It is a monumental week in the United States of America. People look alert; anticipation crackles in the air. They must know Wednesday is my birthday.

Seriously, though, how do we obey Scripture’s plain command to “put not your trust in princes” (Ps. 146:3) amid a presidential election in which every single thing we hold dear is at stake? (That’s what I heard on cable news, at least.)

With the gentle scalpel of a soul doctor, Jason Seville proposes four timely diagnostics that—depending on how you answer them—might reveal a subtle slide toward trusting in princes (or presidents). “Where is the line,” Seville begins, “between earnestly desiring to see a president work what is good, and putting our trust in him? How do we know if we’re rightly hopeful about a candidate, or if we’re wrongly putting our hope in him?”

I won’t give away his four main questions, but here’s the closing plea: “By all means give your candidate your vote. Just don’t give him your heart.”

That’s well said. What occurs in America this week will have enormous effects on many levels. No surprise there. And yet no matter what happens this week, a nail-scarred King will remain on the most important throne. He is not fretting or sweating; he is sitting. He is reigning. And he is never up for reelection.