Politics

"Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (Ecclesiastes 4:13-16).

Read the passage above again, substitute the word "president" for "king," and you'll begin to get an understanding of the current state of American politics. The Teacher nails it. We're told from a young age that "anyone can succeed...you could even be president!" And so someone sets their mind and heart on that and gains popularity...for a time. Then someone else catches the attention of the public and people rush to support that person. Then that person is rejected and someone else is popular...and on it goes. (That's why, I believe, it's ludicrous to even talk about "front runners" when we're still several months out from the primaries not to mention over a year away from the election itself, but I digress...)

The Teacher knows the futility of political power. It's a passing thing. One day you might have it and the next day you don't. And he lived in a monarchy. If that was true for him, how even more true it is for us who live in a republic. "This person" has great ideas today. Oh, wait, "that person" has great ideas now. And on and on we go, chasing after the wind. How soonafter an election do people become unhappy with the person they just elected because they aren't changing things fast enough?

If the Teacher is Solomon, as tradition suggests, this passage holds yet another irony. After his death, his son is that very youth who did not listen to the wise advice of his father's counselors. Instead, Rehoboam listens to his drinking buddies and finds himself suddenly without much of a kingdom. (You can read about it in 1 Kings 12.) He is left with two tribes and his rival takes the rest of the kingdom (ten tribes) away from him. Israel is never again united. Political power is fleeting. It is a chasing after the wind.

This does not mean we shouldn't vote. Christians should be among the best of citizens. We should and must exercise our civic duty to elect the very best person we can to public office. I sometimes hear Christians lament that none of the candidates are perfect, that none of them line up with "my" feelings and beliefs exactly. No, they probably won't. We can only elect humans and none of them are perfect. They will disappoint us. And their power is only fleeting. But we are still called to elect the very best person we can, the one who, we believe, can lead us in the best way. That's our responsibility and our duty. If we don't vote, we leave the decisions in the hands of others and we have no recourse to complain.

But we must never put our sole hope for change and redemption in the hands of those who have political power. That is a chasing after the wind. It is meaningless. The only ultimate hope is found in the unshakeable kingdom of Jesus Christ. Vote, and then trust in Jesus. He will never lead us astray.