Dashboard Jesus

Buddy Christ

Soldiers say there are no atheists in a fox hole. I would bet that after Obama won re-election some of us felt like we were in a fox hole and if we hadn’t already, found God pretty quickly. It’s easy to get into a bunker mentality if Obama winning re-election was what you feared the most, if you spent the last year, like me, pinning all your hopes that America’s survival was dependent on the defeat of Barack Obama.

I’d like to sit here and say that my faith held strong despite who won, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I had put my chosen candidates on a pedestal, like idols, while God was reduced to one of those Jesus dashboard figures that sway back and forth as you speed down the road.


Because I was placing my hope in a Romney win, God had become as small and as insignificant as those flea market figurines, and my abandonment of Him, is why it was so easy to become despondent over the election results.

If I say I am a believer -and I do, than my beliefs should hold firm regardless of circumstance.  Take the biblical figure Job for example, after he had lost everything and was covered in puss oozing sores, chastised by men he thought were his friends, Job never swayed in his faithfulness to God. Yes he was in despair, angry, hurting and wondering why God had let this happen to him –but he never stopped trusting in God. I haven’t even come close to the kind of suffering that Job endured, so it should’ve been a breeze for me to rest in God even if Obama won. I didn’t and I couldn’t, I thought I knew what was best, not wanting to entertain –even slightly, that God might have other plans. Not all Christians got lost in the election, some kept their wits about them –they got involved and voted, but still kept their eyes on what was most important. This doesn’t mean I’m going to forget about politics; I will still vote, get involved, and choose candidates I think will do a good job -I just won’t let the process cloud my vision of God.

During this election cycle, I saw several Facebook posts containing articles that gave biblical reasons why Christians shouldn’t vote, and as many with arguments why we should –all very convincing. As silly as it is to place all your hopes in politicians, I think it is just as silly to relinquish the voting privilege. There are far too many people living in other countries who don’t have the honor of voting for their leaders, they are forced to put up with whatever tin horn dictator is in charge at the moment –until the next coup brings along some other narcissistic madman. Some believers sit atop their perches, making snide comments about their fellow Christians who are politically involved, they  sound prideful and arrogant as they condemn any participation in politics. It would be far worse to have the voting privilege taken away, even if we sometimes get candidates that are far from qualified for the job. As it stands, we have an opportunity to vote, and as flawed as the process can be, it is still an act worth investing in.

Sure, I wish my guy had won, and after weeks of reflection, the pain of that loss has eased up a bit. But I strongly believe that it is okay to feel sadness, maybe even despair, however it isn’t alright to abandon Jesus during that period of gloom. After the call was made for Obama, I had to pick my chin up off of the floor and do some soul searching. What I realized is that I must stand firm in my faith even if an election doesn’t turn out like I had hoped. I am a follower of Christ, which means I know that God’s plan is always better than mine, even if, like Job, I don’t see it that away.

I’m not the kind of person to wallow in self-pity for any length of time, or one that sees Obama’s victory as a sign that the “End Times” is near. Regardless of what we have in store for us over the next 4 years, I have to take solace in my Lord; this is what I should’ve focused on, even if the person I voted for had won. This was a painful process, I didn’t want to admit that I was so wrapped up in politics that I had lost sight of God –yet that is exactly what happened. Oh, how I have been humbled in the wake of all of this, but we often learn more from our trials than from the good times -and I shall definitely learn from this when the next election rolls around.

I must remember that it is a blessing that I get to live in this great country, a place where we can peacefully vote to change or keep our leaders without resorting to bloodshed or civil war. And for that I am grateful.

Alice from The Block