Voting Christian (What Does That Mean?)

As another election cycle advances upon us we Christians find ourselves vexed in our duties and allegiances. The conservative culture to which we are attracted informs us we must vote for the candidate that can win but our hearts understand that, at least in some cases, moral principle trumps concerns about winning. While I cannot resolve all questions relating to the Christian and the vote I will assert a few timeless Biblical principles that ought to direct our behavior at every election.

One absolute is that God is the unyielding controller and establisher of civil rulers in all governments at all times. This principle is taught with clarity throughout Scripture but we easily forget or disregard that fact. I am reminded of King Nebuchadnezzar walking on the roof of his palace saying, “ ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven saying, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you…”  (Daniel 4:30-31). Sovereignty was removed from him and we are told that he ate grass like the wild animals for seven time periods (years) until he was brought back to his senses by the real Ruler of all kingdoms, “But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What hast Thou done?’ “(Daniel 4:34-35). In this passage and an abundance of others we are taught that God alone rules the nations and establishes whomever He wishes in the offices of power over them.

This fact overthrows our assured pronouncements that any given election or any particular evil ruler is ours to control as if the offices are filled according to our will alone, or as if the Lord has released the direction of history to our hands. He has not. He never will. This is not proof that our votes do not matter. It is evidence however, that we are not as powerful as we might imagine. We are not king makers nor breakers. Pulling a lever in the voting booth does not dislodge God from His throne, a throne where He rules with absolute power over all events in governments and history.

Another sure observation is that voting for civil rulers is not found anywhere in God’s law for nations or for His people. Under the Judges there were virtually no civil offices as we know them (lots of freedom and not any politicians) and under the kings there were, well, kings, not elected officers. So when we contemplate our system of elected officers, public servants as we call them, we are constructing a platform for governance not found in Scripture and not directly addressed as to how to run it. Whenever we depart from Biblical standards we find ourselves wading in swampy ground and as the many nations before us we discover that the practical and moral questions become pretty muddy.

One thing I am confident of regarding our vote however, is that we have to be people of moral character in our voting. This is because everywhere we search in Scripture we find that God is highly concerned with our morals and moral decisions no matter what we do or where we go. Hence, the moral questions rate a higher concern than the pragmatic, such as who will win and what we think will happen if that (possibly evil) person wins. I am not saying that outcomes do not matter. I am saying that our moral actions are more important than our beliefs about who may win or not win, or our supposed responsibility for those outcomes. God rules the nations but we must rule our actions in Biblically-moral ways. Hence, winning is not our greatest concern. Maintaining a morally right life is.

This is why I urge my readers to always vote for the candidate that best exemplifies true Christian character and moral principle. Our duty is to always promote the kingdom of Christ and His righteousness. The vote is a chance to express our allegiance to the true King and our desire to see His kingdom reign ‘from pole to pole’ as one hymn proclaims. We should always be confident that the Lord will establish the person He desires and presumably we deserve, as His kingdom continues to grow over time. For, like leaven in a loaf or a mustard seed in a garden, His kingdom will continue to expand until it permeates the whole loaf and fills the entire garden. This world – it is the garden. We labor in the garden but He remains the Master Gardner. May we be men and women who are faithful and committed to our higher calling as we perform every duty. May we be blessed in our obedience.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach  1-7-12