The phone is ringing as I step from the shower. I drip my way to answer, only to hear the question, “If the election were held today, would you vote Democrat or Republican in Congressional District 12?”
I groan, then tell the bright and cheery voice that my husband and I decided several years ago we would not participate in telephone polls. The voice sputters, thanks me for my time, and hangs up.
I told the pollster the truth. We believe polls negatively impact the democratic process by projecting who will win ahead of the election. Those voters who have not studied the pamphlet and not made a decision based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience or character, vote for the poll leader simply to say they voted for the winner.
It leaves me wondering how effective the election process is.
But this week I read the blog: “To Appreciate the Right to Vote, Live in a Country that doesn’t have it” Writing colleague, Ann Gaylia O’Barr, writes about the importance of our elections. As an adult, Ann worked overseas as a Foreign Service Officer in the United States Department of State from 1990 to 2004. Assignments included tours in U.S. embassies and consulates in Saudi Arabia (Jeddah and Dhahran), Algeria, Canada, Tunisia, and Washington, D.C. (Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration and Bureau of Intelligence and Research). She watched 911 unfold from the other side of the world.
In her blog Ann wonders why we take our right to vote so casually. Having lived in countries where choosing one’s leader is not an option, she has had foreign citizens stare at her absentee ballot as if it were an “object of reverence”, wishing they had the right to vote where they live.
Ann’s blog helped adjust my attitude toward the upcoming election. The pollsters, the ads, and the piles of mail all represent the protected right of every citizen to live in a country where we have a say in who will lead us.
God makes it clear in His word that leaders are put into power by His divine appointment. Romans 13:1 (NKJV) “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”
Likewise we are exhorted to pray for our leaders in I Timothy 2:2 (NKJV) The apostle Paul says “. . .first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”
So I would say to you, before you vote, pray over your choices. Seek God’s input. But above all, exercise your right as a citizen to have a say in who will lead us. Don’t take the privilege lightly. There are those among us who hope you won’t use your vote in order for their agendas to be shoved to the top. Guard our freedom.
Additional Author’s note: If you’d like to read Ann’s blog in its entirety click on the link below. Ann gave me permission to use the link. http://blogs.christianpost.com/bindings/to-appreciate-our-right-to-vote-live-in-a-country-that-doesnt-have-it-12374/
I’d like to recommend Ann’s books. I just read Searching for Home (available at Amazon Books and Barnes and Noble). The tale is a delightful mix of romance, foreign intrigue and travel adventure all compiled together in one great read. Other books by Ann Gaylia O’Barr: Singing in Babylon, Quiet Deception, Distant Thunder and a Sense of Mission.