On Elections, Faith and Politics: Thoughts on Tuesdays elections Raised to Walk Podcast

Early voting has ended in the midterm elections and Election Day is Tuesday.  Many in America see it as a turning point, there is much at stake.  Locally, we have a big fight brewing.   Ted Cruz is defending his senate seat from challenger Beto O'Rourke.  You might have heard of him.

I already decided almost a year ago that I would not again give my vote to Cruz (I wrote about that here), but right up until the day before early voting started, I was still conflicted about how I would handle my vote if I was not going to vote for Cruz.  Should I vote for O'Rourke?  Should I write in a candidate or should I leave it blank and not vote for that race at all?

And what about the other races?  Greg Abbott is the Number One enemy of public education in Texas and has made it his mission for the past couple of years to do all he can to dismantle it, turning it over to private companies and following the path of failure down which Devos led Michigan schools.  My first thought was to write in Joe Straus as a protest against the brownshirt-like[1] actions  of[2] Republicans following[3] Abbott's lead who censured Straus on his way out.  (This happened to Sam Houston as well.)

What to do?  It was not an easy decision because I have been a diehard Republican my entire life.  It is completely engrained in me to always support Republican candidates.

But what do you do when the people you have always supported have acted in a way that you can no longer support?

Breaking Free of Party

This is going to be a long, sort of rambling post, but I promise it will come together in the end.  Part of the reason I am sharing this here is that a large percentage of this site's visitors coming looking for information on the discerning of spirits.  Yes, elections and voting are related.  I will tell you my story to explain and it begins with a personal confession.

I did not vote for Obama and I did not support him as president.  I was not happy when he was elected.  One day, I was driving home and a car had their Obama bumper sticker displayed and I had this overwhelming urge to ram the car.  I am not making this up.  The feeling was so strong that it shocked me and I thought, "What is wrong with me, this is not right."

I had just come out of a very hard season and a situation where I believed I had been very wronged.  I understood the importance of forgiveness . . . And I had forgiven the people involved.  I had prayed to God to forgive me of my bitterness, that I chose to forgive them, and asked God to forgive them as well.  This was totally out of obedience and, in the beginning, a completely intellectual exercise because I did not feel forgiving and didn't even for a long time afterward.

Jesus talked about not letting those who wrong you enslave you emotionally.  If we receive an unjust judgement, we are to go the extra mile.  We are to pray for those who persecute us (and Christians were actually being physically persecuted when this was written), and we are to bless those who curse us.

In order to get beyond the bitterness and turmoil of the situation, I had to go further than simply praying to forgive.  I began praying for the people involved asking God to bless them . . . Every day . . . For a very long time.  A long time because that is how long it took for God to change my heart and release the bitterness (I'm stubborn, what can I say.  He has to work hard on me.)

When the car incident happened, it got me thinking.  Why would I ever feel this way towards someone that I don't even know who has done nothing to me other than vote in a different way than I had.  It was ridiculous, there was no reason to feel that way at all . . . And I knew the problem was with me.

So I began doing the same thing that the Holy Spirit had used to get my heart right before in the other personal situation . . . I began pray for Democrats.

If I saw I bumper sticker, I would pray, "God, bless their hearts."

As I drove by a yard