Alveda King
Just before I was born again in 1983, I served two terms as a state legislator for Georgia’s 28th House District. I was a Democrat. Years later I served as a Republican presidential appointee. Along the way I remember learning that God is greater than politics and that politics can become an idol.
Coming from a Christian family that was very active in the 20th-century civil rights movement, we marched, and some died for equality at the ballot box—the right to vote. So yes, I honor the privilege and responsibility of taking part in our electoral process.
Yet for far too many, the issue of voting is still shrouded in debate. Many are still asking: “Should believers take part in the politics of this world, including elections?”
In 2008 two of my friends experienced startlingly revealing dreams about the soon-to-be “first black president of America.” Please note that America’s president is not the first black president in the world; only in America. For instance, countries on the continent of Africa have been electing black presidents for ages.
So many Americans made an idol of a man’s skin color—electing him for the color of his skin rather than the content of his character.
Never mind that racism is based upon the lie that we are separate races rather than accepting the truth that we are one human race.
Acts 17:26, “Of one blood God created all people…” YES! One race.
In 2008, amidst the skin color furor of the campaign trail, my radio co-host Emanuel Boose of cycbroadcast.com was a surrogate speaker for the soon-to-be elected black president of the United States. Just before the election, my friend dreamed of a field covered with black garbage bags. As he walked through the maze of bags, he heard a wailing cry from one of the bags. Investigation revealed that the bags were filled with aborted babies. Emanuel woke up crying, sweating and praying. He knew that he couldn’t vote for his candidate. Emanuel now had to raise his voice and his vote for the lives of the babies.
During the same time, the wife of another minister friend had recurring dreams of then Senator Obama in a hospital wearing a medical lab coat and a stethoscope. He appeared to be a doctor or medical professional.
It would later be revealed that as U.S. president, Mr. Obama would support an HHS mandate as a “health-care cloak” for abortion and harmful experimental contraceptives. The medical guise in the dream represented the invasion of deceptive medical reform.
I was angry about what God was revealing at that time. We were going to elect the most abortion-supporting, marriage-threatening president we had ever known, and skin color would be used to do this. Wow!
Yet another minister friend, the Rev. Clennard Childress of LEARN, reminded me to forgive God because God would use this president to expose racism, abortion and the attack on Bible principles for marriage in a way that we had not yet seen.
Since that time, I’ve been praying for the president and his family; and have even visited the White House twice in the last seven years to express God’s love to the president.
Now, voting time is upon us again. Yes, I do vote. When I can’t reconcile my faith to the platforms, I write in names. Yet I vote. People died for my right to do so.
So what do we do now? Let’s start at home base.
What does the Bible say about voting in elections? Surprisingly, nothing specific. Why?
Consider that in the times of Jesus the Jews were under Roman rule and, they were not Roman citizens. Therefore, they were not permitted to vote. In fact, most Roman citizens couldn’t either. Only the very wealthy were allowed to vote.
But we can see in Acts 6:1-5 that an “election” of sorts did take place.
“Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. And the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. “But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. “But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” And the statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.”
Clearly the seven were to help protect the rights of the people and settle the dispute between the Hellenistic Jews and the native Hebrews.
So it is with our government of today. Once the elected people, “politicians,” are in office, they are expected to safeguard our rights. But one difference is that in the Bible days, the people elected “men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Today, you would have to question the “good” reputation of many in office and more importantly whether they are even men and women who are “full of the Spirit.”
In the elections of 2012, Billy Graham began a campaign, “Vote Biblical Values,” in which he encouraged people to vote for candidates who espoused biblical values and morality, “men/women full of the Spirit.”
So it should be for this election cycle and all elections as well.
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SOURCE: Charisma News
Alveda King
