With election week less than a week away, many of us are being regularly reminded, sometimes with more ads than we ever hoped to see, of the importance of voting. We are blessed to live in a nation where we have the right to vote and this is not something to take lightly! At the same time, as Christians, we should keep in mind that we are first and foremost citizens of heaven. How should this dual citizenship affect the way that we approach voting? In a recent Twitter thread, Joe Rigney, a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul and professor at Bethlehem College and Seminary, offered some helpful principles to consider as we approach election day.
1. Voting is largely a matter of prudence.
Voting is largely a matter of prudence,” writes Rigney.
“However, prudential doesn’t mean amoral. It means that, given the complexities involved, we must engage in moral reasoning to arrive at what is good & wise in our voting decisions.
We should seek to be wise in our voting, which means we should carefully consider the options set before us when we cast our ballots. Because it is a matter of prudence, there is room for Christians to disagree with one another. However, as Rigney points out, prudent does not mean amoral. This leads to his second point.
2. It is possible to sin while voting.
It’s possible to sin in voting. We might sin in our motives, in the fear or pride or hatred which animates our voting decisions. We might sin by formally or materially cooperating with the evil that a candidate does or promises to do.
A candidate’s policies matter and we should carefully weigh those policies when we make our voting decisions because we should not formally cooperate with evil (that is, intentionally supporting a candidate because of an immoral policy he or she supports) nor should we materially cooperate with evil (intentionally supporting a candidate who supports evil policies while telling ourselves that an evil policy they support is not a big deal.) We should not, for example, become complicit in murderous abortion policies through our vote. But as Rigney points out, this is not the only way we can sin in our voting. We can also sin by voting out of pride, fear, or hatred. It’s important to consider motives in voting because, while your vote matters, your relationship with God matters much more.
3. There is a difference between voting for and supporting a candidate.
It’s helpful to distinguish “voting for a candidate” and “supporting a candidate.” Support for a candidate includes a stronger endorsement of that candidate and their policies… you might vote for a candidate because you believe that greater good (or less evil) will result from their election relative to another candidate, while having serious reservations about various aspects of that candidate’s platform, competence, or character.
While it is possible to vote for a candidate while having reservations about their platform, competence, or character, Rigney also points out that there are certain positions that we must never support in our voting. He gives the examples of abortion and racism, which dehumanize an entire class of human beings.
Applying these principles to the current election cycle, we should consider the fact that there are very weighty policy issues at stake. Voting is a matter of prudence, which means that there is room for Christians to disagree. This does not mean that we should treat our vote flippantly or that we should downplay the seriousness of the matters on which we are voting. In a nation where the people are given a voice, exercising that voice well is part of how we follow Romans 13. We should steward our vote well. We should seek to honor God and love our neighbor in the way that we vote. The leaders we elect will shape policies that will affect us, our communities, and the direction of our nation. That is not something to be treated lightly.
At the same time, we should not approach voting idolatrously. Voting is not insignificant, but it is also not ultimate. Our hope is not in elections, candidates, or policies, but in the Lord who holds the king’s heart—and the ballot box—like a stream of water in his hand that he directs where he will (Proverbs 21:2). If we forget this, we are likely to approach voting in a sinful manner, motivated by fear, pride, or bitterness.
No matter who the winners are in this election cycle, we are called to live in faithful obedience to God, to seek the good of the people around us, and to share the hope of the gospel. We should engage in the political process as a means of loving our neighbors, and we should steward our vote well, but we should also keep in mind that our hope is not in elections, politicians, or policies and that our calling does not change based on who holds elected office.
And finally, as Rigney points out, “we should pray—for ourselves, for our political opponents, for our cities, states, and nation. And we should ask for mercy that is deeper than the mess we've gotten ourselves into. Come, Lord Jesus.”
As Christians, we should be engaged and steward our vote carefully and pursue wisdom in our voting, keeping in mind that elections do have consequences. At the same time, we must never forget that elections are temporal and that God is sovereign. Because of this, we are able to joyfully vote without placing our ultimate hope in elections and then continue to live our lives in faithful obedience to God and confidently trust in him no matter what.
(Image: Flickr, Steve Rainwater, CC BY-SA 2.0)
