By: Pastor Ty Houghtaling

Are you frustrated with our current political leadership?  New Mexico seems to be the worst at the best things and the best at the worst things.  Statewide leadership has been in the hands of one political party for a very long time.  Conditions in the state seem to rarely change for the better, regardless of economic factors or environmental/political pursuits. 

The Bible says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1).

I wonder, how does God place political leadership in power in our nation?  It seems He has set up a system that allows us to participate in the process.  I believe He has called on us to vote for who would govern our cities, counties, state, and nation.  

Some years back, I coached Jr. High basketball.  There was a season where one of my best players could do everything on the court.  He was pretty tall, so he was a decent shot blocker.  He was a good shooter, defender, ball handler, and had good instincts.  However, sometimes he would do more than we needed him to do.  He would rotate on defense to areas where other players were. Therefore, we would end up with no one in the place where he was supposed to be.  When he was young, he could just run all over the court making plays and it worked well.  As we started to play better teams, when he would over rotate or try and do someone else’s job, we would end up giving up easy layups (points) to our opponents.  We were a good team, but we were not good enough to win the championship without some “do your job” discipline.  What’s the point? 

When we vote, we give permission to our elected officials to govern.  We say, “do what is best for us”.  However, when they start to do things that are not their job, even if their intentions are sincere, we should evaluate the results of their leadership decisions and then vote based on those evaluations.

Typically, we get two choices when we vote.  One party has proven to try to do more than they need to do. Never forget the 2020 shutdowns and hysteria shown by our current majority statewide leadership. The other party typically supports less governmental control.  I am ready for the state government, and national government for that matter, to quit trying to control areas better left to us at the local level.  I am also certain that it is not the job of the government to define things that God has already defined.  Jesus said it this way, “Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.” (Mark 12:17).  It seems reasonable to assume that our society could benefit from a separation of authority and a better version of “do your job”.  Christians, let us vote for the party that seems to understand this concept. Then, pray for them, which is part of our jobs.  

Ty Houghtaling is the Pastor at the First Baptist Church in Artesia.