“What really matters is how God sees me. He isn’t concerned with labels; (but) He is concerned about the state of man’s soul.”

–the Rev. Billy Graham

 

By the time you get my next post in two weeks, the election will be over. Many of you have voted already. I prefer to handle it like I did my high school term papers: wait until the final day!

You will have endured the ordeal of an election cycle and the onslaught of political ads. (I’ve never heard anyone say they enjoy those ads, have you?) To believe them means everyone running, regardless of party, is either an ax murderer, pedophile, or tax cheat … or maybe all three!

All candidates take shots across the bow. It’s the nature of the game. But it means very little. Think of all the criticism President Biden has taken over the last nearly four years. Once he passed the torch to his vice president, she became the target of the Administration’s political opponents.

Uncle Joe’s pretty much been left alone. In fact, he’s teetering on going from POTUS to Mr. Irrelevant, even while still sitting in the Oval Office. Tough business, this thing called politics.

I’ll go out on a limb and say if former President Trump were to disappear from the political arena, the DOJ and district attorneys would back off and look for other, more newsworthy prey.

I also believe a public figure as widely popular as Oprah Winfrey, were she to run for office, would suddenly have half the country disparaging her.

All this to say, our candidates don’t matter. Well, they matter, but they don’t really matter. They come, they serve their time, and they go … and the country endures. Think of the president you thought we’d never survive. But we did! Our founders brilliantly devised checks and balances that circumvent the abuse of, and control of, political power. Even POTUS’s hands are tied regarding many decisions. So, our great nation rolls on, as it has for over two centuries.

This year, one candidate has characterized the other as an existential threat to democracy, while one claims the other is an existential threat to our nation. Pick your poison. Both claims are simply political hyperbole, meant to scare the electorate and sway their vote.

Accepting the premise that our political choices aren’t the most important thing then begs the question: what does truly matter? I’d venture most folks would say their faith, family, closest friends, and health–people and things we take for granted until they slip from our grasp, or at least threaten to.

Start with faith, or the upper case, Faith, indicating a belief in God, the supreme power who is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Even non-believers have faith, though it might just be the vapid belief that they are in this alone, with nothing but a void when life on Earth ends.

Faith informs how we conduct our lives; the way we demonstrate our decency, honor, reliability, and work ethic. In turn, living those virtues enriches our family, friends, and others we touch.

These things have permanency, not transiency. When we’re gone, and people peel back the cover of our lives, these are the things we want them to see. These are the things we want to be remembered by.

These are the things that matter most.