If US presidential politics were just a spectator sport, this would be one of the greatest years ever. It features unexpected plot twists, loads of melodrama, intriguing personalities, deep mysteries, and even violence. But presidential politics is not a mere spectator sport. Patrick Mahomes’ next touchdown pass will have little effect on the education of your children, the safety of the street where you live, the availability and cost of housing in your community, or the future of your job.
But US Presidential elections impact all of that. They touch everything from the price of hamburgers to the fate of entire industries. Such elections alter the course of nations — and not just our own. They also alter the course of each of our lives.
Some such elections are more consequential than others. If Stephen Douglas or John Breckinridge had defeated Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1860, history as we know it would be dramatically different. Five years later at Ford’s Theater in Washington, history changed course again. How different would the world be if the man assigned to guard Lincoln’s presidential box had not left at intermission to join friends at a nearby tavern?
History often turns on small things, even a small movement of a man’s head. Maybe you’ve seen photographer Doug Mills’ Trump rally photo that includes the streaking blur of a bullet just after passing through the top of the former President’s ear. It was that close. You don’t need a computer animation to see that if his head had been held in a slightly different position or at a slightly different angle, he would have been killed.
Though President Trump was spared, the event was still deadly. You know about Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old former chief of the Volunteer Fire Department of nearby Buffalo Township, who threw himself between the shooter and his family. His daughter Allyson wrote on social media, “He was a man of God, loved Jesus fiercely, and also looked after our church and our members as family…. He died a real-life superhero…. He shielded my body from the bullet that came at us. He loved his family. He truly loved us enough to take a real bullet for us.”
David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 54, are said to be recovering now after receiving critical injuries during the same shooting. These things are painfully real. Presidents appoint people to lead agencies like the Secret Service. Those choices matter, as do our choices on election day.
And so we pray. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”
Those words were written during the reign of Nero, one of history’s most notorious men. The point is to pray for all who govern us, good and bad. Scripture then gives pragmatic reasons for such prayer — so that we may live “tranquil and quiet” lives “in all godliness and dignity.”
What we call politics is neither a game nor a show. We pray for our leaders, but we do not pray for God’s blessing on a leader’s evil intentions or wrong ideas. We pray knowing that God can open blind eyes. He can grant enlightenment and a change of heart. He can help even bad leaders to make good decisions. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
As we progress further into the last days, we will see things that are not at all tranquil. But at such times, more than ever, we should pray for leaders. To do so blesses whole nations. It also blesses those we know and love, including our families.
