The November 8 election should not be a religious experience. However, it is for some on both sides of the political aisle.

Politicians should never be viewed as celebrities. They are a necessary evil, and many times, more the latter than anything. Too often, voters will fanboy and fangirl out as they cling to and follow politicians as they would a new celebrity crush.

Politicians should never be viewed as saviors. They promote an agenda which you may support and hope to see in place. However, the reality is no amount of legislation will fix societal ills or lead to a problem-free America. If you believe politicians and the government in general can help you achieve that, then you should prepare for major disappointment.

More than previous elections, there is a hope that one of the candidates this year will save America from the other. For those of us in neither camp, the idea is preposterous. It matters little to us who wins Tuesday because both are unfit to lead. Voting Hillary to save us from Trump sounds the same as voting Trump to save us from Hillary. We may be “rescued” from one, but we’ll just end up with evil in a different name. This is unacceptable to many, including myself, and places us squarely in the #NeverTrump/NeverHillary camp. During this election cycle, that has been a difficult place to exist.

In August, increasingly popular Christian author Rachel Held Evans published a piece detailing her support for Hillary Clinton. Her main reason centers around the abortion issue. You see, Evans believes that under Hillary the abortion rate will be kept low. You’d have to read the article to, uh, appreciate all that absurdity. Although she claims the opposite is true, Evans has found her political savior. For her, it’s merely the person who isn’t Donald Trump. She is hoping that somehow – miraculously – fewer unborn lives will be taken during a Hillary reign. Since Mrs. Clinton has called for increased funding for abortion giant Planned Parenthood, the organization which destroys more than 320,000 unborn lives per year, Evans’ claims fall flat on their face. Finding a savior in Hillary is an impossible search, but some, like Rachel Held Evans, are convinced she is just that. Her hatred of Trump fuels her rose-colored praise of Hillary.

On the other side, we have the pro-Trump crowd, so enamored with their “savior” that they claim he’s been ordained by God, anointed by God, and chosen by God to lead the country out of darkness. In reality, he’s a fallible human being who doesn’t believe in asking God for forgiveness, not to mention he’s entirely unstable. He’s really not all that different than his opponent, he just has the correct political letter next to his name. At the Value Voters Summit in September, actor Jon Voight sang the praises of his savior.

“My heart aches watching Donald Trump, day after day, pouring his heart out telling the American people what he wants to do to save the nation. How can anyone doubt his sincerity? I can only feel if God allows truth to be said and heard that we will see Donald Trump as the next president of this great America and he will lift the dark cloud that hovers over us now.”

Mercifully, not all those invoking God’s name do so in the same sentence as the endorsement of their savior-type candidate.

John Piper, another Christian author, is a voice of reason in 2016 “this candidate is our savior!” circles. In a message this week, Piper said the following:

The right to vote in America is not a binding duty (without regard to other factors) for Christians in every election.

“The children are free.” We are free from human institutions. As citizens of heaven, we are not bound in every situation to participate in the processes of human government. This is not our homeland. We vote — if we vote — because the Lord of our homeland commissions us to vote. And he does not absolutize this act above all other considerations of Christian witness.

Honestly, I don’t care who people vote for or even if they vote on election day. I don’t believe either choice will result in a savior being inaugurated on January 20, 2017. Personally, I’m determined to support neither, for neither deserves my vote nor represents principles I deem important.

Whatever you do, don’t look for a savior on Tuesday’s ballot. You won’t find one.

Psalm 146:3 – “Put not your trust in princes…”