History tells us that it was in Ancient Greece in 508 BC where the earliest form of democracy was implemented. However, the Greeks had something like a “negative” election, that is, every year the male landowners were invited to vote for a political leader who they wanted gone from their position. So, they did not vote candidates into office but they voted them out.
I wonder how that would play out If that would happen in our days. Nevertheless, the voting system has progressed to becoming the preferred form of political leadership choice in modern democracies.
Having lived in Brazil, Portugal, United States, Mozambique, England, Chile, and South Africa, all of which have some form of elections, I have come to understand that elections can resemble the hiring of a service. That is, the marketing beforehand is always better than the customer service afterwards, because what is promised is rarely delivered. So, as we engage in the voting process, we must not be illuded by the deceiving promises that we hear but convinced by the proven realities that we see.
Still, it can be a tricky exercise for even the most experienced ones. Maybe a helpful example comes from Samuel, the veteran prophet, priest, and judge from the Old Testament, who, listening to God’s desire, was able to avoid wrongly anointing David’s siblings to rightly anointing David himself, for David was the right one to eventually become King.
Perhaps it is time for us to make our voting exercise a prayer issue, asking God to enable us to better discern between the different candidates and their platforms. And then after choosing whom to vote for, continue to support in prayer whoever is elected regardless of being our choice, for the task is greater than anyone’s possibilities.
- How can marketing campaigns deceive us?
- How can we best choose whom to vote for?
(God’s criteria for choosing right, 1 Samuel 16:7 / God’s request for the support of the chosen, 1 Timothy 2:1-2)