Are you prepared to cast your ballot on November 6th? Thousands of seats are open for the mid-term elections. According to the New York Times, mid-term elections will include 6,665 state positions and thousands of local and municipal level positions. There are 435 U. S. Representative seats and 33 U. S. Senate seats up for grabs, as well as 36 governorships.
A number of Christian voter guides for the primary elections are produced, but voter guides aren’t usually published for mid-term elections. So where can a Christian find information to help him or her decide which candidate is worthy of their vote?
Dissention along party lines is intense
There appears to be a lack of information on current candidates and news outlets aren’t helping us. They are full of articles about the discord in Washington over a Supreme Court nominee. What’s really behind the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford? Is judge Brett Kavanaugh guilty of such a heinous crime? Anger is escalating in both the Democrats and the Republicans; and between supporters of women who are sexually abused and men who are falsely accused of such crimes. And this is only one of many debates going on in the U. S. Captial.
Such a climate of political unrest, disrespect, and discord is exhausting. Conversations are degenerating as positions polarize. On my Facebook feed emotions are heated and the giving of opinions is rampant. Few facts are discussed about the case and yet feelings run deep.
How can our faith inform us on how to act responsibly when it comes to voting or when deciding if accusations against a government official are true? Where is the search for truth in all the bickering and backbiting? It appears that political contentions are going to influence our future voting.
Here are a few suggestions on how to deal with news blitzes and 24/7 social media interactions that tend to overwhelm us. And, here’s some guidance to help us make God-honoring decisions when voting this November 6th. I won’t, however, tell you who to vote for. That’s a matter of conscience and should always be respected.
Assessing the situation
First, don’t let the emotions surrounding the issues of sexual abuse or character assignation get the best of you. It’s not up to us to judge who is telling the truth in cases like this. The United States has a judicial process to deal with accusations. People, including politicians, let their ideologies get in the way of the truth and come to conclusions without collecting pertinent information. This is muddying the waters and generating anxiety and fear in people. As Christians, our assurance comes from God being just and in control. The truth will eventually surface and after the facts are made clear, we will be able to come to an informed conclusion.
Much of the discord in the federal government is the result of a lack of applying Christian faith to politics. For example, people are rushing to conclusions over the Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh issue as ideologues rather than truth-finders. They are invested more in their policial ideas than in discovering the truth. They are worshiping political ideals rather than placing faith in the Lord. This is why most liberals are attacking Kavanaugh and why many conservatives hesitate to believe Blasey Ford.
When a politician is controlled by his or her ideals the truth gets trampled on. Many media outlets and senators are so ideologically driven that they are ignoring the search for the truth. This creates discord as they look at the same issue from contrasting ideological positions, which indicates finding the truth isn’t the real agenda. The support of one’s party is. If decisions are made before the facts are presented then justice won’t be served. Voting in support of one’s ideals often means a disregard for the truth. The search for truth should be and must be the primary goal of any investigation.
A Christian response
What is a Christian to do when emotions and ideals cloud the issues? When we have deep feelings, convictions, or reservations, we must wait before acting on them and not come to a premature conclusion. Wait until the truth is discovered (Pr 18:17). Only those closest to the people in the conflict are able to make informed decisions about who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. Character, being a strong indicator of both past and future behavior, is a critical element when a “she said … he said” situation arises. Since we only know what we hear through third parties, it’s hard for us to draw informed opinions about another’s character until the facts are in. A Christian response would be to ask a lot of questions about motives and personal history, and remain patient so our emotions don’t get the best of us.
There is nothing wrong with us withholding our opinion or waiting before we come to a conclusion. How many times have you or I made a rash decision only to be found wrong or regretting what we said? Since we are distant from this particular conflict, godly wisdom instructs us to let our ideological thoughts and heightened emotions calm down so we can focus on facts and discover the truth.
We don’t have to decide who’s right and who’s wrong. But we are to be vigilant to ensure justice is served. If a woman has been abused she should feel safe and secure in telling her story. If a man is falsely accused he should have the right to defend himself. Both can’t be right, but both need the freedom to be heard, given respect, and treated with dignity.
The gospel restrains opinions
Understanding the gospel as God’s gracious response to us who have offended him moderates a Christian’s political actions and choices (see the interview with Tim Keller). People will express strong emotions and sometimes say offensive things to gain power. The Christian is to keep a broader perspective. In all conflicts, there is a history behind the issues, which we are often not privileged to know. Using restraint and moderation help check runaway emotions and unsubstantiated claims. They help us in not sinning or being unjust to another.
Think about the social views on sexuality for a minute. Forty years ago, sexual encounters were considered acceptable and commonplace among co-workers. Today that has changed. Now sexual harassment charges fly freely and an accusation carries with it the power to damage a person’s reputation. Being Christ-centered moderates the mistakes of both immoral responses. Christians protect and support those who are taken advantage of and they refrain from believing slanderous accusations until the facts surface.
A third option
Liberals tend toward thinking politics can bring on a utopian society. Conservatives tend toward being nostalgic and want to bring back the past. Both are trying to use politics as a platform for solving human problems. However, there is a third option for believers in Jesus.
There is a blindness or myopic vision in a person who doesn’t know Christ. An impaired viewpoint limits our ability to understand people who don’t think like us. This doesn’t have to be the case in the Church. In Christ, we find a greater unity than what is found outside the Church. This allows us to first consider what God thinks of a matter. Also within the Church, we find a greater degree of diversity–a global perspective on political issues. In the Church, we enjoy a greater degree of unity than in the world in the context of the greatest degree of diversity. Christianity, unlike all other religions, isn’t localized. It’s global. And that helps to remove the myopic perspective we are all tempted to cling to within our cultures and societies.
Jude wrote a statement that highlights an important principle for overcoming bias. He wrote, “Be merciful to those who doubt” (vs 22). This is a guiding principle when it comes to applying one’s faith to public policy. Mercy and respect are to guide Christians because they answer to a higher authority than a political party or its ideology. Truth be told, Christianity doesn’t fully fit the platform of any political party. It’s a faith that guides and corrects political decisions and affords the believer a variety of perspectives (within the confines of Scripture).
Life is always the issue in politics
Here is another essential principle when dealing with public policy issues and on voting for a candidate. Life is the most important aspect of being human. Voting for a public policy that doesn’t protect life or that limits anyone’s life is against the commands of Scripture (Ex 20:13). Voting for a person who lacks a Christian view on the sanctity of human life is a critically important concern. There are actually three aspects of life that are of utmost importance when it comes to public policy. They are foundational to understanding the protective function of government. These aspects are not to be compromised.
- No political platform or public policy is to deny anyone the right to life (whether in the womb, infirm, or aging).
- No law is to tolerate the abuse of life in any way (including persecution, discrimination, and all forms of abuse).
- No government has the right to deny access to anyone who desires to discover how to have eternal life (freedom to proclaim, accept, or deny the claims of Jesus as Savior).
These are life and death issues, which makes them the most basic concerns of civility. The first two aspects relate to this present age and the third one relates to eternity. According to Scripture these are non-negotiable political policy issues and are to be strongly defended.
Vote based on values
Voting is a matter of conscience. The Westminster Confession of Faith affirms that God alone is Lord of the conscience (Ch XX.II and IV). Therefore, no party should dictate who or how we are to vote. Christians often don’t fully identify with any political party. So, voting your conscience means voting based on biblical values and honoring the imperatives of Scripture to the best of your ability. Here are some practical actions Christians can do when deciding how to vote for a candidate. As God’s Spirit directs them, Christians are to:
- Pray for God’s wisdom, guidance, and providential care as they decide who to vote for.
- Remember that God is in control. This is his world. He is sovereign over all things. They should not be controlled by anxiety or vote out of fear.
- Make decisions mindfully after considering the facts, cautiously in light of the elevated emotions surrounding current political conditions, and deliberately base those choices on biblical principles such as moderation in all things and valuing life above all else.
- Register to vote and responsibly exercise that right.
Christians are given the freedom in Christ to act within what their conscience dictates and are not to be swayed by political ideologies, unfounded opinions, or heightened emotions. Rather, they are to vote responsibly by managing their emotions and basing their conclusions on the truth. On November 6th my prayer is that Christians make an impact on every election as we all seek to honor God in our political choices.
Resources
For more thoughts on voting in a God-honoring way see http://myktis.com/2016/10/voting-guide-christians/. Here you will find a helpful article on qualifications and principles for voting.
At https://www.samaritanministries.org/blog/are-you-prepared-to-vote-in-next-months-elections Samaritan Ministries offers an excellent article on being prepared to vote wisely.
To hear an interview (1 hour long) with Tim Keller on the state of American politics go to the podcast at https://soundcloud.com/christianitytoday/october-3-2018#t=0:00.
The magazine Christianity Today has a brief article describing the above audio recording and some thoughts on political involvement by Christians. This article is a press release of Tim’s latest book Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God’s Mercy. You can order the book by clicking on the books cover to the right. Here is the location of the article. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/october-web-only/tim-keller-politics-news-midterms-united-states.html.
Ed Stetzer, the professor of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and the executive director of the Billy Graham Center also has a Christianity Today article (quite extensive) on how Christians should and should not speak about the Kavanaugh hearings. That article is found here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/september/kavanaugh-christian-leaders-to-engage.html.
To register to vote see http://www.christianvoterguide.com/. Here you will find the addresses of each state’s elected officials. Also, national and state races are listed as well as the platforms for the two major parties. Some states now allow online voter registration. Here also are archived helpful videos on applying Christian faith to politics.
For conservative Christian voter guides check out these three. They present candidates based on issues that are of concern to Christians. Faith & Freedom Coalition, The Family Research Council, and American Values.
Pictures in this article are from freerangestock.com and pexel.com.
