Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2026 Blog #39
November 2, 2026
Tomorrow is election day in our nation. I’ll be going to the polls to vote. I’ll be joining hundreds of people in my polling place. Others have voted early or through absentee voting. I imagine that such a process would be easier for me, but I still enjoy walking to the polls and casting my vote. I first got to vote as a college student in Michigan, and I haven’t missed a general election since. I appreciate my right to vote and I enjoy doing it.
There are a few things that bother me about elections. Please indulge me as I offer a few complaints but still encourage you to get out and vote.
First, I hate leaving the polling station and having people ask me how I voted. I haven’t seen this recently, but I have seen it in the past. It is not anyone’s business who I voted for, and it is not my business who you voted for.
Secondly, I don’t care for the way some people make idols out of political parties. I know people of every political party who know that their party happens to be angelic, and the candidates of the other party are demonic. We all know that this isn’t accurate. Do we get so fanatical about our political party that we make idols out of these parties. If so, be careful, we are violating one of the ten commandments.
Thirdly, many people exaggerate the impact of an election. I first voted in college in Western Michigan. This was Gerald Ford country. The campus, and the adjoining counties were actively campaigning for Ford. They demonized Jimmy Carter, even though he was a Baptist Deacon. Several college students I knew, claimed that they would move to Canada if Carter was elected. Of course, Carter won and the nation did not come to an end.
During the next election, I was a student of New Brunswick Seminary. Most people on campus were politically liberal. They knew that the nation was fine with Carter as president, and they feared that Reagan would have us in a nuclear war.
Carter did not cause the nation to end, and Reagan did not get us into a nuclear war. We may or may not like the results of the policies of these two presidents, but there was no need to talk about “doomsday” scenarios. Tomorrow’s election will not lead to doomsday either. Who we elect is important, but let’s not exaggerate how important it is. No matter who wins the election, my life will change little, if at all, the next day. Life will continue for most of us following the election.
Fourthly, I get annoyed when people link the mission of the church to election outcomes. Several years ago, I attended a meeting of the Bergen County Council of Churches on the day after an election. The president of the council was appalled at the election results and asked how we can do our ministries after the election results. This inquiry angered me a bit.
I replied to the president, “our Christian mission doesn’t change. We show Christ to the world.”
But the president of this group persisted, “having this person in office will be an obstacle to our work.”
“No,” I said. “The church was growing in the Roman Empire when Caesar was ruling. How can any politician stop the church from being the church?”
We are called to be the church no matter who is elected. Let’s not forget that we are Christians above all else and do our Christian duty.
Lastly, I get angry when I hear that people don’t vote. I view it as a patriotic duty to vote. Soldiers died to preserve our right to vote. Men and Women received beatings in the Women’s Suffrage movement, and the Civil Rights movement to grant others the right to vote. I sometimes think that voting should be mandatory and those who don’t vote should be fined.
Years ago, I knew a woman from Haiti. She came here as a political refugee when her uncle, who was active in the Haitian government was killed and his family members had their lives threatened. This woman described voting in Haiti where a government soldier stood behind each voter with a rifle to ensure that the voters were voting for the incumbent politicians. After she received her United States citizenship, and her right to vote, she loved voting and was appalled that so many Americans did not vote when they had the right to vote with a secret ballot.
Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine from church was lamenting that all he saw on the TV was bad news and election campaign ads. I agree, it does get old watching candidates slander other candidates. The advice that I gave me friend was to turn off the TV and read the Bible. The end of the Bible is clear; God wins. At each election time I also like reading Psalm 2. It puts our elections into perspective.
Psalm 2: 1-4
Why do the nations conspire, and the people plot in vain? The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and his anointed saying, “Let us burst their bonds asunder and cast their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs: the Lord has them in derision.”
Yes, elections are important. Please vote. Don’t tell me how you voted. That is your business. Don’t ask me how I voted. That is my business. Please don’t make a political party into an idol. Please don’t forget that God is the real power, with much more might than anyone that we elect.
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