The American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer once echoed the belief: “The next President needs to be a man of sincere, authentic, genuine Christian faith.”

But just as in times when the children of Israel demanded for a king of their own, initiating only a downward spiral … it is either that we discover that the righteousness of the best are filthy or we cannot converge given the dynamic of the times on what constitutes virtue.  Is the authentic man strict or tolerant?  Is the sincere man wise to be silent or bold in controversy? What is Christian faith and how do we recognise the genuine brand? Times of human choices tend to be times of prevailing ignorance.

Samuel was once irritated that men who cannot discern right from wrong wanted to have their own king … God reveals the agenda behind this apparently noble desire.

I Samuel 8 [5]  And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. [6]  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. [7]  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

Men have always elected, irrespective of the methods they chose or their good intentions, to have a vassal to administer their grand program of rejection of the purposes of God.  The excuses of the age of Samuel and deviant children are not accorded any attention by God who understands real motives and sees thoughts before they alight.

Every election has always focused on the wrong problem …finding Mr. Perfect with perfect family and morality …rather than dealing with the overarching issues of rejection of God in all realms of life.  This does not advocate we elect cheap rats into office and even as Saul was tall, charismatic and seemed to fit the bill … God already foreknew this was a walking disaster perfectly suited for a people that abhorred repentance. Jesus had always known he would be hated when he told the parable … in Luke 19[14]  But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.

Calling nations to repent appears not as germane to the issues of the day as the important calling to vote for sincere leaders unless wen consider the wisdom in Proverbs 8[16]  By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

The best and worst will only rule by the mercy and permission of God. This implies that our elections may seem to serve us well, but the problem of a displeased God will always haunt the most sincere dispensations of governance.

Amu Sullivan wrote in Time Magazine  “Often in modern politics, however, the conversation dwells at length on the question of religious motivation, which supporters and detractors alike believe tells them everything they need to know about a politician. The conservative supporters of a Republican candidate see opposition to homosexuality or evolution as evidence that the politician will support their entire agenda. And liberal detractors use the same beliefs to belittle the candidate as backwards and anti-science. Sometimes they’re both right. But not always. There are limits to what we can know about how a President would respond to real-world problems in real-time. And it’s their decisions, not their deity, that really matter.”

David confesses in Psalm 139[2]  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. … that God has unlimited knowledge of how everyone will respond to everything in every situation … even decades ahead.

Times of elections are particularly important times for prayers, to seek God’s forgiveness and mercy, to repent and call people back to their maker.  Far more important than discerning rash promises of men … that even those who pronounce have no way of knowing if they can keep.