Part 1 discusses biblical traits believers are to seek for daily, election year or not. Part 2 discusses some biblical guidelines regarding believers in the public square.
What are some major ISSUES we face as a country this year? (This list is not exhaustive.)
- National Debt. Now $35 trillion. The Bible says being in debt is a kind of slavery. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” (Prov. 22:7) This overspending and debt drives inflation, because each dollar has less buying power. In news that received scant attention, in late 2023, the interest payments on the national debt passed $1 trillion per year. BOTH parties have caused this, by spending too much!
- How we support Israel. “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:3)
- Gender and protecting women’s sports and right to safe spaces. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27)
- Parental Rights. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6 ESV) The Biden/Harris FBI branded concerned parents at school board members as “domestic terrorists.”
- Religious Freedom. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Josh. 24:15b) Some realms are for parents and families to decide, not the state.
- Border and National security; legal, orderly immigration. (Nehemiah Chapter 3 recounts the Building of the Wall around Jerusalem to protect it from those who wanted to kill them.)
- Support for police and Law and Order. “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Rom. 13:4 NIV)
- Activist judges. A judge is to make fair judgements, based on what the laws are that the legislatures have written, not impose their personal views and agendas on others and have double-standards. “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.” (Deut. 25:13-16)
- Right of Conscience, like freedom for those who opposed vaccine mandates. “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” (Acts 24:16 NIV)
- Taxation levels. The prophet Samuel warned Israel against wanting a king. 1 Sam. 8:10-22, v. 15. “He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. V. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.” Biden and Harris have made the unprecedented claim to start taxing unrealized capital gains. Historically, one pays tax on the gain from an investment, like stocks or a house, after one sells it. But under this proposal, you would pay taxes on an investment even while holding it, even if you haven’t sold it yet!
- Environmental Protection. Early in the Bible, (Gen. 1:28 NLT), we read, “Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.’” This shows we humans are to exercise responsible stewardship over the earth. Many “Green Energy” forms actually damage the environment, like vast forests or farmland being covered with solar panels. Moreover, some claim vibrations from wind turbines in the oceans are to blame for increased deaths of whales.
- The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The SPR was begun in 1975, in the wake of the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, as a kind of “bank” to have oil on hand in case of supply disruptions. It reached a high point in 2010, with 727 million barrels. However, the Biden/Harris administration drained it to 347 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983. Critics allege they drained the supply in order to keep gas prices low and their political approval high, even though this puts the nation at danger. “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down” (Prov. 21:20 NIV).
- Peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9 ESV). This verse is primarily about believers making peace among conflicting people, and not necessarily a geo-political statement. However, it is a fact that during the Trump years, there was peace in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza. Now, there is war in both.
Right to Life
The Gospel is the Gospel of life. “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deut. 30:19). “You shall not murder (Ex. 20:13 NIV).
Pres. Trump has recently backed off many of his earlier pro-life statements. But for decades, pro-lifers sought to end Roe vs. Wade. That finally happened by the US Supreme Court in the Trump years. It’s now again a state issue. We must fight this battle in incremental steps. Many Democrats have opposed “Infant Born-Alive Protection Acts” that require medical attention to babies that survive botched abortions. The Left even went to the grotesque step of having a van perform abortions outside the Democrat National Convention in Chicago, in summer 2024.
Since all have sinned, we need a system of checks and balances, separation of powers. James Madison of Virginia is called “the Father of our Constitution,” and it’s believed he got inspiration for three Branches of Government from Isaiah 33:22. “For the LORD is our judge (Supreme Court), the LORD is our lawgiver (Congress), the LORD is our king (Presidency); He will save us.” Isaiah 33:22 (parenthesis inclusions are mine).
God’s design for us is freedom (John 8:36). Yet our system is under relentless attack. Prominent Democrat leaders including Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and others have made public announcements about their plans to do the following, if given the chance. If these are allowed to happen, they would basically destroy the balanced two-party system and three-branch checks and balances we have had for generations. Elon Musk has claimed if these steps below come true, the whole nation would become a one-party state like California. However, the US would actually be worse than California now. That’s because “the Golden State” can only get so bad now, since residents can “vote with their feet” and flee to other states. But, if the whole nation were like California, there would be basically no other place to go to.
- Pack the US Supreme Court with three or more far-left judges, thus going from 9 to 12 or more Justices, essentially destroying the independent Judiciary Branch.
- End the Electoral College. Biggest states would rule the smaller ones. (The New York City area has around 20 million people, while Virginia has 8 million, and West Virginia has only 1.7 million. The biggest few cities would basically chose all presidents, while smaller states would become virtual “serfdoms.” )
- Statehood for Washington DC and Puerto Rico, adding four new Democrat senators, essentially destroying the current balance in that chamber.
- End the Senate filibuster that requires 60 votes to take action. Getting to 60 votes requires lots of compromise and thus avoids extremism. In contrast, mere 51 votes reduces the need for compromise and allows a slender majority to ram its will through over the powerless 49.
- Make voter ID illegal nationwide, which would be the end of free elections. (Requiring photo ID is already illegal in California.)
- Pass “Hate speech” laws… but who gets to decide what “hate speech” is? The government? That spells the end of free speech, that the First Amendment is supposed to protect.
- Censorship in big tech, social media, web searches, etc. This too means the end of free speech. “Freedom of Speech requires freedom of reach.” Speech is only free if you’re able to have platforms to reach an audience. (British police are now telling Brits you can’t say “God bless you” if it might “cause offense.”)
At a Harris rally in Wisconsin, two students called out “Christ is King” and “Jesus is Lord.” Kamala Harris, who usually reads from a teleprompter, instead spoke what was in her heart, smiled, and said, “You’re at the wrong rally.”
Her crowd cheered.
Vote wisely.
(This concludes a three-part series.)
–Scott Dreyer