Voting for the President of the United States in 2016
Let us start with acknowledging that we see through the
glass dimly (1 Cor. 13:12) and we are under the sun (Eccl. 1:14). Both descriptions help us understand
that we cannot choose whom to vote for and know for certain that we made the
perfect choice. And the Bible
tells us that because of the fallen state of humanity any person we choose that
is on a ballot cannot be a perfect choice.
This years election appears to present a serious dilemma for
Christians because the sins of the major party candidates go before them. We are choosing between an egomaniacal
misogynist and a narcissistic congenital liar. For those of you who insist on the legitimate alternative of
a third party candidate I have no wisdom, as you are concerned about your
conscience first and I won’t argue with you. But for those of us who care to have a say as to who will
actually win the presidency it bares repeating that it is between an
egomaniacal misogynist and a narcissistic congenital liar. So what is the Christian thing to do?
Before I answer I must qualify what I perceive is the
Christian thing to do by acknowledging again that I look through dim glass and I
am living on the lower side of the sun.
What I think should be done is limited by my fallen state. But here is what struck me just
recently. We are simply electing a
politician who is to be a third of our government in regards to power and
influence. Yes, I realize that
powers seem to have shifted seemingly swaying back and forth from the oval
office to the Supreme Court but that is not something we can immediately
control. The fact remains that we
are electing a politician to serve the major role in one third of our
government structure. That means
that we are NOT electing a Christian or religious leader. Christians should never want to elect a
Christian leader in a political arena.
That does not mean we don’t want Christians to hold political
office. It only means that we do
not elect Christians in the political arena to lead the Church. Only within the governmental structure
of the Church should Christian leaders be chosen. Thus, because we are electing a politician we should be most
concerned about the policies each candidate supports. And the most
important policy this preacher upholds is the right to life, the right to life
of the unborn. The right to life
issue is important because defending the most defenseless is fundamental to
both biblical revelation and natural law.
Jesus came for the least among us and there are no human beings that
better define the least among us than those who are not even called human and
have no means to defend themselves. Natural law reveals to us that we cannot continue as a
species if the most dangerous place a human can be is in her mother’s womb.
If you agree with the above you may be skeptical because you
are not confident either party or candidate truly wishes to protect the
unborn. The only for sure we have
is that one party says from their platform that they are most concerned about a
woman’s right to choose while the other says that protection of the unborn is
what is most important. The fact
that words from a platform have not turned into action for defending the unborn
is true. I have no immediate defense
or solution for that fact.
Other policies that Christians should be concerned about
include our national debt and thus what we are leaving for future
generations. We have a biblical
responsibility to leave an inheritance for our children not a debt (Prov. 13:22). Christians should also be concerned
about national defense. The one
clear biblical responsibility God gives to government leaders is the protection
of their citizens (Rom. 13:3,4).
This protection includes treaties with other nations and how we go about
preventing terrorist threats before they become terrorist acts on our nations
soil. Policies concerning
immigration should be examined in terms of both national security and biblical
instruction to treat strangers in our land with dignity (Lev. 19:34). Other policies concerning health care,
education, bathroom sharing and whatever else we can debate about are informed
by both moral conviction and wisdom.
The last policy I perceive is most important is what each
party and or candidate will do to protect freedom of religion so that
Christian churches are free to preach the gospel without censor, without a tax
and without harassment.
A pastor should never tell his followers how to vote. I will only tell you how I will
vote. I will vote for the
candidate who gives the unborn the best chance to be protected. I will vote for the candidate that
gives our nation the best chance to be protected from enemies foreign and
domestic. And I will vote for the
candidate that I have no confidence in regarding his or her character matching
up to what he or she says he or she will do. I see through foggy glass and I am blinded by the sun.
“May God have mercy upon the United States of America, if
that is His will. May God judge us
according to our deeds if that is His will. May God’s Kingdom come and His will be done, on earth
as it is in Heaven. In the name of
Jesus who is Savior and Lord of all creation, Amen!”
