There are record numbers of people voting in this election, so far (compared to other mid-term elections). This is a good thing. However, for some there is a temptation to walk away from it all. We seem to live in an anger-filled, 24-hour a day, 365-days-a-year election cycle. And the question for many Christians is: How do we engage in the brawl and how do we vote from a biblical, Christ-centered worldview?
Jesus and Politics
One day Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem when he was confronted by a group of elite politicians, each with their own agenda (Matt. 22:15-22). They were there to politically destroy Jesus. They asked him a trick question. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? If he answered, yes – he would lose credibility with his followers. If he answered, no – they could charge him with treason. Jesus’ answer is interesting.
He showed them a coin and asked, whose image is on this coin? They answered, Caesar’s of course. Jesus threw the coin back at them and said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matt. 22:21).
The answer was actually quite enigmatic.
What belongs to God? The answer (in Jesus’ day) depended on your perspective. Some would have said the Temple; some would have said, the throne; others, the Promised Land; others still, the Law. A few might have said, the human heart.
Jesus’ point: It’s all of the above. Everything belongs to God. In other words, there are eternal things more important than your petty political questions.
It’s not that Jesus wasn’t political. He was. He made plenty of political statements. It’s just that he kept politics in perspective.
A Biblical Foundation for Voting
Let’s begin with this basic truism: Politics is not the most important thing in life.
Can you take a deep breath and just live in that for a moment? We have survived some pretty ugly political circumstances in the past and we will survive these days as well.
And for the Christian, I would add this corollary: Living out your faith in Jesus Christ and being his disciple is more important than politics.
So we can take a deep breath and remember that this nation – as great as we are – will one day cease to exist. All Nations come and go – if you think ours is any different, well … you’re wrong.
Jesus is eternal and our relationship to him is the most important thing in life.
Having said that – I don’t mean to say that politics is unimportant – quite the opposite – our political life is very important.
Unfortunately, the way we talk about political issues has become frustrating at best, nasty and vicious at worst. The national conversation has denigrated to such a place that it is often antithetical to the spirit of Christ.
So it’s understandable that many Christians might be tempted to wash our hands and walk away. That, I believe, would be a big mistake for two reasons.
Two Reasons for Political Engagement
1. Political Decisions Impact People
The decisions we make as a country impact the lives of people all over the earth. And, we are called to care deeply about people.
We have a mandate from our Lord and Savior to stand on the side of the weak and oppressed — to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and the voiceless — to advocate for the responsible and ethical stewardship of our collective resources — to fight against corruption and hatred and violence and racism wherever we find it. And political action is a way we stay true to that mandate.
2. Jesus is Lord over all things.
The central confession of the Christian church is this: Jesus Christ is Lord.
What that means is that Jesus is not only Lord over our lives – he is Lord over the entire universe.
Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).
So we believe Jesus has power over all things and is ultimately in control. The Bible teaches us that God cares deeply about his creation – all of it. And he calls us to care for it as well (Gen. 2:15). The most effective way for us to be good stewards of the earth God gave us is to be involved in the political process.
So, there’s the “why.” What about the “how”? How do we vote?
How does the Christian Vote?
The Bible is our roadmap, and the Holy Spirit is our guide. Too many Christians don’t seem to spend much time with either.
1. We must be consistent.
Too many of us are inconsistent in the way we apply Biblical principles.
For instance, I am pro-life. God created every human life in his image (Gen. 1:26), and he fashions each life in the womb (Jer. 1:5). He knows us before we are ever known.
I believe the Bible teaches that perspective on life and I believe it is true to the spirit of Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am unashamedly pro-life and have advocated in favor of legislation and programs that help prevent unwanted pregnancies and help support at-risk pregnant women. I care about the life of the mother as well as the life of the baby.
I’ve witnessed a fundamental inconsistency in many of my pro-life friends. They are adamantly and fiercely against abortion, yet seem unconcerned about other important social justice issues, such as poverty, criminal justice, and addiction.
These things destroy lives just as surely as abortion.
Critics will say that Christians seem to think that life begins at conception and ends at birth. I do not believe this is true of most Christians, but I can understand how some would get that impression.
It should bother you, for instance, that a particular Senator fought hard to end abortion, but then defended government subsidies for tobacco, which destroys lives all over the world.
It is estimated that smoking kills about 400,000 people in the United States every year; 6 million globally. In addition, scientific studies show that children are suffering the consequences of secondhand smoke. Is this not also a pro-life issue? Yet, I see few pro-lifers picketing their Senator’s office when he takes large contributions from wealthy tobacco companies and votes for subsidizing an industry that is destroying millions of lives.
It should bother you that several self-proclaimed pro-life Senators voted against the funding of global programs to combat poverty and eradicate preventable diseases around the world.
Millions are dying each year from pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria. These are easily treatable conditions, but because some people are born into poverty and live in impoverished nations, they don’t have the resources to provide the treatment.
President George W. Bush launched a program called P.E.P.F.A.R. which is saving the lives of millions of people who would have died from malaria and other diseases. Obama continued the program, but major politicians in recent years have called for cutting some funding to this kind of life-saving program. Is this not also a pro-life issue?
You get the point. We must strive to be consistent in our moral outrage.
2. We must place a high value on truth-telling.
Christians are people of the truth. It is core to our faith. We proclaim to have Good News that is true! We are devoted to the one who said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). We follow the one who said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
In contrast, we understand that God hates lies. The Evil One is called the father of lies and the deceiver. The New Testament word for “devil” means “slanderer, false-accuser, or liar.” It is the word used to describe the one who is antithetical to the spirit of Jesus.
We should always demand clear, truth-telling from all our leaders. There is a danger in becoming so enamored with one candidate that you begin to love the candidate more than the truth. We are all guilty of hearing what we want to hear and ignoring that which might contradict our pre-conceived notions and apriori assumptions.
When you agree with certain politicians on so many issues, you might be tempted to excuse them when they are less than truthful.
REMEMBER – Jesus said, “I am the truth.” When you choose your favorite political candidate over the truth, you have chosen him or her over Jesus. The Bible calls this idolatry.
Part of the problem is that we have elevated winning over everything else. Winning becomes more important than the truth. Jesus said, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36).
When you jettison the truth in order to win, you might win the world, but you just lost your soul.
I get emails and Facebook notices from Christian friends who forward and re-post outright lies. It usually takes me no more than three mouse clicks to confirm the post to be a complete fabrication – a poorly photo-shopped lie. My question: Why didn’t the Christian sending me this garbage fact-check it before he posted it?
Christians are supposed to be lovers of the truth! Search for the truth!
There are several good resources to do this — truthorfiction.com and factcheck.org are good places to start. Put your political emotions aside and take a moment to search for the truth. Do not be a party to perpetuating a lie.
Please don’t sacrifice the truth for your political ideology. Nothing short of the Christian witness – the Gospel Message – is at stake!
3. We must choose love above all things.
Jesus said that the center of his program was this: love God and love your neighbor (Mark 12:31).
He not only taught it – he also modeled it. He said to his disciples: “As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). That command would never have worked if Jesus had not already shown an intense love for his disciples.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). And then he did it. He laid down his life on the cross for his friends. But not just for his friends – for his enemies too. He asked God to forgive the very ones who were crucifying him (Luke 23:34).
When Jesus said, “love your enemy” (Matt. 5:44), he meant your political enemy as well. I admit it’s not easy.
The way we love others is reflected in our words (James 3:8) – the way we talk to each other. In fact, the problem is that we are not talking to each other at all – we are talking at each other, or talking about each other, but rarely talking to each other.
Are some politicians hard to love? Yes.
Is there corruption? Yes, I’m sure there is.
Do some politicians lie? Yes.
But, there are also many good men and women who go into public service and political life because they genuinely care about their communities.
My mother was one of them. She served on the Pasadena Independent School District School Board for 20 years. She did it because she cared about the kids. She wanted to help make things better for the public school system. There are many more just like her.
Our faith in Jesus demands that we show respect to every person, no matter how much we may disagree with them. We do this because every person is made in the image of God and is loved by God.
If we really believe that Biblical truth, then we must treat every person with respect and engage in every conversation or debate with civility.
Take someone to lunch who is at the opposite end of the political spectrum from you. Ask them questions. Don’t talk. Just listen. Don’t formulate a response. Just listen. Don’t try to convince them. Just listen … and learn. Don’t try to squeeze in your perspective. Just listen, pay for lunch, and then thank them for sharing.
Pray for the “better angels of our nature.”
We live in a great country. We will survive this election. We have survived far worse.
Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address was delivered on March 4, 1861. Even as he was being sworn in as the 16th President of the United States, seven Southern states were succeeding from the Union. Before he took his hand off the Bible, the nation was disintegrating.
The closing words of his address were directed to the Southern states. He said:
We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
The Mystic chords of memory stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
So we pray for “the better angels of our nature.” Christians are those who should get on our knees every day and pray for “the better angels of our nature.”
SUGGESTION: Sometime between now and the time you vote on November 6th do a 48-hour fast from all media. Get away from all the white noise – turn off your cell phone, television, facebook. If you are serious about voting the heart of God, then get away from all the stuff that is being said, so that you can actually hear the voice of God.
God bless you as you seek God’s heart and engage in the important work of making our nation a better place to live.
[note: some of the general ideas and statistics for this article came from an article entitled “The Most Important Election in My Lifetime” by Ronald J. Sider in the “Christian Ethics Today” Journal (issue 100, August 12, 2016, page 2). Dr. Sider is Distinguished Professor of Theology, Holistic Ministry, and Public Policy at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University]
