I apologize in advance to my readers that live in other nations since I’m addressing specific issues we are dealing with in the U.S. However, I would imagine that most all countries struggle with similar issues. So, hopefully the points I discuss will speak to you as well.
If you are not familiar with the story of Queen Esther I would encourage you to go find your Bible and read about her in the book named after her – Esther – the entire book is only 10 chapters and in my Bible is less than 10 pages. It’s a wonderful story relating how one person, taking a stand, can change the world they live in.
Esther, because of gender (female), heritage (Jewish), circumstances (an orphan living in exile in Persia) was a person with absolutely no influence. When circumstances caused her cousin Mordecai to encourage her to go to the king and plead for her people that were destined to be totally wiped out, she hesitated, knowing that approaching the king without invitation could result in death. But Mordecai warned her that she herself likely would not escape and encouraged her with these words: “‘And who knows, maybe you have been chosen to be the queen for such a time as this.’” (Esther 4:14b ERV) But before she took action she, Mordecai and the Jewish people fasted and prayed. God chose her and placed her in a position to be an advocate for her people that helped save them from annihilation.
I believe that now – today – is the time for all of us – men and women alike, to become advocates for our people – for the United States of America. Our nation and the world at large is in trouble right now. There is no doubt that we are in the midst of an assault of spiritual warfare. The evil that pervades our society today is shocking and disheartening.
People are trying to claim there’s not just two genders as created by God and that adults can change the natural born gender of their young child using medications and surgeries. People are telling us that we must accomodate people that not only hate us and wish us dead, but accept as normal child marriage, honor killings, female genital mutilation, spousal abuse, etc. And so much more! This should be immensely concerning for us as Christians!
It is so easy to put our heads in the sand and try to ignore the problems hoping they will just go away. It is so easy to step back and express our concerns but then wait for the other person to step up and do something about it. It is so easy to blame everyone else, taking no responsibility ourselves. It is so easy to forget that God’s Word in Matthew 5:13-14 tells us we are supposed to be the salt of the earth (meaning we have a responsibility to stop moral decay, bring a positive influence, stay true to our faith and help others); and, be the light of the world (meaning we have an obligation and a duty to reflect Jesus’ love and goodness in a morally dark world, to be visible, conspicuous and unashamed.)
So who is to blame? According to my research people tend to blame, in order: (1) politics, (2) society being divided by extreme opposing beliefs, (3) declining religious involvement, (4) negative media influence. I personally believe at least a couple of these issues can be improved upon if we would just be willing to take a stand – to be an Esther. I’ll address the two issues that I believe we can try to correct, even though we’ve been warned about talking religion and politics. I’ll take my chances.
First, I’m going to talk about issue #3 – declining religious involvement. When we look at the big picture, church attendance is lower than it had been decades ago and in general is not increasing. That’s discouraging. However…there is some encouraging news – research says there’s a bump in attendance among the younger generation (ages 14-45.) But regardless of these facts, it seems that Christians are just not involving themselves in important life issues. I find that sad. Where is that salt? Where is the light? We are failing at our jobs assigned to us by Jesus our Lord! We absolutely must gather up our courage, learn to step forward, then speak the truth (as Esther did when she approached the king) to help this morally corrupt world we live in. This issue about religious involvement will evolve into the next issue – politics.
Now I’ll address issue #1 – politics. Those of you that know me best, know that this is a topic I am “enthusiastic” about. Some groundwork before I dig a bit deeper: In Texas, March 2026, there were 18,450,297 registered voters. In the March 3, 2026 primaries the number of people that voted in the entire state of Texas was only 4,269,491 – less than ¼ of the potential voters. Shameful! In 2024 there were approximately 267.5 million people in the U.S. old enough to vote, yet out of that, there were only about 174 million registered voters. Why don’t people care enough to even register to vote to elect the people that will be determining so much about their lives? But it gets worse. This is a quote from CBN: “Upwards of 104 million people of faith — including some 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church services — are expected to sit out of the 2024 presidential election.” “They are likely to hold back from the Nov. 5 contest due to a lack of interest, according to new data from Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center, operated by evangelical pollster George Barna.”
32 million Christian church goers not voting due to a lack of interest!!!! I find that just shocking! Even though the Bible doesn’t directly address our modern day election process, it does tell us that our Lord established governing authorities – it is ordained by God. As believers we are called to be good citizens, obey the laws, pray for our leaders, seek out the best for our communities. (See Romans 13:1-2 & 6-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; Titus 3:1-2; Matthew 22:21) We should do all of that while of course, still recognizing God as the ultimate ruler.
In comparison, Muslims in America are stepping up to participate in our political arena. Have you noticed? Have you witnessed some of the radical members of our U.S. Congress that so obviously hate this country but are sitting up there helping to make laws for us? According to the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding: “American Muslims are engaging more with the electoral process. Muslim voter registration has been steadily increasing.” “Of those registered to vote, 80% of Muslims voted in the 2024 election.” “Muslim voters were in the spotlight during the 2024 election. Even though they are a small percentage of the total U.S. population, there are enough Muslims to determine presidential elections in key swing states (for example, in 2020 when the presidential election came down a few thousand votes).” “Muslim were more civically engaged than most other groups in 2025.” “Fifteen percent of Muslims reported volunteering for a political campaign in the year prior to the survey, more likely than 8% of Catholics, 6% of Protestants, 3% of white Evangelicals, 6% of the non-affiliated, and 7% of the general public but on par with Jews (12%).” According to PRRI: “In states where elections are coming down to tens of thousands of votes, it may be time to pay closer attention to the Muslim vote.” Are we, as Christians, going to sit back and let this segment of society be the salt and light in our communities? I certainly hope not!
As our nation reels under the growing influence of Islam and those pushing a Socialist agenda; as we have an increasing influence in the lives of our children and young people with insane, confusing ideas about multiple genders; as families and friends reject one another because of opinion differences; as people in important positions feed us lies while lining their pockets; as families are strained economically because of decisions made by leaders that don’t truly represent their constituents; as our society struggles with the ever-growing drug and mental health issues; as technology advances threaten jobs and our environment and our health; as the main stream media and social media distort the truth trying to make us believe the unbelievable; and so much more….what else can be done?
Well, like in the story of Esther, we all should consider fasting and prayer. In fact, I believe that we should pray for our government – local, county, state and national – EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Then we should take enough interest in how our lives are governed that we (1) register to vote, (2) research THOROUGHLY the candidates we will be voting for so that we know who will best stand for the morally right, Christian principles we believe in – and if that means voting for a political party different than what you are accustomed to voting for, then by all means – change! (3) VOTE!!!
As of today (August 15), there are only 80 days until our general election on November 3. We will be voting on some VERY important positions to be filled. If you aren’t registered to vote, in Texas the last day you can register and be eligible to vote in that election is October 5. You cannot register to vote online – however, you can go online and print out a form, fill it out & mail it in; or, request a postage-paid form be mailed to you to fill out & return – but do this soon so that it is completed and returned by the deadline. If you’re already registered but have moved or changed your name you can make those changes online. (This is especially important if you’ve moved to a different county.)
Please consider fasting for our country, our leaders and the direction we should take. Also very importantly, commit yourself to daily prayer for all of those issues as well. Then consider getting involved in your local community where it all starts – know what’s happening and be willing to speak out on issues important to you. Don’t wait for someone else to do the job, let your voice be heard. It’s Time To Take A Stand!
Footnote: If you follow me on Facebook, I have to warn you that I will be very vocal during these next 80 days about some of the candidates that are running for office in Texas. So if you find those personal expressions offensive, you’ll need to avoid those posts. I’ll likely headline them with something like “TAKING A STAND”.
Written by Karran Martin – August 9, 2026
Karran's Korner 