On both sides of the political spectrum, there's an overwhelming sentiment that what's happening in our elections isn't fair. As we approach the 2022 election, my most consistent prayer is that, when the election is complete, we will have the sense that it was conducted fairly and openly. If we have that, I believe we have a foundation to move forward. Otherwise, we are in a very difficult place.
The last two Presidential elections have brought a great deal of frustration. In 2016, a very loud chorus declared the election was not upright and forthright—they said the Russian government and others had interfered with it. That mantra carried forth for a great while, and many of our elected leaders in the nation's capital would not participate in the inauguration because they claimed it was an illegitimate election. In 2020, people on the other side of the political spectrum believed the election wasn't conducted fairly because of COVID protocols. In both elections, even the most prestigious law enforcement agencies in our nation were involved—they seem to be as politicized as everyone else.
The growing tension around our elections is evidence of the spiritual conflict happening all around us. Do you see it? The problems we face are not predominantly economic struggles or battles between nation states or political parties. Our conflicts have a spiritual origin, and there's proof of this in many arenas.
Deception, manipulation, and intimidation are all characteristics of the spirit of the Antichrist. This spirit will ultimately culminate in an individual—the most beastly leader the world will have ever known—but right now, we see those attitudes, those spirits, gaining influence in the nations around the world, not just in ours. The rational things that normally would stand against it—like logic and reason—are ineffective.
The mantra we've heard for the last several years is "follow the science." My academic career began in the sciences, so I have an affinity for it. I like equations that balance and outcomes that can be reproduced and are measurable. But science is a method, not an answer or the ultimate truth. Science is a process we engage in to help us understand the world in which we live. That's the essence of science. It's measurable. It's quantitative. It's reproducible, or it isn't science.
Science alone is incomplete and inadequate to stand in the face of a spiritual onslaught. It's the wrong tool for the challenge. We experienced this over the course of the COVID pandemic. When the virus came to us from Wuhan, China, we didn't know much about it. Over days, then weeks, then months of observation, we began to learn. We gained some experience and some measurable outcomes, and there were constantly changing responses. That's appropriate—you would expect that as you learn about something new.
The problem is that we failed to acknowledge our learning, for the most part. We clung to ideas or statements that had been previously made, even though they had been demonstrated to be less-than-true. If you dared to offer a dissenting opinion to the accepted narrative, you were threatened, shouted down, silenced, or bullied in some way. We all understood it was better to just go along.
I don't know a lot about the virus, but what I can tell you from understanding science is that science would be the same in Tennessee, California, Illinois, and New Jersey. It wouldn't change at state borders, and it wouldn't depend upon who was elected governor.
We see a similar disconnect in the discussion around climate science and renewable energy. I'm an advocate for renewable energy, but the concept—which is protected by the word "science"—has become something held in greater reverence than most people's religious faith. Our children are indoctrinated with it far more carefully, persistently, and routinely than they're ever taught a biblical worldview. That's our reality, and if you're not awake to it yet, please be aware.
Those who embrace climate science tend to be highly manipulative in their perspectives. Consider the excitement around electric cars. They may be the next great breakthrough in human transportation—I'm not arguing that—but the electricity needed to charge their batteries is still generated primarily by fossil fuels, and we just kind of step over that little science nugget. If just 25% of us had an electric car, our current energy grid would not sustain it. Electric cars could very well be our solution someday—but not today.
The deception, manipulation, and intimidation we've been experiencing have a spiritual source, yet the church has stepped away. We've been weakened, diminished, and cowardly—choosing comfort, convenience, and the fear of what other people think over upholding the truth.
That leads me to a question: Do you live with the imagination that God responds to the world's problems through His people, or do you want Him to respond through a government agency, or a committee at the church, or someone else? What would it look like if, when we began to pray, we imagined that we were going to be a part of the delivery system?
There is a spiritual struggle underway, and in order to combat the evil, we don't need to shout facts more loudly. We need to offer truth. Today, when we pray for our nation and the upcoming election, we should pray for the names on the ballot—but I promise you, it's even more important to pray that truth would once again be honored, upheld, and celebrated in the public square.
I believe the truth of God can change a nation and that if God's people would repent and turn from their wicked ways, He would heal their land. But our involvement doesn't stop at repentance. We also need to be willing to follow God and be His advocates, bringing His truth into our schools, our communities, our nation, our elections, and every place we go. It's time to lead with our faith!
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Christian Headlines.
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Allen Jackson is senior pastor of World Outreach Church, a congregation of 15,000, and founder of Allen Jackson Ministries, which broadcasts his biblical messages across the world on TV, radio, and the internet. He is the author of Intentional Faith, and his latest book, "Big Trouble Ahead," which was released from Thomas Nelson Publishers in August 2022.
