Choosing Leaders

Election here in the Philippines is fast approaching. This time we are to choose senators, congressmen, mayors, vice mayors and other local officials. Pati pala party list. Many Christians churches have taken a hands off policy when it comes to choosing or electing leaders.

In the Old Testament, I read that God is definitely interested in who will lead a country or an empire. He chose Saul to be the first king of Israel and then rejected him when King Saul disobeyed God. God then anointed a shepherd, David, to replace the current King. Although everybody including David and Saul knew that the Shepherd will soon replace Saul, David did not dare to oust Saul because he is also God's annointed. David waited for God's perfect time-- the time for Saul to die. In view of this, many pastors teach that Christians or churches should not oust their pastors. Or that Christians should not support moves to oust the leader of a country. That is a godly principle.

But I also read in the Old Testament that God used people (many of them unbelievers) to oust leaders of countries or empires many times through wars or bloody upheavals. This is clearly God's intervention or call it punishment for the abuses done by leaders or empires.

The Christians' dilemna is that most of the candidates are not Christians. Whom to vote? I cannot offer a Solomonic advice. We can only pray that God will use these candidates to do His purposes.

This May 2007, Filipino Christians should exercise their right to vote. But first, seek God's will on whom to vote. Our vote may be God's way of intervening in the life of our nation. Or our ballots could be God's gavel to judge the abuses of the current administration. Whether our chosen candidates will win or not is not the ultimate goal. Our foremost aim is glorify God when we vote. We only hope that the winners will help in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Or at the least they would not hinder God's work through His churches.