Interesting question came up the other day; here’s my thoughts on the subject.
“How should I vote as a Christian?”
Well, there are a lot of answers out there, but I think most of them miss the point. Almost invariably, they end up with “you should therefore vote for (insert candidate or party’s name here) because they espouse what I believe are ‘true’ Christian prinicples.”
But, in my opinion that not only is too simplistic, but misses the most important point because the question is framed such that it avoids the process of how to make such a decision. In order to answer that question, you must first ask “What qualities should I as a Christian and citizen expect from my elected officials?”
Answer that, and the question of how to vote becomes much clearer. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of work that most Americans who profess to follow Christ are not willing to do.
As always, I suggest that the best starting place is Scripture. What does the Bible say about what qualities make a good leader?
In general, the theme throughout both Old and New Testaments is that good leaders must be godly, just, impartial in administering the law, and whose main focus is on providing for the welfare of their people and being an example and encouragement to live peaceful and godly lives.
The clearest example in Scripture for what we should look for in elected readers that I see is in Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy 3 for qualities to look for in “overseers (or bishops)” and “deacons” – the closest church equivalent to government officials. Here’s what it says:
3 The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to supervision, he desires a good work. 2 Therefore the overseer must be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, 3 not addicted to wine, not a violent person, but gentle, peaceable, not loving money, 4 managing his own household well, having children in submission with all dignity 5 (but if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 not newly converted, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 But he must also have a good testimony from those outside, in order that he may not fall into disgrace and the trap of the devil.
8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not insincere, not devoted to much wine, not fond of dishonest gain, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, 10 and these also must be tested first; then let them serve if they* are above reproach. 11 The wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderous, temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.
Before we dive into this, I want us to keep in mind that this passage deals primarily with qualifications for CHURCH leadership, and there will be some parts of this directive that will not apply to a non-church governmental position. However, upon much reflection on this passage I’ve come to the conclusion that these are in general the qualifications required for an elected official to insure a just and peaceful government and society.
To distill it down, what we should be looking for in our candidates is a person who is not violent (in word or deed), peaceful, not focused on gaining personal power and wealth, who is faithful and trustworthy, and manages his family and finances well.
As I see it, what we as disciples of Christ are looking for is a candidate who consistently shows the above traits in both public and private life. If one cannot be faithful, trustworthy, and a good manager in private, how can we expect that their administration of their public duties be any better? Time and again we have seen politicians who talk a good talk (even claiming to be Christian), but their actions, rhetoric, and voting record tell a completely different story.
Which brings up my next point: As Christians and citizens, we should be holding truth, integrity, and honor in high regard. AND we should expect those we elect to do the same. It is very important that we pay attention not only to what these politicians are saying but what they are doing as well:
— Do they vote for and propose legislation that conforms to their stated beliefs and campaign rhetoric?
— Do they publicly advocate for one position or policy and then vote for the opposite more often than not?
— Do they treat their constituents, colleagues, and other citizens with respect?
— Do they put national security, just and fair implementation of the law, and upholding adherence to the rule of law equally for all rather than interpreting and reinterpreting laws to favor their political ideology or party’s power? Sadly, politicians from both major political parties are guilty of this.
— Do they either follow Christ (in both word AND deed), or do they at least not denigrate or mock our Lord and His principles?
Notice that none of the above deals explicitly with policy stance or voting records. While both of these are imperative to take note of, the character of the candidate is paramount. If the politician is primarily self-interested as far as the “job” goes, how can you be even reasonably sure that he won’t change his “values” (and therefore votes) based on how much it benefits him personally rather than whether the legislation in question is good for the country or his constituency? Think about how many Congresscritters have gone from financially well-off to mulitmillionaires during their tenure in office.
So, now we get to policy positions and voting records.
While there are very few policy positions and/or legislative proposals that all Christians will agree are hostile to our Lord or His principles, there are examples that comes to mind. One is any legislation or position that would require Christian organizations or individuals to support or engage in activities that directly oppose the clear teachings of the Bible, such as forcing medical professionals or organizations to perform or fund the killing of innocent unborn human beings, and barring churches from providing services to the poor and/or homeless such as food banks or temporary shelters unless they do so without any restrictions on behavior or requiring religious instruction as part of the service provided.
Because almost any type of legislation can have valid arguments both for and against depending upon your interpretation of how Biblical directives should be met, my advice is to carefully consider the ramifications of your stand on a position and then examine the candidate’s stand – then decide whether their stand conforms with what you believe is the closest to what honors God and His directives and examples in Scripture.
I’ll stop here and interject an example of what I mean: Say there are two candidates on opposite sides on the issue of a government “welfare” program that would provide food for people on the verge of homelessness. On candidate supports fully funding the program, raising taxes if necessary. The other candidate opposes the program, and proposes a 100% tax deduction to charities providing the same service, with government oversight limited to insuring that the majority of funds go to actually distributing food to those in need.
Your choice will depend on whether it is more honoring to God to empower the government to take resources from the populace and redistribute them in the form of food, with all of the restrictions and overhead that that entails in order to fulfill the Biblical mandate to care for the poor, or to limit government intervention and take responsibility for doing so yourself and use the opportunity to enable your church to visibly serve the community, realizing that many people, Christians included, will simply ignore the need entirely.
Or, you could see both sides and either mark that particular issue as either unimportant, individual preference, or an indication of the candidate’s overall philosophy.
As in most of life, not only is responsible voting as a Christian hard work involving research, attention to detail, and looking beyond the rhetoric, but there will be areas of ambiguity. Couple that with the very obvious fact that in most cases, NONE of the candidates even come close to meeting the discussed requirements for leadership.
So do we throw up our hands, walk away, or vote a straight party ticket just because? God forbid! We MUST do our research, stay engaged, and vote with much prayer and reflection. Much of what is wrong in government and society today is a direct result of Christians either withdrawing from public affairs, or largely ignoring or staying silent when God’s principles are opposed or twisted by politicians and other leaders.
Curly