Recently I posted a blog about Christians and Donald Trump. Some suggested that it only appropriate that I post one about Christians and Joe Biden as well. While I see the logic, that really misses the point of why I wrote the original post. What I want is to be clear about some principles of Christians and voting, and the priority of the Kingdom of God over kingdoms of men.
To be clear, the issue is not that a christian should refuse to vote for Trump. There are many valid reasons for a Christian to vote for him. The issue is that many Christians have so aligned themselves to him and proclaim that it would be unChristian to vote any other way.
The pattern that disturbs me most is Christians who lambast and character-assasinate the candidates or Presidents that they dislike while pretending the deep character flaws and moral sins of the candidate or President they do like don’t exist or simply don’t matter.
So how should a Christian vote?
Biblically.
That is a bit of a lazy answer, so let me be clear. Here are some principles that matter to me:
Our commitment to King Jesus and His mission cannot be aligned to any candidate - ever.
There are many issues we are called to care about and no candidate aligns with them all. We are called to fight for the unborn, welcome the alien and the stranger, care for prisoners, fight for orphans, and love the unlovable. We are to speak for those without a voice and advocate for the disenfranchised.
It is a personal responsibility to discern some batting order of priorities through which to filter your decision of who to vote for. There is no list of universal priorities that guide every Christian to vote the same way.
There are an array of important issues and values that need to be addressed by our government. Each candidate has a personal view as to the best way to address each of these issues. I rarely find a candidate that aligns perfectly with my own views, so almost always a difficult choice has to be made. This is where each Christian voter has a duty to exercise personal responsibility in casting their ballot.
The highest priority is to never believe or communicate that the government, or the holder of any office, is the hope of mankind. The only hope for us all is Jesus and the good news of His Kingdom. The only way to truly change the world is to change the hearts of people, and only God can do that.
So how will I vote in this election?
I will prayerfully exercise my personal responsibility to steward this freedom of ours and vote in alignment with my conscience. I will not define others by the vote they cast, nor will I be defined by my own. I am defined by my allegiance to King Jesus and will exercise my American citizenship in the best way possible to serve His priorities.