude and outlook that says, ,Lord, I wish to do such and such. But only if you are willing. I submit to your will in all things.
Yes, we have a responsibility to vote! “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan” (Prov. 29:2). Because we do live in a republic where our voice counts (“We the people”), we need to know what is most important according to God’s will and determine the politician that best will uphold it. It’s impossible to say that religion and politics do not mix. Being “salt and light” does not exempt us from the political world. We should influence it. When Christians choose not to vote we open a vacuum to unrighteous legislation that now provides a greater opportunity for evil to thrive and be imposed on the will of the people, including ourselves and future generations. In the Bible, Joseph and Daniel heavily influenced governing leaders and it greatly benefitted God’s people. Likewise, we are called in Galatians 6:10 to “do good to all people.” Why would we want men and women in the office that will introduce and perpetuate unrighteousness in our society? With the blood-bought freedoms we enjoy as a country, thanks to our military heroes, we cannot sit back and refuse to exercise our rights only to further individuals in the office that will not submit to Divine Law or the Constitution.
Randy Smith