Politicians Want Our Vote, God Wants Our Life

Today is Election Day in the United States. Perhaps for a while, the bombardment of political ads will cease. Maybe, like me, you have grown tired of every politician telling you how he/she can miraculously solve every problem known to man. The reality is, no politician running for office can solve the world’s ills. God, however, can! Politicians seek our vote. God wants more. He wants our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This becomes especially important post-election day. Please read more.

During the recent weeks, some ministers and priests jumped into the political fray. Some explicitly sermonized about who to vote for, while other were more subtle. Some condemned entire political parties. Few shared the entire Christian narrative. God does not favor one party over another. God cares for all people; He wants to touch and heal each person from their brokenness, and He wants you and me to do the same. Does this mean God wants us to stand up and protest for one political position or the other? Personally, I don’t think so.

Let’s ask ourselves this question. What would Jesus do? If we want to know how we should react to all of this heated political rhetoric, we need not look any further than the Bible. What did Jesus do?  Jesus never led a protest against Rome. He never specifically spoke out about the injustices of the Roman empire. He never led a protest to end the thousands of crucifixions taking place at the hands of Rome, even though He had foreknowledge that He Himself would be crucified. He never protested the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. So, what did He do?

Jesus touched and healed people, one person at a time. He taught moral values. He taught the laws of God. He taught us to be merciful and forgiving while at the same time offering mercy and forgiveness to those He encountered. He taught us to love one another. In short, He prepared and equipped His disciples with the Gospel message so that they could go out and change the world. Now, He wants us to do the same, no matter what side of the political aisle we are on.

Our civic duty is to vote. Our Christian and moral duty is to form our voting decisions based on Godly truths and Biblical principles. More than just voting with a well-formed Christian conscience, our Christian responsibility calls us to be active in our faith. Through Baptism, we have become citizens of God’s Kingdom. Now we are called to bring the message of Christ to the world.

I don’t know who you were pulling for in this election and I don’t know who will win. But I do know one thing, spiritually speaking, it changes nothing. We are still called to go forth to spread the Gospel message one person at a time.

The greatest problems in our country are not things politicians can change. The greatest problems we have are spiritual and moral problems. They are the moral decay of society. You and I, not the politicians, are the ones called to fix these problems.

Neither political party affiliations nor national patriotism should be at the center of our life. God should be. He alone created us. He called us by name. He commissioned us to share His Good News with everyone. We cannot and must not abdicate this responsibility to any politician or political party. We must go out every day, not just election day, to bring about the Kingdom of God on earth.

On January 20, 1961, President John Kennedy, in his inaugural address said this, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” With this thought in mind, we need to stop looking at what’s wrong with everyone else and ask ourselves this question. “How have I added to the anger, fear, racism, hatred and division in the world?” Then we need to ask ourselves an even more important question. “What needs to change in me? What needs to change in my spiritual life so that I am a blessing to the world?

Ronald Reagan famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Let’s go out today, as disciples of Jesus Christ, united by the Gospel of love, and tear down the walls that divide political parties, divide races, divide countries, divide neighbors, divide families, and divide us as Christians.

Finally, may we always remember the words of Matthew 5:9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

 Heavenly Father, you alone are sovereign. Politicians and political platforms come and go. Your Kingdom lasts forever. Your word alone is truth and life. No matter who is elected to political office, help me never to shirk my responsibility to help grow Your Kingdom. In doing so, help me to always have love in my heart, kindness in my words and justice in my actions. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

As always, I love to read your comments below as well as hear from you personally by clicking here.


Special Note

Today’s message was inspired and heavily influenced by a YouTube video I recently watched by Father Dave Pivonka, who is president of Franciscan University of Steubenville. His message touched my heart. If you would like to see his entire video, click here

Brian Pusateri
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14 Comments

  1. Jane Ward on November 3, 2020 at 9:13 am

    Another tearful message. God Bless You, Brian, and Father Dave. I’m keeping this one.

    Thank you!

  2. Doug Miller on November 3, 2020 at 7:33 am

    A breath of fresh air. Amen and amen and amen.

    God bless Brian!

    Doug

  3. Paul Coletta on November 3, 2020 at 7:30 am

    Thanks Brian, for prompting us to think about how we respond. I think Jesus was a radical in the sense he did confront things all through his ministry on earth. Instead of asking “what would Jesus do?, I like to ask “What did Jesus say”. Since I’m not Jesus and in many cases, I don’t know what Jesus would do, asking what he “says” brings me back to the scripture. I think it’s really about how we respond and not whether we respond. Jesus helps us in this to get our sights and hearts turned to Him so we respond with caring and love and not self-pride.
    God Bless all.

    • Brian Pusateri on November 3, 2020 at 8:11 am

      Paul

      Thanks for your point. You make some great points.

      Brian

  4. Stacie on November 3, 2020 at 7:06 am

    I recommend listening to the homily by Fr Mathias at St Patrick. His point is clear and addresses human dignity . ….the true message is what is important, not “who” to vote for. May God bless our country and its inhabitants as well as all humanity ….including politicians, and may our hearts strive for doing God’s will every day and not just on Election Day. Amen to the previous comment, let peace as well as love and forgiveness begin with me.

    • Brian Pusateri on November 3, 2020 at 8:09 am

      Stacie

      Thank you for posting and sharing your thoughts. God bless!

      Brian

  5. David Nabity on November 3, 2020 at 6:58 am

    Well said Brian. I’ll share on Facebook.

  6. Dennis Doughty on November 3, 2020 at 4:06 am

    Thank you for your rational thoughts in a time when the irrational seems to rule the day. I do believe that we have to be true to our background and beliefs. We have to make the difference in our lives. We have to have an appropriate response to the events of the world, disciplined and reasoned while coupled with prayer and reflection. God bless you for your very positive message.

    • Brian Pusateri on November 3, 2020 at 4:59 am

      Dennis

      Thank you for your post. I hope as Christians we can keep God before politics, and remember we have a higher calling.

      Brian

    • Dsvid Underwood on November 3, 2020 at 5:30 am

      Amen Brian!
      The video talk from Franciscan
      Dave also was very impressive as to
      Think about how would Jesus respond.
      Confrontation rarely solves anything.
      Love which is God can solve anything.
      Peace begins with me….only God can
      Give me peace.

      • Brian Pusateri on November 3, 2020 at 5:33 am

        Dave

        Thank you for your post and input on this important topic.

        God Bless
        Brian

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