Have you heard those words this election season? I sure have (and increasingly so as the day draws near).
We studied Judges 9 and the story of Abimelech on Sunday. I made this statement: “…the person you are going to vote for must be a person of character. Their policies and positions should advance the good of the nation, restrain evil, and promote good.” Some might think I went too far with this application. I don’t.
Imagine if our country found itself in the position of Germany in the 1930’s. A young, rising political star who was morally degenerate and whose policies were murderous and indefensible (not too different from Abimelech) captured the hearts and minds of an unsuspecting public (including many Christians) through his charisma. Would we use the principles we learned from Judges 9 to vote against Adolf Hitler? I think so. I hope that I would have the courage to lead in the vocal opposition, even defying my non-partisan role as a clergyman and risking my life much as Dietrich Bonhoeffer did in that day.
No candidate will ever be perfect because all are human. We need to wrestle, though, with whether or not a certain candidate’s character meets the minimum standard. We need to consider whether a candidate’s policies and positions are reflective of the Bible’s purpose for government or not.
I don’t think, however, there is a “Christian position” on who to vote for even in our polarized situation. Why? First, because Scripture gives us no direct command. We have plenty of principles which allow us to make a convictional decision, and I hope you will. I think we can all agree that neither major party candidate ideally represents our Christian values. Many would point finger at “the other side” and declare the possibility that their candidate will corrupt or destroy society beyond repair. History teaches us that even the worst leaders get their due in the end. The Bible tells us that God is the one who appoints and allows certain men and women to come to leadership (Job 12:23; Dan. 2:21; Hab. 1:6; Jn. 19:11).
What do we do, then? We think biblically, commit the situation to God, do our best in the (proverbial) voting booth, and pray for our leaders as Scripture instructs (Prov. 21:1; Rom. 13:1; 1 Tim. 2:1-4).
Yes…even the ones we don’t like.
