This year’s election cycle has many people in a real predicament. The presidential election, like none other, seems to have created a real division among those who claim to love Jesus. I’ve heard that you cannot possibly love Jesus and be a Democrat. I’ve heard that you cannot possibly love Jesus and vote for someone who has been accused of saying degrading things to women. I’ve heard that you cannot vote for Hillary and love Jesus. I’ve even heard that those who choose not to vote are failing to faithfully exercise their Christian obligation. I believe the question is much larger than trying to identify which candidate is the lesser of two evils. I believe the question is much larger than which candidate will hurt the cause of Christianity the least. Our decision to vote for a specific candidate is directly tied to our worldview and our personal understanding of God’s involvement in the world. While our vote does count, what does it actually mean and say about us?
Whether we vote for Trump, Clinton, Johnson, or no one, we will likely get severely beaten up by our Christ-following friends because of our choice. Most of these brutal and non-loving responses are because people feel so passionate about their particular political candidate’s platform or position that they forget Jesus’ admonition to us. He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (Matthew 13:34-35, ESV).” How will people know that we are disciples (followers) of Christ if we are brawling in the mud over the selection of political candidates as if they are the last hope for our imploding country? So I believe that Christ-followers are faced with several questions they must answer over the next couple of weeks. First, the question is not who to vote for, but what does our vote actually mean. Second, how do our actions affect other Christ-followers around us. And third, how will our actions affect those God is placing, and will place in our paths to share the remarkable story of salvation that God offers through Jesus. Ultimately, eternity really does matter.
I’m Voting for my Party’s Platform
Voting is such a personal and passionate decision for so many people. Even the most thoughtful voters have moved from evaluating the character of the candidates to voting for the platform of the individual parties because neither candidate seems to share the values of the Christian community as described in Scripture. This is the quandry. This is the difficulty. This is the problem. Assuming many people have decided to become platform voters this year, it is important to realize that platforms are not people. Platforms are a list of beliefs and ideas that a party champions as its guide. Our current president’s administration has failed to follow through with at least 10 of the platform ideas from 2008. Who’s at fault? Everyone points a finger. I believe it is necessary to understand that oftentimes party platform statements are just idealistic and promote the common views of each party. While you may vote to follow a party’s platform, there is no guarantee that your party candidates will follow through with those principles. Am I saying voting in light of a party’s platform is wrong? Absolutely not. I do believe it is one piece of the puzzle that must be considered.
I’m Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils
Voting for the lesser of two evils is sometimes referred to as Utilitarianism or Consequentialism. No…I’m not going to give an ethics class! That would definitely bore you! When someone chooses the lesser of two evils they are either choosing the greatest good for the greatest number of people or the least amount of harm to the greatest number of people. At first glance, this looks like a valid approach to making judgments and decisions. However, in Scripture, Christ-followers are not encouraged to make decisions based on consequence, but rather because of our obedience to Scripture and our love for Jesus. Sometimes when we make godly choices, the consequences place us in danger, uncertainty, and walking paths that do not seem logical. If we make decisions based on consequences alone, then we would probably never live extraordinary lives for Jesus. So, should we vote for the lesser of two evils? I would not make this the central reason for casting a vote.
I’m Voting My Spiritual Conscience
Another argument I find interesting is voting your spiritual conscience, as if your spiritual conscience is somehow in a different place than your secular conscience. When you place your faith in what Christ did on the cross by taking your sins and forgiving you of them, the Holy Spirit indwells simultaneously indwells you. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in you. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The problem with this type of decision-making is that believers claim to vote their spiritual conscience and do not understand how another believer says the same thing, and yet votes for another candidate. Some vote their spiritual conscience by not voting at all. Who’s right and who’s wrong? This causes great division in the church and in many families. While I do believe people use their “spiritual conscience” as a measuring stick when it comes to voting for a political candidate, I also believe that they should absolutely use Scripture as their guide.
I’m Not Voting. I’m Resting in God’s Sovereignty
This is perhaps the most contentious approach to this year’s election. There have been many elections where I did not vote in a particular race because I was not familiar enough with either candidate to know or understand their positions and record of character. I was not scrutinized. I was not the object of gossip. I was not chastised and disciplined by close friends. They simply agreed with me that it was good to not vote unless I understood each of the candidates and their positions and character. While character is obviously not the number one issue in this year’s election, for some it matters more than others. If you run across someone who decides not to vote as a result of their conviction about the character of the candidates, let me encourage you to not confront. A “no” vote is actually a “vote.” Withholding a vote in a political race is not a vote for the other candidate. It is a vote that says you are not happy or satisfied with either candidate. Is there anything wrong with withholding your vote? No. Is it sinful to withhold your vote? No. Is it failing to follow through with your spiritual obligation? No. Is it a personal choice that should be respected by others? Yes.
What about God’s sovereignty? God is sovereign and is over all things in the universe. That also means that He is over any president elected in the United States or anywhere else in the world. From George Washington to Barak Obama, God has always been sovereign. The writer of Proverbs tells us, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1). What does this mean? Exactly what it says. God will turn the king’s heart wherever God wants to turn the king’s heart. That is sovereignty. This is not an argument for withholding your vote in favor of God’s sovereignty. It is a statement that God is sovereign under every situation. If your candidate doesn’t win, God is still sovereign. If your candidate does win, God is still sovereign. If you choose not to vote….God is still sovereign.
When the Election is over, how do You Clean up the Damage?
This, my friends, is my biggest fear. Love is the foundation and context through which God calls us to share the gospel (Jesus’ story of salvation). What happens on November 9th? Win or lose, your influence continues to weave its way through your relationships and those you meet. Did you allow your passion for politics and the election cycle this year harm your ability to talk with others about the compassionate love that Jesus extends to others who place their faith in Him? When you had “presidential election conversations” with someone before the actual election did you become so heated and fail to display Christ’s compassionate love? Did you harm your Christian integrity? If so, how long will it take you to allow Christ’s love to saturate you again to the point that you are guided by the Spirit and showing evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in your life?
You see, my biggest fear is not who will become president. My biggest fear is that the divided church loses its influence because tempers flare and people choose political sides without considering the implications. Scripture tells us, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back” (Proverbs 29:11). As a group of people who believe that Jesus is the only way to experience salvation, we must yield our spirit to the Holy Spirit. Without sounding too churchy, we need to be the church to those with whom we disagree. We need to be the church to a hurting world whose only hope is Jesus. It really goes back to where we started. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (Matthew 13:34-35, ESV).”
I am honestly more concerned with the Church and the lost than I am the election this year. When the election is over and the ballots have been counted, people throughout the world will still have to deal with the reality of Christ. People will still look for hope and not find it in politics or the government. People will still seek help and not receive it from those who work in places of influence. People will still go hungry. People will still experience hurt. People will still attend funerals. People will still deal with extreme loss and pain. What’s going to change that? It’s not about what, but who. It is my desire to see the Church rise to meet the needs of our community and world, and display the unity and compassion of Christ’s love to a world who desperately needs to experience His unconditional love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and power.
Will you accept the challenge to rise above the division of above politics? Will you accept the challenge to not compromise your relationship with the Lord during this politically energized time so that you can legitimately reach out to others with the love that the Holy Spirit planted in your life at salvation? Will you accept the challenge to allow nothing to distract you from sharing Jesus’ story to others? Why? Because politicians will never save anyone. “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).
In conclusion, if your candidate does not win, will the world end? No. Will you fail to exist? No. Will the Church fail to exist? No. Is the Church a religious institution created to change public policy, or does the Church exist to magnify the glory of God to a world who needs to understand that Jesus is its only hope? I think we all know the answer. Jesus is the only hope for real change. Public policy will never change the moral compass of our country. The only One able to do that is Jesus. Let’s tell the world about the real hope we have in Jesus.