Driving down the road, or walking around the neighborhood, one can’t help but notice the yard signs—election season is here. Presidential election season, to be precise, and a polarizing cycle at that. As a citizen of Christ’s kingdom, I don’t vote. But that doesn’t stop me from having opinions about the candidates. Unless you’ve completely ignored the news for the past eight or so years, you probably have opinions too. The question is what we’re going to do with them.

Last month, I came to a place where I realized I needed to sit down and take a hard look at how I view politics. I say that I believe God is in control of all things, including elections, and that He raises into power who He wills, but do my day-to-day thought patterns reflect this? I do not know what the outcome of the election will be. If, when the races are called, the results are not to my liking, will I accept them with a deep-seated faith that God’s permissive will has allowed it? Do I believe that anything God allows, He is able to use for His glory and that He will give us grace to bear whatever lies ahead? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God, or am I worrying about tomorrow?

I have my preferences, but do I have the humility to admit that I may be mistaken in my assessment of what is the lesser of evils (for no politician or party is an untainted good), and that the dashing of my hopes may in fact be the grace of God intervening for our good? On the flip side, the church sometimes advances most in times of adversity. None of us wish for adversity, but am I surrendered to the will of God if he chooses to allow it? The purposes of God and the success of His kingdom is not inextricably tied to the continued flourishing of these United States. Kingdoms, nations, and empires have risen and fallen throughout history, yet God’s kingdom has remained. It is natural and good to wish for the continued existence and health of one’s earthly nation, particularly when it is one that has allowed such religious freedom—the Bible explicitly commands us to pray “for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life” (1 Timothy 2:2, NKJV). But God has also judged and destroyed nations, and I cannot honestly say that America is undeserving of judgment. I hope and pray that she may yet stand, but the final determination by right belongs to God.

When looking at the big picture, how consequential is this election? We are bombarded with the message that the election is all-important. Politicians blame the “other side” for everything from the crime rates, to the price of necessities, to the division and polarization in the country. The opinion columns are full of hand-wringing about what will happen if so-and-so is elected. Taken all together, you’d get the sense that politics is the source of—or the solution to—nearly every problem facing humanity. But the Bible says differently. It roots humanity’s problems in Adam’s fall, and points to their solution in the death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ. But if we aren’t careful, we can start to view politics from the world’s perspective. I intellectually know that Christ is the answer to the world’s problems, but I still have to check my habits. Do I care as much about what is happening in the kingdom of God as I care about what’s happening in politics? Am I more concerned about the troubling trends I see in the church or the troubling trends in this country? Do I put more energy into edifying the church or being an armchair political pundit? Am I more willing to share my political opinions or my faith?

Jesus came to earth over two thousand years ago, born in humble circumstances. He attained no political office, He commanded no military, yet He changed the course of world history. When the light of His gospel shines forth from His church through acts of love and service, morally exemplary lives, and the faithful proclamation of the truth, it has the power to heal the broken, lift up the poor, and redeem even the worst of sinners. We are the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus in this world today. We cannot afford to lose focus and be sidetracked by the political turbulence of our day. Rather, the turmoil of this world should remind us that we are looking forward to the day when Christ will return and set the world to rights—when it will be said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Revelations 11:15, ESV). But until then, we have work to do.