Mr. President!

Well, yes, one of them will be announced as President of the United States when all of the votes are tabulated and the Electoral College certifies the results. It's been the most hotly contested election in my 71 years because of the candidates themselves and the polarities of the two predominate political parties. It is estimated that more than $5.2 billion has been spent in the presidential race and another $5.6 billion in congressional contests around the country. The White House is up for grabs as well as controlling interest in both houses of Congress. We've listened to party platforms, candidate blather, all the games humans can play with the truth, promises on top of promises, media bias, group dynamics, religious twists and turns, and just about every imaginable political scheme. Technology and social media have brought it into our living rooms in spite of our efforts to safeguard our children. Election 2020 displays us divided as never before. The American dream seems more fairly tale than real right now. Lord help us!

Whether it is Mr. Trump or Mr. Biden should actually be irrelevant to me. Of a truth, I do have personal preferences about their party affiliation, stances on a catalog of campaign issues, and all of the other distinctions that place them in one camp or another. Even so, all of those distinctions slip to the margins when #46 is announced. When the oath of office is administered he will be Mr. President to me. Scripture then becomes my new norm for whoever is elected. So, what then is the biblical instruction about my reaction to #46---

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except

from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists

the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur

judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no

fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his

approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he

does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries

out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to

avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay

taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all

what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is

owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Romans 13: 1-7, ESV

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving

made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a

peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing

in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the

knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God

and men, the man Christ Jesus,

1 Timothy 2: 1-5, ESV

These texts remind us that Christians are expected to submit, do good, respect, and pray for those who lead our nation. The highlighted portions give us the specifics of that relationship. This week we will have a new President and administration. Whether they are our preference or not, we must obey these biblical instructions.

Whoever it is, I plan to call him Mr. President!

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