Commentary: Donald Trump or Joe Biden? It doesn't matter who wins if this nation continues to reject God

Politics have never been more inadequate than they are now in their ability to address the crises our nation is facing.

Never has it been more futile than it is today to place one's hope in a politician, a political party, or a system of government to right the wrongs that ail our society.

Our way of life has been ravaged by circumstances outside of our creation or control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by problems of our own creation, such as racial inequity and the deadly abuse of power by those tasked with enforcing our laws.

Faced with a pandemic, we are abused by mayors, governors, medical experts, and even a president who cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of the many if it comes at their own personal or political expense.

Faced with racial grievances and injustices, we are condescended to by politicians who pander and proclaim and scold while they fail to pass meaningful reforms. We are bombarded with virtue signaling from corporations and celebrities who seem to believe changing names and brands is the solution to our deeply rooted issues.

In both cases, the sinfulness and corruption of mankind is evident everywhere you look. People riot, loot, and murder, committing horrible acts of injustice in protest of injustice. Black lives are lost in protests that pretend to believe that black lives matter. A virus takes thousands upon thousands of lives as people bicker over them, hoping to frame statistics in a way that suits their political persuasion. We turn an issue as small as wearing masks in a viral pandemic into a battlefield.

We are lacking in love for one another. We don't forgive often enough, or extend enough grace to others. Empathy seems nonexistent. Giving the benefit of the doubt is treated as a weakness or flaw. We are splintered by disagreements about the most fundamental questions of our existence; questions of human nature and the definition of life, or the existence of objective morality.

Our society is defined by chaos as different individuals and factions rage about in mutual destruction, lost like sheep without a shepherd—lacking direction and anxious with fear and a sense of vulnerability.

Why would anyone think Donald Trump can fix this in the next four years? Why would anyone think Joe Biden will restore the positive trajectory of this nation? Why would you put your hope in a Republican majority or a conservative Supreme Court? What has any of that changed that gives you hope for what it might change in the future?

Many, if not most, of our political leaders are dishonest, corrupt, cowardly, or incompetent, or some combination of the four. Even the ones you like, or the ones I like. The very nature of politics requires most participants to compromise their own values and integrity to stay in the game.

And a game is what it is. Politics is a cruel, high-stakes game in which one side prevents the other from solving problems so they won't get credit for it. It's a game of stalling and obstruction and superficiality.

Every election, no matter who wins, causes more division and hostility, which will only get worse as the results are questioned more aggressively.

We are a nation that was founded on Christian principles and morality, and we are now largely ruled by people who outright reject those principles, and that morality. If our faith in God and our adherence to the teachings of Jesus Christ were what caused this nation to become great, then we should expect nothing else but further disruption and failure as we drift further from that path.

The crises of the present day are not political problems, or race problems, or public health problems. Our problems are spiritual, and no politician can truly change the hearts of men and women.

By all means, vote for the best candidates you can. Vote for the Christians, vote for the conservatives, vote for the people who display wisdom and moral character. Participate in the political processes and use all the influence you have to put the best possible leaders in office.

But don't put your faith in them. Because whether your side wins every election, or loses every election, the resulting decline of the United States of America will continue unless we turn our hearts back to God.

"...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV).