“Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens” (Exodus 18:21).

Can you imagine what would happen, if, as a result of this day’s vote, the U.S. Congress, the state capitals, the city halls, the judicial chambers, the sheriffs’ offices all across America were filled with “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness”?

This is not the place to dwell on the fact that all too many office holders are just the opposite, drunk with power, swollen with pride, practicing deception, driven by greed, and motivated all too often by an antagonism toward Christianity. Nor is it the place to recollect the once-cherished freedoms which have been lost—particularly lost to Christians.

It is perhaps a time to remind and encourage each American reader to exercise the precious right to vote, voting especially for godly men and women who fit the above description, and to remind all readers to pray, not only for the elections, but also for those in office.

But from what source will these godly leaders come? “Train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6), the Bible tells us, implying more than training in truth and character. Parents should recognize, in their children, God-given aptitudes and desires, and then train the child to reach those God-ordained goals.

God chooses individuals to be pastors and missionaries, but He also chooses individuals to be policemen, or generals, or senators, or governors, or presidents. If Christians don’t fill these posts, then non-Christians will—perhaps even anti-Christians.

Let us all recommit ourselves to being the salt and light He asked us to be. JDM