UPFRONT March 17, 2008 Issue

Voting—and giving voice to God

PATRICIA KADICK, STAFF EDITOR

Hardly a day goes by these days that somewhere in the world elections, or changes in government, aren't front and center in the news.

Staff discussions here have resounded with the question of how the Sentinel can effectively respond. Undergirding our discussions is the conviction that prayer is powerful in bringing wisdom to voting and governmental decision-making. Because it evokes the power of God, prayer gentles human opinions. It transcends speculation and emotionalism. It rests us on a solid acceptance and faith in "God's disposal of events" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, by Mary Baker Eddy,p. 281).

This week Elizabeth Schaefer writes that we can all experience God's blessing in the particulars of everyday life by giving voice to "the universal law of God ... written on everyone's heart" (p. 10). And it's reassuring how the Bible weaves the goal of securing health of body, family—and, yes, of government, too—throughout its narratives. Within each healing story is the expectancy that ultimately "the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6)—on the Christ, or God's message of good speaking to each one of us. Ron Ballard's article "Prayer and the political process" reiterates this point: "Government by Mind [God] instills integrity, and values honesty and reliability" (p. 9).

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