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I admit that I like being the fan of the team that wins the most. Who doesn’t? Except for a few people in the world who like to pick underdogs and cheer them on to be different, most of us feel like winners when our favorite team or player wins, right? When it comes to the election process, our culture, especially the media, who gives us all the information on our favorite past times, values those one top over those on the bottom. That is why the presidential debates only include 2 candidates, the two with the best poll statistics. This is why even though Election Day is not until November 8, the commentator on the first presidential debate says, “One of these 2 will be the next president.” How does he know? The polls are like a cloudy crystal ball revealing the greatest possibilities for the future.

The other viewpoint the Christian should avoid when we come to the polls is political primacy – all of our problems can be solved through the use of political influence, power, and policy. Politics plays an important role in this world. The Bible tells the history of many political figures who were written into the story of Christ Jesus. But politics isn’t the answer to all of our problems; Christ is. Politics, rightly surrendered to God, is a tool in His hands for His kingdom purposes. We should neither avoid it nor give our full allegiance to the political powers that be. We “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And what God wants is you and me, our whole hearts. God wants our vote. And He wants to make our votes count in the upcoming election.

I had hoped that the first of the presidential debates on last Monday would’ve set my mind at ease a bit about the new presidency that is coming at us in a little more than 3 months. But it didn’t, and I’m sure as I’ve talked to others that many of you feel the same. Who can we trust? Who can fix our $22 trillion national debt? Who can provide national security against the threats of radical Islamic terrorist groups and mass killings from within? Who can heal the racial hurts and establish policies and systems that are fair for all, both rich and poor? Who can be the inspiring character our children look up to and want to be like? After last night’s debate, I need help. Election day is November 8 and I want to be decided by then. What do we do?

The Court of Honors ceremony had just concluded. As people were making their way back to the fellowship hall for refreshments, a young boy who had just joined our Trail Life USA troop stopped his father and an adult leader with a question I overheard. He asked, “Why did the man handing the staff grab it back when the young men went to take it from his hand?” The Trail Life leader explained, “To receive the standard (a wooden staff representing the highest level of Adventurer) is to receive the responsibility that comes with it. He wanted to make sure the trailmen understood the importance of what they were doing”