A friend and sister in Christ passed away very recently, and I couldn’t help recalling the lyrics of this worship song I grew up with, titled, “We Belong to God.” Here’s a video of the song, in case you’ve never heard of it:

Now, while reflecting on our dear sister’s death, and singing this song, I also found myself thinking of all the election-related posts I’ve been seeing on social media. I don’t usually post or write or speak about politics but it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about what’s happening in our country.

I don’t know about you but the coming Philippine elections has made me realize that now, more than ever, we Filipinos need to come before God in prayer (no matter what religion you belong to or beliefs you profess). You can even call it whatever you want instead of prayer, if you claim to not believe in God — but I am hoping the purpose is still the same, i.e. to reflect on the choices you’ll be making, having taken into consideration all the research and facts backing each candidate.

If you’re a Catholic Christian like me though, I urge you to seek guidance from the Lord; from His Holy Spirit. Perhaps the song “We Belong to God” can also serve as a “guide” somehow. Just take a look at the lyrics again below, with my own thoughts on some of them:

We Belong to God

Verse 1:

None of us lives as his own

And none of us dies as his own

For while we live we are responsible to God

And when we die, we die as His servants

(The life that you and I have now are not ours alone; ultimately we are called to live and die for God. Do the people whom we are voting for in the Philippine elections realize this? Are they sincerely and truly “persons for others”?)

Refrain:

For both in life and death

We belong to God

That is why Christ has died for us and come again

We shall all appear before the judgment seat of God

For it is written

“Every knee shall bend before me

And every tongue shall give praise to God”

(When we die, all of us will be judged by the Lord. When we are finally before His judgment seat, will we be able to say that we did all we could to do what is right — including when it comes to the Philippine elections?)

Verse 2:

For we are sure that neither death nor life

Nor this nor future ages nor their powers

No height, no depth, no creature that thrives

 Will come between us and the love of Christ

(Ultimately, nothing and no one will ever be able to separate us from Jesus’ love — and that includes all politicians. Since you and I have the freedom to choose in the upcoming Philippine elections though, we can also do our best to choose leaders who can actually help us love Jesus more {if such exist at all}). 

Verse 3:

Give yourselves as sacrifice to God

Holy and acceptable to the Lord

Do not allow your minds to be conformed to this age

But let your hearts be ruled by His spirit

(I think this verse speaks very clearly. We are all called to offer ourselves to God; to be “holy and acceptable” in His sight. We are called to be vigilant against what is of “this age” — of “the world” — and to be ruled by the Holy Spirit. Are the leaders we choose doing their best to respond to this call? Yes, no one is perfect {especially me!} but our leaders, especially, should do their utmost to be above and beyond reproach, don’t you think?)

Verse 4:

Now not all of us shall fall asleep

But all of us are to be changed

In the twinkling of an eye

As the last trumpet sounds

We shall rise victorious in Christ

(Again, at the end of it all, at the end of our lives — as I wrote here — it’s all about Jesus. When casting your votes during the Philippine elections, think about Him and the leaders of His time, and what He rejected in the “bad” leaders then. Ask Him to guide you, and — no matter what the outcome of the elections, whether or not your chosen candidates won — never, ever stop praying for our country and our leaders.)

Most importantly, I think it’s important to point out that whatever happens before, during and after the Philippine elections, we Filipinos should remember that we cannot and must not rely solely on our leaders to enforce change in the Philippines. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

If we want a better and brighter Philippines, it must begin with us. We must be the change we wish to see in our country. God help us all!