By Jack Alvey
Alvey is rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Our country will elect a new President on Tuesday, Nov. 8 and what concerns me most is not who will take the oath of office in January.  Instead, I am troubled by assumption that believes once this election is over we can return to life as usual.  While I’ve thought this myself, I believe we are fooling ourselves with this statement.

I am afraid the damage caused during this election cycle is almost irreparable. The heart and soul of our country is angry, anxious, and exhausted. I am afraid the results of this election will further entrench the fan bases in their fox holes. And I am not sure either major party candidate possesses either the willingness or the trustworthiness needed to be able to bring our country back together post-election.

Furthermore, this unraveling isn’t something that began during this election cycle or even over the past eight years.  If you look at the history of our country, this unraveling, I believe, has been poised to break through to the surface since even before the Revolutionary War. Obviously, we have seen flare ups over the years with events like the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement — both of which Selma was at the heart of.

While our country is built upon the ideals of freedom and inalienable rights, we are a country that has yet to fully live into this vision established by our forefathers.

We have certainly made courageous steps in that direction with the abolition of slavery, the women’s right to vote, the Civil Rights Movement, and today with gay rights.

But it seems that the more and more we put our trust in the leaders of this world to move us closer to the ideals set out in the constitution, the more we regress as not only a country but also a people who show forth God’s glory in the world.

Frankly, it is terrifying to see how much stock we are putting in this election especially from those whose true leader is not of this world! No doubt the election is an important one and we should exercise our right and privilege to vote.  But in whom do we put our trust?

As we see in scripture and in history, there is no movement of man that is ultimately successful without guidance of our Father in heaven.

Regardless of who is elected the next president, our full faith and trust in God Almighty should not waver. God is big enough to work out his plan of salvation through even the most fallen of leaders. Don’t believe me? Read the Bible!

Our God is in the business of bringing forth fruit from the unlikeliest of places. There is not a perfect candidate to lead this country forward. In fact, there never has and there never will be the perfect leader to take the oath of office as President of the United States.

The more quickly we drop the illusion that one of these two candidates will make our break our country, the more quickly we can rise to life through the only one who can lead with righteousness and truth — Jesus Christ our Lord.