Principles, Policies, Personality, and Prosperity
Trigger Warning: This post is about your political choices.
Who doesn’t love election season? Am I right? It’s a welcome break from pharmaceutical and Medicare ads on TV.
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Even if thinking — or talking — about political choices makes you uncomfortable, please take a few minutes to read this article to consider how and why you should vote.
This is an odd election cycle. The primary process selected one candidate, and a small group chose the other without input from the American people.
That makes me uncomfortable.
Many people dislike discussing politics or religion for fear of offending their family, friends, and neighbors.
Other people are unafraid to talk about politics because
It’s their job as activists, or
The government interferes with their ability to enjoy their constitutional freedoms, run a business, and provide for their families or
They’re fed up with the status quo and recognize it’s time for a change.
People avoid politics (and religion) because they don’t want to be “canceled” (yes, that’s still a thing for now), censored (what big tech and the government do when your free speech doesn’t support their point of view), or be accused of spreading disinformation or misinformation (what the government and media claim when your free speech doesn’t align with what they want you to think).
Here’s where I think we are: Many Americans are fed up with the status quo.
Nearly four years of rising prices. The government’s failure to care for its citizens while squandering billions on welfare, lawfare, and warfare. The current administration’s failure to uphold the US Constitution and the rule of law. Censorship. There are too many reasons to list.
How Do (or Don’t) We Vote?
I’ve talked with many people who bring up personality, character, and language as reasons for not voting for a particular candidate.
There will always be candidates people choose because they like their personality, ethnicity, or gender. Should personal or immutable attributes solely determine your choice for whom you vote?
Many people tend to vote along party lines because our behavior is tribal.
Or people don’t vote. That’s a problem. Not voting allows evil to flourish.
As Christ-followers, we must approach each election prayerfully and intentionally, understanding that our choices on the ballot are for a candidate and party with policies and ideologies that support or oppose God’s plan for redeeming humanity.
Will the candidate, policies, or ideologies be perfect or ideal? No, but if they protect life, marriage and the family, and preserve our rights and freedoms, they are for us, not against us.
“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.” Philippians 3:20, NLT
Jason Yates, CEO of My Faith Votes, notes there are four reasons why disengaged Christians don’t vote:
People are uninformed. “Failing to prepare for an election squanders an opportunity the Lord has provided for us to impact the policies and leaders guiding our nation.”
The remedy: Get outside of your Christian bubble and engage with the culture that God calls you to be a steward of.
People are lazy or apathetic. “If we are only focused on the outcomes of elections and not on our faithfulness to what God requires of us, it’s easy to fall into this trap.”
The remedy: I know you’re tired and weary. So is everybody else, but who will stand if you don’t stand for life, truth, beauty, and goodness?
People are deceived. “They’ve been deceived into thinking their faith excuses them from any political opinion or involvement.”
The remedy: You may claim, “I can’t choose between the lesser of two evils.” Then, vote to lessen evil.
People are self-righteous. “The disengaged Christian who lands in this category is hopelessly searching for a flawless candidate.”
The remedy: There has never been, nor will there ever be, an ideal candidate for any elected office. Voting for a candidate means supporting the party platform, even if the platform is imperfect.
Let’s be realistic. There has never been, nor will there ever be, an ideal candidate for any elected office.
“I hope all Christians remember that our faith has something essential to contribute to the world around us this election cycle. There will never be a perfect candidate or perfect party because we live in a sinful world. But Jesus never excuses our apathy or inaction as a response to reality.”
Jason Yates, CEO, My Faith Votes
When you don’t vote, you abdicate your responsibility to bring Christ into every area of your life and influence culture.
Don’t forget that Jesus is the Lord over politics (and your conscience). That’s why it’s essential to consider what happens when you cast your ballot and how your choices impact your family, faith, career, and society in this cultural moment.
In a recent Breakpoint podcast, John Stonestreet noted, “My former colleague Kevin Bywater suggests a better approach: ‘My approach is to vote to lessen evil. Now, this requires identifying evils and candidates whose policies or platforms might impact these issues and lessen the evils.’”
“Christians, he said, should think of voting as a way of “lessening evil.” Not only does this approach better fit the political realities of our particular context, it recognizes the inherent limits of politics even while maintaining principle. Also, voting to lessen evil acknowledges the moral inadequacies of candidates while still seeking to accomplish good through voting.”
Kevin Bywater
It’s OK to Change Your Mind.
So many people are changing party affiliations right now, and it’s challenging to keep track.
Adam B. Coleman writes about the choices we must consider:
“They’ve shown themselves to be authoritarian elitists who were willing to use all apparatuses to force you to comply with their nonsense.
I would love to have two common-sense, viable political parties to fight over but from my view, there is only one that is even remotely close to common sense. There is only one that isn’t enforcing perversion on our children. I have no choice but to vote for them.”
Your Vote Reflects Your View of the World
Do the people you vote for support ideologies and policies for life, families, freedom, and faith, even imperfectly?
Or do they support the opposite?
When you vote, you make choices (such as those found in the Manhattan Declaration) to
Protect and preserve life (or not)
Protect and advocate marriage (or not)
Keeping communities safe (or not)
Support parents’ rights to know what their children are taught (or not)
Protect children at every age, from the pre-born to teenagers (or not)
An economy in which your family thrives (or struggles to survive)
An economy of prosperity, not scarcity
Maintain the value of your citizenship (or not)
Protect your rights as a citizen (or not).
Voting is a Sacred Responsibility
The United States isn’t God’s chosen nation, nor is it a democracy. It’s a constitutional Republic that protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority, with checks and balances distributed among three separate but equal branches of government. It offers us unparalleled freedom of religion, free speech, and many other rights.
Our freedoms, opportunities, and resources are valuable to God, whose purpose is to “bring all of history to its goal in Christ” (Ephesians 1:10).
When you vote, it’s not solely about the party, candidates, or personalities. It’s not about “voting your conscience” (unless you acknowledge that — as a Christ-follower — your conscience belongs to God). When you vote, your allegiance is first and foremost to God, not the state.
Your vote helps decide which ideas move forward in culture.
Good ideas advance God’s Kingdom and help people flourish.
Bad ideas hold all people back and cause people to suffer.
Francis Schaeffer offers this perspective about ideas (as world views) in his book, “A Christian Manifesto.”
“These two world views stand as totals in complete antithesis in content and also in their natural results … It is not just that they happen to bring forth different results, but it is absolutely inevitable that they will bring forth different results.”
Good ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims.
Your vote is not just a choice — it’s your way to participate in redeeming culture.
Don’t squander your opportunity to play your part in God’s plan to redeem people for his glory.
Get out and vote!