If I could be sure—absolutely sure—that the person was truly speaking the words of God, then I think I could really enjoy living in a theocracy! But short of that, and I’m afraid my skepticism might keep me routinely short of that, I’ll settle for the messy, ugly, combative-style democracy we have these days in America.

Did you see the “Compassion Forum” in Pennsylvania? It was really quite amazing—religious leaders asking questions of the presidential candidates broadcast for all to see and hear. One of the questions put to Hillary Clinton was, “Do you believe God wants you to be president?” Honestly, I’m glad she didn’t just say “yes”—that she gave a more nuanced answer than that. I don’t really enjoy the way our elections work here in present-day democratic America. Media-driven — no, manipulated — sound bites of this or that candidate seem to be so important for all of us to know if we are to make any truly educated selection for president.

What is a person to do in this election? Do we put our country into the hands of Hillary Clinton? No doubt, she has a good deal of experience and ability to lead people. Or do we put our country into the hands of the young, less-experienced Barack Obama? I love the fact that he is a man who values hope! Or the brave, former soldier, John McCain. Our country has elected former soldiers on several occasions.

Like I said, I’d rather live under a theocracy. Simply put, a theocracy is a form of government led by God: “God for president,” literally. No questions about whether or not the leader is psychotic or delusional; hearing God’s voice when deciding whether or not to draft new legislation on stem-cell research, for instance. No identity politics where each candidate tries hard to denigrate and pigeon-hole his or her opponents. No media-manipulated reporting in favor of doing all they can to get their favorites elected. No exploiting the tags of “liberal” or “conservative” as a means to destroy the other candidate’s personal reputation. We live in a democracy, with all its messiness and ugliness. Furthermore, we favor a secular democracy so that our religious freedom will be protected.

And by the way, our Church and its governing system is also a democracy, not a theocracy. Do you suppose our Church’s method of electing officials is affected by the modern American messy, ugly democracy? While I am hopeful that we can avoid it, I’ve seen too many Church elections that mirror the ugliness of American secular elections. At the local church and other levels of church administration, subtle clues are slid into nomination speeches with words like “conservative” or “liberal,” “progressive” or “steadfast,” “open-minded,” or “faithful.” We often condemn those who might lead our Church.

And such is the way life is. Humans are political animals, by nature, by design; God made us this way. The difference for those of us in Christ’s grasp is to be Christ-like political people. The difficulty for those of us in the Church is to be decent to the others among us as we seek to follow God’s leadership. Whether in the selection of Church leadership or the election of American leadership, our role is to be persons of decent Christ-like character. God help us to remember this during what already is an overly politicized election year.