Politics

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Once again it is time for us to elect the person who will be the leader of our nation for the next four years. I am always glad to see the end to the political campaigns. All of the campaign ads, promises and attacks can really wear you down and make you disillusioned about the whole concept of democracy. Democracy isn’t perfect but it is better than the alternatives. In the recent months, we have seen Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator John Kerry state repeatedly that “help is on the way” (insinuating – of course – that HE is the help) and in the Republican convention we saw an angry tirade by Georgia Democrat Zell Miller against the leadership of his party. It has also been easy to see how the media slants its bias toward Kerry. The whole thing is enough to drive you crazy if you let it.

So who is the right person to lead our country? We all have our opinions about our choice for President. This is our freedom and our choice. Regardless of which candidate we support, I think we can all agree on the fact that neither candidate has ALL the answers. They can make promises and excite us with their lofty visions but they still can’t always deliver on those promises. There’s enough debate on each side but these debates shouldn’t hinder our responsibility to engage in our right to participate by voting.

There are many opinions out there regarding Christians and voting. As I was doing research for this article, I came across a variety of beliefs. Some were very zealous in being involved; most believed that it was important to be involved and vote while others were very neutral on the subject. A few strongly opposed being involved and adopted the “heavenly minded” attitude. So what should we do? Should we even bother with voting?

If you want to apply the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) principle in regard to voting, it is clear that Jesus was involved in politics. No, we don’t find in the scriptures where Jesus ran for public office but He certainly influenced the political process. The religious rulers during His day were much like lobbyist of today. They influenced the Roman government. Jesus challenged the religious establishment. When questioned about obeying the government, Jesus answered them in Mark 12:17 to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” He didn’t come to the world to overthrow the government. Many never understood that Jesus didn’t want to establish an earthly kingdom.

In Mark 12:17, Jesus was telling them they were to pay their taxes, as well as support the work of God. Jesus wants us as Christians to be the example of good citizens.  As good citizens we should not leave the operation of the government to ungodly men.  If we neglect this responsibility and choose rather to fold our hands in a praying position and gaze up into heaven, then we have not fulfilled our purpose as Christians. We can prevent that by using our one vote wisely. We will be accountable before God as to how we voted. We should take our right to vote seriously and spend time in study and prayer so that we can vote wisely for the proper candidates, as well as the right issues.

As Christians we should consider how the candidates stand on the issues and not get caught in the trap of voting strictly along party lines.  Check voting records and see which candidates most closely follow Biblical standards.  Some Christians just automatically vote Democratic or Republican because their parents voted that way.  We should vote for the best man or woman for the job irregardless of their political party.  The people we elect should not only be qualified for the job but should be moral people with good character traits. Voting for someone just because they tell us certain things that sound good is not the way to vote. 

If we have complaints against our leadership and we take the “heavenly minded” approach and ignore our freedom to vote then we have no basis to complain to anyone or to God about it. We shouldn’t just assume that just because the World is going to get worse that this gives us more of a right to stand on the sidelines. We need to accept our responsibility as good citizens and Christians. Take time to review the issues and where the candidates stand on the issues. Pray for wisdom and then – VOTE!

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