This post originally appeared at https://wifamilycouncil.org/radio/press-on/

2024 | Week of November 11 | Radio Transcript #1592

Donald Trump has been elected the 47^th president of the United States, making him the first president to serve two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892. Wisconsin was yet again a major and critical battleground state; our ten electoral votes went to Trump in an election, decided by a margin of about 1%, a margin in keeping with the last two presidential elections here. Trump’s national win this time was clinched by Wisconsin which put him over the threshold of the necessary 270 electoral votes.

At the federal level, Republicans gained control of the US Senate. This is significant as the Senate has the power to confirm the next president’s Cabinet picks and fill any Supreme Court justice vacancies. The high-profile Wisconsin Senate race between incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde came down to the wire, with Baldwin winning and two third-party candidates acting as spoilers.

Several seats nationwide in the US House of Representatives are still very close, but it appears Republicans will maintain a slim majority in that house. In Wisconsin, Republicans have 6 of our 8 US House seats, with Democrats holding just two—one in Milwaukee and one in Madison.

At the state level, Republicans held on to majorities in both the state senate and assembly but saw those majorities significantly decrease, largely as a result of new legislative maps forced on the state by a rogue state supreme court.

A high-profile referendum was also on our ballot: a constitutional amendment to specify that only U.S. citizens can vote in Wisconsin’s federal, state, and local elections. That amendment overwhelmingly passed.

Maybe your preferred candidates won, or perhaps they didn’t. The reality is that voting is just one major aspect of Christian duty, but it is not the only one.

In truth, as Christians, as always, win or lose, we press on. We all have the same path forward post-election, whether we are pleased or disappointed by the election results. That path is to continue living in the light of Christ, recognizing that Christ is King. Our hope is never placed in any government or elected official.

The fact is that our work as Christians is never done; our duties remain—including being good stewards of the government God has given us.

Elections are just one vehicle–albeit a critical one–to help ensure that laws that protect our basic rights are enacted at the local, state, and federal levels. But laws are rarely permanent; they can often be repealed by different elected officials in the future.  Ongoing interaction with our elected officials is critical, graciously but firmly holding them accountable, especially on issues related to marriage, family, life, and religious freedom.

The work of a Christian must be cultural, too. That work can be as public as advocating at the State Legislature to protect unborn children in the womb; it might also be privately ministering to the young couple that’s considering divorce, volunteering at a pro-life crisis pregnancy center, and even ensuring that our own homes and families reflect godly principles.

Very importantly we are also clearly commanded to pray for those who are in authority—whether we agree with them or not. In the opening verses of I Timothy chapter 1, Paul, writing with the pen of inspiration, says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be 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.”

Significantly, Paul also goes on to tell us that “[t]his 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.” And that’s the crux of why we pray for those in authority—it pleases our God Who wants everyone, including elected officials in America, to know the Lord.

Whether we are pleased or disappointed by the election results, we must remember that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

We know our world is broken by sin. And we know as Christians, our battles will always be tough. But no matter the outcome of any election, we press on for truth and righteousness, in obedience to Christ and for the sake of the Gospel and for the good of others.

For Wisconsin Family Council, this is Julaine Appling, reminding you that God, through the Prophet Hosea, said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

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