OPINION:
Pundits will study the 2024 election for years, and for good reason. Never before in our lifetime have we seen anything like it – and chances are, we’ll never see anything quite like it again.
President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive 312 electoral vote win stunned many analysts. But it especially stunned those isolated within the Beltway or in newsrooms far away from everyday Americans, especially mothers and fathers working tirelessly to support their children and leave the world a little better than they found it.
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Those of us outside elite circles weren’t shocked by the outcome. Traveling around the country, I visit with families who have been carrying heavy burdens. These are financial, personal, emotional, and spiritual in nature. They’re weary and often worried.
American families are eager to get back to normal. It’s not normal to have to choose between your deeply held religious convictions and your job. It’s not normal to be bullied and harassed by activists for over a decade, but that’s what our friend Jack Phillips has been contending with here in Colorado.
Masterpiece Bake Shop is delighted to serve anyone, but Jack has drawn the line when it comes to using his creative talents to make something for an occasion he believes is sinful. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor once – but that hasn’t stopped other activists and courts from coming after him. He’s been hounded relentlessly for more than 10 years.
It’s not normal for boys to be permitted in girls’ locker rooms. It’s not normal for our daughters to be pummeled in the face by a volleyball hit by a young man – a girl’s sporting event.
It’s not normal for taxpayer funds to be spent on the destruction of preborn life and the mutilation of sexually confused children.
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Last week, a majority of Americans voted for common sense. It was a repudiation of the outrageous – a call for the restoration of policies that serve families not the special interests of politicians.
Reflecting on the results, I’m encouraged and convicted by the fact that truth rises.
To be sure, culture has always been rife with evil. It was the apostle Paul who declared, nearly 2,000 years ago, in fact, that “the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Yet, he also spoke with hope, urging Christians to “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
My faith tells me this is true, that light will always overcome the dark. Still, despite such divine assurance, the presence of evil in society is a very heavy and heartbreaking reality. You know it when you see it, and even though you trust in the Lord to ultimately right every wrong, it still can leave you with a pit in your stomach.
Abortion was on the ballot in 10 states. Seven of the states (Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York) voted to expand or affirm access to abortion. Three (Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota) rejected the initiatives.
Special thanks and congratulations to Gov. Ron DeSantis who boldly, courageously, and successfully campaigned to defeat the Florida abortion initiative. He demonstrated strong and confident leadership in the face of angry and well-funded opposition. Gov. DeSantis modeled the way to advocate for a principled position by leaning into the issue and not slinking away from it.
In our current environment, it appears that even Christians cannot fully agree on the legislative way forward regarding how best to protect preborn life. While most agree abortion is morally wrong, many have veered into unfortunate and unprincipled pragmatism.
We’re aware of the electoral consequences and legislative limitations concerning preborn life. Today, fewer Americans are convictionally pro-life. Nevertheless, we cannot and will not tire in our effort and commitment to continue working towards a day when every life in every state is protected under the law. We will never give up.
All children are deserving of protection. That life begins at conception is an irrefutable and undeniable fact. As such, a child’s fate should never be subject to the state they live in.
While it may not be legislatively or electorally feasible today, we must pray and patiently work toward the passage of laws that protect the life of every single innocent preborn child.
We must also unite in prayer for our country. We’re commanded to lift up our leaders regardless of what we may think about them – and so whether Republican, Democrat, or Independent, may God’s graciousness and mercy extend to every man or woman in elected office.
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Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
