A lot of Democrats (including those of the Christian persuasion) have been making a lot of noise about Obama winning the Presidency. They haven’t been making as much noise about a Democrat House and Senate but the noise has been there nevertheless. At points some of these same people (Christians included) come up to me and say “So what are you going to do now that McCain lost?” My answer is exactly the same if McCain had won.

You see as I said in my post regarding Romans 13 and responding to the question about Christians voting, the underpinning principle is that God establishes the powers that be yet requires people to be active participants within the systems that He has allowed to be established. That would mean that a Christian operating under Hitler’s administration is no different than a Christian operating under an Obama administration or a Reagan administration or a Stalin administration or a Nero administration. The Christian understands that God has put that person in power (for good or for ill) using whatever means that were in place to allow the individual’s ascent to power (be it wrong or right) for whatever ultimate purpose not currently revealed (be it judgment or blessing) with the expectation that all these things will eventually pass away.

Admittedly I have some huge reservations with an Obama presidency, a democrat Senate and a democrat House because the three get to elect and insert a bunch of Supreme Court Justices who get the job for life. These guys wind up being absurdly important in what rules become unconstitutional and might decide along party lines. But even so, the judges are also allowed to get there by God be it for good or for ill.

Does that absolve my responsibility in this system? Not at all: I’m to do my research, vote according to my conscience and finally allow God to do what He wants. Afterwards I pray for my leaders, pray that they have wisdom in ruling well and even pray for their salvation—something I would’ve done for McCain, did for Bush as much as Clinton.

As a Christian I’m not to expect some horrendous change for the worse or a tremendous change for the better: I’m just to wait on God to act while being wise about the times around me. As a Christian, I continue to act to the fullest extent within the culture God has called me to act in, not in rebellion or strife but in subjection, respect and exemplifying how God works in this given social system.

God is working and would have been working if McCain was president. He may have altogether different reasons from allowing Obama to become president than what people may have voted for but that’s not for me to know. Heck, he might have reasons that completely turn America around and embrace God. The fact is I don’t know but God allowed it so I continue on living in this world waiting for the future world.

Because that’s the ultimate goal, isn’t it? That this world is passing away and a new world is to be put in place. This sounds really mystical and maybe even sort of depressing but no such luck. I’ve already mentioned how God is working in the present. Now I mentioned what I expect God to do in the future. That just means that I take part in what’s happening but I don’t hang my hopes on any nails in the current wall. I think Paul says it the best:

What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.