First, I just want to say how grateful I am to live in a free country where we are able to vote for our leaders, whether state or presidential. As we’ve all seen after election day, nobody can ever be happy with the outcome, but we must remember our true authority is not on earth, but rather our found in our Heavenly King. In Romans 13, Paul talks about God and government and how God has placed them in authority (v 1). Sometimes we don’t understand why, or what His purpose is in all of this turmoil, but He has a plan that He is working out in each of our lives daily. It is then our duty to honor those He has placed in authority roles, because it honors God. Of course we may not always agree with what the leaders may say or do, (and we don’t have to if it contradicts what Jesus teaches us), but we still must respect the position.
Ultimately though, we do not have to worry. As St. Augustine states “Love God and do as you please.” As followers of Christ, our most important goal in life is to love Him. For when we love somebody, we want to get to know that person deeply and know find out all the little quirks about them. We want to do everything we can to make them happy and please them. From love, all things stem: patience, kindness, self-control, goodness, peace, grace and mercy, you get the idea. As anybody who has been in love can attest, “love makes the world go round”. And really, it does. Anger, hate, and jealousy tear people apart, but love… Love makes a difference.
So when we love God with this agape kind of love, what we do to please ourselves will be pleasing to God. That’s all we need to worry about. We don’t need to fret over who the president is or what laws are getting passed because we just need to focus on loving God first, then our daily lives will be pleasing to him.
Stay joyful,
-L
Abundance of Joy 