SENTINEL WATCH October 13, 2008 Issue

ELECTION SEASON: PRAYER FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF GOOD TO PREVAIL

BEVERLY DEWINDT

As The Republican And Democratic campaigns march on toward their Novermber date with voters, the historic nature of this particular year—with the first black candidate for President and first female Republican for Vice President—has added interest to their efforts. But it has also led me to consider the value of government in general and of the American system in particular.

As a Mayflower descendant, I enjoy The Mayflower Quarterly magazine. One article on the ship itself said: "Its legacy acts as a symbol representative of the inherent freedom on which this country was founded. . . . If not for this ship, the flowers of freedom might not bloom so beautifully today. If not for the onemindedness of the passengers, who fixed their gaze on liberation and hopes for a better tomorrow, to whom would we look to find comfort in challenging times?" (September 2007).

Our purpose today is to keep our gaze on the liberation of all people of the world. And the greatest liberation is freedom from sin, disease, and death. To forward this goal, we can include in our daily prayers—particularly when chaos seems prevalent—a conviction that God, as divine Mind, is the ultimate governing power. Consequently, no matter which political party someone may belong to, we all must ultimately reach for a higher, more spiritual sense of government, as Isaiah indicated when he prophesied the coming of the Christ, or Messiah: "And the government shall be upon his shoulder" (9:6).