--- id: 20160901_politicians_and_god title: BLOG - Politicians and God category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: election-anxiety-to-divine-sovereignty sentiment: Convictional emotions: - Concerned - Steadying - Challenging keypoints: - 2016 election season featured unusually bitter attacks and threats to leave the country - Intelligent patriotic friends still risk short-sightedness when leadership hope is only political - Ultimate leadership decision rests with God, not merely November ballots - Believers must pray for the nation, politicians, and Spirit-directed hearts - Colossians 1:17-18 affirms Christ's supremacy — in Him all things hold together summary: > Amid the 2016 election's bitter attacks, Dean Rush challenges friends who threaten to leave the country if the other party wins. He argues leadership ultimately belongs to God, urges prayer that whoever wins on November 8 would consult the Lord, and cites Colossians 1:17-18 — Christ holds all things together and has supremacy in everything. tags: - blog - policy - politics - election-2016 - prayer - sovereignty - colossians-1 - biblical-wisdom - dean-rush sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 8 entropy: 3 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: blog created: '2016-09-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: BLOG prefix: BLOG enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: BLOG_2016-09-01_politicians-and-god.md source_kind: blog_article proposed_topic: Wisdom lane: Wisdom voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Wisdom content_status: active date: '2016-09-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/politicians-and-god source_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/politicians-and-god site_category: Policy archive_month: 2016-09 description: > Dean answers 2016 election panic by relocating ultimate leadership hope to God, calling for prayer over politicians, and anchoring supremacy in Colossians 1:17-18. --- # Politicians and God **Author:** Dean Rush **Original post:** [deanrush.net/blog/politicians-and-god](https://deanrush.net/blog/politicians-and-god) **Archive month:** September 2016 · **Site category:** Policy > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's article** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned of HTML/image artifacts only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean names election-season panic — egregious attacks, threats to leave the country — and relocates ultimate leadership hope to God, then quotes Colossians 1:17–18 on Christ's supremacy. The enrichment below does not replace his civic counsel; it shows the wider biblical frame for praying under sovereignty. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Political panic can make even wise people short-sighted | Do not put trust in princes (Psalm 146:3); anxiety is answered by prayer (Philippians 4:6–7) | | God rules over who leads | He removes kings and sets up kings (Daniel 2:21); the king's heart is a stream in God's hand (Proverbs 21:1) | | Leaders who ignore God harm a people | Righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34); when the righteous rule, people rejoice (Proverbs 29:2) | | Prayer for authorities is a duty | Pray for kings and all in authority (1 Timothy 2:1–2) | | Christ holds all things together | Colossians 1:17–18 — before all things; head of the body; supremacy in everything | --- ## Dean's article ### Politicians Posturing for Attack! ![Red-tailed hawk image from Dean's original post](https://deanrush.net/Portals/0/images/article/red-tailed-hawk-1673351_640.jpg) Over the last few months in this election season, Americans have experienced some of the most egregious attacks by opposing candidates in the history of our country. It is the first time in my lifetime I can remember friends from both political parties say to me, "if the person from the other party wins, I am leaving the country". > **Scholar sidebar — When exit threats replace discipleship** > Psalm 146:3 warns against ultimate trust in princes; Philippians 4:6–7 answers anxiety with prayer and peace. Dean's anecdote — friends in *both* parties threatening to leave — diagnoses misplaced ultimate hope. Citizenship matters; exile-as-protest is not the New Testament's first move when rulers disappoint (1 Timothy 2:1–2; Romans 13:1). ### God is in Charge of Politicians! The friends that have made that statement are all intelligent, well thinking, and patriotic people. I know they have great intentions to do the right thing but, I believe, they are being short-sighted. I also believe we have all become short sighted when deciding who should be our future leader. In the end, the real decision of leadership must come from God. It doesn't matter who is elected to be President of the United States on November 8, 2016. He or she will be the person we hope God has provided to carry out **His** plans for our country. If the winner listens to God we will all win. If they don't listen to the Lord, we will have a continued spiral into oblivion. > **Scholar sidebar — Sovereignty without fatalism** > Daniel 2:21 and Proverbs 21:1 locate God's hand over rulers without erasing human responsibility or the call to vote wisely. Dean's "it doesn't matter who" is not cynicism about ballots; it is refusal to treat the Oval Office as ultimate. Proverbs 14:34 still stands: righteousness exalts a nation. Hope that the winner listens to God is prayerful aspiration, not blind endorsement. ### Make Politicians Aware of God Through Prayer It is imperative that we pray for the nation, the politicians, and the ability of the Spirit of God to direct the hearts and minds of the leaders. We often think we are in charge of who is picked to lead our nation but If we don't recognize God's authority in the leadership selection, we are naive. We need to pray that whomever is elected recognizes the need for consulting the Lord for every decision made in their new position. **Paul said in Colossians,** "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." **Colossians 1:17-18 NIV** > **Scholar sidebar — Colossians 1:17–18 as election ballast** > Paul is not writing a campaign brochure; he is confessing Christ's cosmic and ecclesial supremacy. "In him all things hold together" means the universe's coherence is Christological, not electoral. "In everything he might have the supremacy" relocates the believer's deepest allegiance. Dean places that confession under a bitter campaign so readers remember: pray for leaders (1 Timothy 2:1–2), but enthrone Christ, not a party. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Election venom is not new — but panic is short-sighted.** Dean hears both parties threaten to leave and calls that posture near-sighted. 2. **God, not the ballot alone, has final say over leadership.** He frames November 8, 2016 under divine provision and purpose. 3. **Listening leaders bless; deaf leaders deepen decline.** The moral hinge is whether the winner consults the Lord. 4. **Prayer is the primary civic work named here.** Pray for nation, politicians, and Spirit-directed minds. 5. **Colossians 1 anchors supremacy in Christ.** All things hold together in Him — including anxious election seasons. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Do not let election panic become your god; pray for whoever leads, and remember Christ — not a party — holds all things together. ### Why Colossians 1:17–18? Because the deepest question under a bitter campaign is who has supremacy. Paul answers: Christ is before all things, holds all things together, and must have first place in everything — including how believers hope and pray about presidents. ### Key verses to read with this post - **Colossians 1:17–18** — Christ holds all things; supremacy in everything. - **1 Timothy 2:1–2** — Pray for kings and all in authority. - **Psalm 146:3** — Do not trust in princes. - **Daniel 2:21** — God removes and sets up kings. - **Proverbs 21:1** — The king's heart in God's hand. - **Proverbs 14:34** — Righteousness exalts a nation. - **Philippians 4:6–7** — Prayer instead of anxiety. ### A simple practice In any heated election week: (1) refuse "I'm leaving the country" as your first sentence, (2) pray 1 Timothy 2:1–2 by name for candidates and officeholders, (3) read Colossians 1:17–18 aloud before you post or argue. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for questions such as: *What does Dean say about politicians and God? How should Christians pray in an election?* Answers should keep Dean's 2016 framing primary and use scholar notes only as biblical scaffolding — not as a rewrite of his political preferences.