Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers. – Proverbs 24:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 8, 2026): Proverbs 24

Ralph Carr was the 29^th Governor of Colorado, serving from 1939 to 1943. What I know about Carr is that he was a good governor, but he was also willing to stand up for what he believed, regardless of the political fallout he might have to endure. I also know that, for a time, Governor Carr was the golden child of the Republican Party. At the time of his election in Colorado, there were rumors that he could be the Republican nominee for President. He was asked to run as the vice-presidential nominee early in his tenure as Governor of Colorado, but declined because he wanted to remain the State Governor.

Carr’s downfall came in December 1941 in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It was a time when the seeds for Japanese internment were being planted. As most states in the United States were condemning the Japanese people living in their midst, including those of Japanese descent who had been born in the United States, Carr, in opposition to the people who had elected him, stressed that the Constitution of the United States guaranteed equality to all people, regardless of ancestry, which included the Japanese. Colorado would not persecute the Japanese people. It was a decision that would cost him any future in politics, but it was an honest reaction of a man who felt he had no choice but to follow what he believed should be done. It was a moral decision, not a political one.

I live in a democracy, which means many things, but it ultimately comes down to the idea that I have a voice. When election time comes, I try to be knowledgeable about the issues and to ensure that my vote reflects what I believe about the world as I view it through the lens of my faith. For the first couple of decades of my voting life, I voted in a consistent manner, always in the same direction. However, the last few elections have seen my voting pattern change, as I have observed shifts within the party that had traditionally received my vote and voice.

I live in a democracy. I elect people who I hope will reflect my voice. But I also hope that they are moral people who, when tragedy strikes, can make the ethical choice, even if it incurs political costs. I want a leader who will guide me toward morality, even when I selfishly would rather choose otherwise.

I live in a democracy, and the hope in a democracy is that we elect good people who will come together and make the right choice in times of distress. It doesn’t always work that way, but we hope that it does most of the time. I am a great believer that our elected representatives should be able to vote their hearts before they vote the party line. But that idea seems to be a fading reality.

I live in a democracy, and that means that the representatives that we vote into office have to vote to go to war. No single person should be able to take the nation to war. Our leaders are not Kings or princes; the people elect them, and so war is a decision of the country, not the King.

Solomon would not have known what a democracy was, but he seemed to understand that going to war could not be the decision of a single man. Even a King needed the support of many advisors if a war was to be successful. War was one situation where the King could not go it alone.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 25