Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. [NIV]
It’s been a riveting (yet somewhat grueling) election cycle, hasn’t it? A steady barrage of campaign ads deluge the airwaves more than the waters of Hurricane Helene swamped North Carolina. Social media offers up a continuing flow directing us toward who to vote for, or more accurately, who not to vote for. It seems to me we’ve come a long way from JFK’s inspirational words of “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
Who will give me the most stuff? appears to be the only question politicians think people are asking. So highly paid political consultants make their appeal to the narcistic nature of who we’ve become. It’s a sad commentary about our self-focused culture.
Elections remind us of the remarkable opportunity we have as citizens to vote for our leaders. Not everyone in the world enjoys this freedom. So we ought never take this privilege for granted. Every time I go into a voting booth, I can’t help but cast my ballot with a profound sense of gratitude. And of duty.
We Americans love our freedom. But freedom is fragile in any country. The protections provided in our Constitution give us a shot at living fulfilling lives, but offer no guarantees. Only one source offers us total, sustaining freedom.
Jesus sets us free. Free from every bond that tells us we will always be incomplete unless we have more stuff. His sacrifice enables us to live in the kind of freedom that both satisfies and endures through life’s twists and turns.
I would like to tell you that I’m a recovered news junkie, but that’s probably not quite true. However, I know I don’t have to let whatever the news cycle of the day might bring encroach on my freedom. Freedom to live out what every coin minted in the USA states: In God We Trust. Not, government, not fair elections, not the false freedom that preaches self-indulgence, and definitely not my stuff.
This election, in the midst of the frenzy, I’m trusting God. And I hope you are too.