There was a contrast in a number of ways  such as a man against a woman, a political outsider versus a political insider, a man willing to say whatever came to mind with no filter as young people would say versus a woman who was more polished in the political sense saying what she thought people wanted to hear and it just builds from there.  There was a certain tone that continued to crescendo day by day into the theater of the absurd that we witnessed daily in the mass media and social media.  I am not able to cover everything about this election in one article but this will be a summary of various aspects of this general election from a Kingdom perspective or Christian worldview.  

I do feel compelled to first remind everyone that a general election or primary election, whether in a presidential year or not, should never be a popularity contest.  This is not the same as electing a class president at school.  It should never be about who is the most charismatic, the most handsome, the best dressed or even the youngest.  The most educated person may not always be the most qualified for a certain post.  By now, we can all see that there are many politicians who have degrees in various fields such as law or business, but still do not know how to improve our educational system or elevate our standing in the world.    

One thing that far too many Americans do not know or remember is that all politics are local.  A judge has more say over your life than a President.  A judge can take your house, your car, your job and even your freedom.  A judge can determine how many years you will serve in prison.  Judges can determine if a corrupt political system can destroy you or they can decide to intervene.  People need to stop showing up every four years and ignoring the other years when Governors, County Commissioners, Mayors, Senators, Representatives, City Councils, School Boards, Magisterial District Justices, County Judges, State Judges and other offices are being elected.  These local, county and state offices have more of a direct impact on our lives than the person living and working in the White House.

This is something that can’t be said enough and that is if you do not vote then you should not complain.  Someone once said many years ago that we actually get the government we deserve either by voting or not voting.  I heard a young woman say the day after the election that she was so upset.  I asked her why and she said Trump won.  I asked her if she voted and she said no.  I told her not to waste my time.  I have no time to waste on people who do not vote and then want to complain or bellyache about it.  I heard many people including Christians say that they were not voting as if that sounded intelligent.   It is your choice if you do not vote but all minorities and women should never forget that there were people who put their lives and families on the line so that everyone in this nation could vote.  Your vote is a way to make your voice heard.

The Church of Jesus Christ should never vote based on race, money or criteria above the issues that the Holy Bible speaks to.  Christians should be concerned with issues such as but not limited to religious freedom, ending abortion or at least ending the late term abortions, ending same sex marriage, standing against the LGBTQ movement, and supporting the nation of Israel.  I have met some African Americans who felt betrayed, disappointed or disillusioned from voting for Barack Obama for President in 2008 and others in 2012.  Many felt if they voted for him then he would bring about many changes or improvements for African-Americans, but it did not work out like many thought, which may have been for various reasons.  The Obama administration seemed to focus more on the gay rights community, Muslims and immigrants than blacks.  Hence if you vote purely on race, you will be disappointed in this nation.  The Church must be the institution on the earth that leads the way for governments to rule righteously.  Israel always flourished and prospered when the kings hearkened to the voice of the prophets.  Therefore if America wants to grow, improve and prosper then the politicians can no longer ignore the men and women of God.  

Some elections bring out a new base of support.  A lot of blacks who never voted before came out in record numbers in 2008 to elect Barack H. Obama.  In this election cycle, it appears that Donald J. Trump was able to garner support from a base of whites who have felt left out or left behind during the last 8 years.  Whether we agree with it or not, this base showed up to make their voice heard.

Some elections are more about what the people are against.  It is not always about the person who won but sometimes it is about what or who the people did not like or support.  The DNC stated that Hillary lost because the Democratic voter turnout was the lowest in 20 years.  This election may have been more about being against Hillary rather than being for Trump.  It could have been about choosing the devil I don’t know over the devil I do know.  As much as people talked of having a women President, it appears that a lot of people did not trust Hillary including women.  Whether it was the Wikileaks scandal, Hillary destroying emails, the Clinton dead friends list, the Clinton Foundation, Benghazi, or the changing stories about why Hillary stumbled to the car, there just seemed to be too much to overcome for the average person, let alone a Bible believing Christian.  There were just way too many scandals to ignore for where there is smoke, there is usually fire.  If the Democrats did not come out in big numbers then the DNC may not have considered that people in their own party did not want Hillary or they wanted Bernie Sanders or they just wrongly assumed that the people who voted for Barack Obama would automatically vote for her.  I know Christians who are Republicans and I know Christians who are Democrats.  In this election, some Republicans voted for Hillary and some Democrats voted for Trump.  The low Democratic voter turnout is indicative that some in that party did not like the candidate that their party offered, they did not trust her and then others just felt like this whole political scene here is all staged.  Also some Republicans did not particularly like their choice for various reasons but may have voted for Trump anyway because they did not trust Hillary.  I’ve heard many people say that we were in a lose lose situation, no matter who won and that came from a cross section of folk. 

The media is another area that we could write about in another separate article more fully.  There are many mainstream media issues with ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and CNN.  Social media may have played a bigger factor in this election than any others in the past especially with all the post election news concerning fake articles and unsubstantiated stories.  Wikileaks dominated a lot of talk during this election cycle.  Some commentators said during and after the election that Donald J. Trump is a master of the media.  Denzel Washington summed it up best recently when he said that “if you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed.  If you do read the newspaper then you are misinformed.”  He goes on to say that the long term effect of too much information is the need to be first, not to even be true anymore.  Denzel said to a reporter on a video clip that the media has a responsibility to tell the truth, not to be first.  He said that in our society there is such pressure to be first and get it out there, no matter who we destroy and no matter who it hurts.  This is so very true unfortunately and we will cover that in future as well.  Some feel that the media is the most powerful army on earth for they influence millions of lives in one way or another.  The media has the capacity to invade every single home, regardless of ethnicity, culture, income, education or any other factors.

The political parties in America which are Republican, Democrat, Green and Libertarian all need to take a deep look at themselves and their platforms.  Independent voters, especially minorities and poor people, often see the Republicans as weak on civil rights and workers rights while the Democrats are viewed as weak on issues of morality and spirituality by independent voters, especially those who are Bible believing Christians.  The other parties are not really given a fair shot at winning a Presidential election based on how our elections and our government is set up.  I have often said that if all the Bible believing Christians in America formed a Kingdom Party or Christian Party that it would certainly be formidable.  It could take the best out of the other parties and eliminate the bad.  All the parties leave much to be desired hence there is a desperate need for a political party in America that is based on godly values, integrity, freedom and justice.

Some say that Trump did not deserve the black vote  but I wonder why those same people feel like Hillary Clinton deserved it.  She called blacks super predators before.  Her husband, Bill, finally admitted that he created the school to prison pipeline in the USA when he served as President.  He had all these years to apologize but he said it now since he knew it could limit his wife’s chances at winning.  Trump is who he is while she masqueraded as something that she is not.  Remember Hillary idolizes Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, who created the eugenics program to solve what she called the Negro Problem in America.  Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany used her eugenics program in Europe against the Jews and other groups they deemed as undesirable.  How could Hillary look up to Sanger knowing the vicious, cruel and insensitive things that she said during her lifetime?  Since black lives matter, then those black lives first begin to matter in the womb.

It could be said that many people are drowning from all the post election drama.  There were people calling off work sick to their stomach, migraines and severely depressed the day after the election.  There were protests and riots in the streets.  Various groups called for recounts in certain states, while petitions were all over social media.  The Electoral College is set to meet on December 19 and there is a push to have the electors to change their votes so that Hillary will win.  Some fear that this could lead to martial law.  Is Donald J. Trump already backing away from campaign promises and if he is, will he pay for it in 2020 if the USA is still around?  If the rapture of the Church has taken place, then it won’t matter.  The CIA and FBI have both looked into if Russia meddled in our election via hacking of our emails.  This election just seems to go on and on even though it is over.  I heard people tell me that they would be glad when the election was over but I warned them that it may not be over even once the election was finished.  Only time will tell but we need to pray for sure.

It appears that the Church grieved the Holy Spirit during this election in many ways.  The truth be told, I know many that were grieved before the election and even worse after it was over.  If we are grieved, just imagine how God feels.  Christians were swearing at each other, verbally assaulting each other, embarrassing one another and demonizing those who believed different.  Some could even discern that racial divisions in the Church grew stronger or deeper depending on the sermons that some pastors preached.  There is nothing wrong with disagreeing but when it becomes shouting matches and our tone gets vindictive or harsh then certainly the Holy Ghost is grieved.  One Christian who is proudly Republican actually stated in a Facebook post that he doesn’t understand how Christians could be Democrats.  On the other hand, I’ve known Christians who are Democrats to say that Republicans are too mean and selfish to be Christian.  How can Christians worship the same God, preach the same Jesus and read the same Holy Bible but be so diametrically opposed?  The answer to that would need to be covered at another time.  This election seemed to expose the Church in America for being as divided as the world.     

There needs to be a healing of our divided nation.  We could easily be considered the divided states of America.  There has been an awful lot of election fatigue this time around maybe more than we have ever witnessed before in this modern era.  It truly felt like this election lasted forever and it was going to never end.  There was a lot of harsh feelings, bitter emotions and resentment.  Even the Church was exposed for being divided therefore some may say that the Church needs healed before the nation can be healed.  It makes one wonder if the Church needs to be delivered before the nation can be delivered.  The Church must fast, pray and forgive.  But as nasty as this political season became, let us not forget that the Trumps and the Clintons were friends or acquaintances for some time.  I would not be surprised if the Clintons came to have lunch with the Trumps whether in the White House or at another location.

One thing we can all agree on is that we will never forget the 2016 Presidential Election.  We need to never forget that Jesus Christ is King no matter who is president.  

 

Submitted by,
Apostle Dr. A. E. Sullivan, Jr.