INTRODUCTION
Nothing makes American Christians overthink quite like a presidential election. As the next one is less than a week away, some of us are awaiting it with more anxiety than Abraham as he led Isaac to the altar. But for many, this is not for fear of who might win. It’s for fear of who they’ll vote for. Or not vote for.
On the other side of this whirling coin are the Christians who won’t think about it past their bumper sticker, which may as well be a pillow. It reminds them that “no matter who is president, Jesus is king,” and therefore, it’s no big deal who they vote for. Or don’t vote for.
What these two camps have in common is their disdain for the two-party establishment and the scalawags it tends to nominate. And, to be sure, this is a predicament we should all want to see resolved at some point. But it raises categorical questions when Christians treat their trip to the polls like Haman’s parading of Mortdecai through the streets, and their vote like his shouts of “thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
JUST A-PASSING THROUGH
Let’s break down how the two-party establishment affects Christians; and for application purposes, let’s limit this to the 21st century. Since the Democratic Party has consistently pushed policies that would make Caligula blush, voting blue is rightly assumed to be disqualified as an option for Christians. But what is to be done when the Republican Party’s course of habit is to draw lines that promise little more than four years of compromise?
After the Children of Israel bid Pharaoh “So Long, Farewell,” it took forty years of wandering and wars for them to settle down in the Promised Land. Unlike the United States, they had direct revelation from God at nearly every turn; but this doesn’t change the fact that He put them through dilemma after dilemma. Their most recurring sin was murmuring that they hadn’t effectively been teleported from Egypt to Canaan.
Numbers 16:14
Moreover you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up!”
New voters may feel as though they were born into a sewage flow, while folks from older generations likely feel as though they’ve been dragged into one. But regardless of where you started, you should currently be lunging and grasping for a ledge that will allow you, your wife and your children to make plans to get somewhere better. Now, if someone had called you in your living room to offer you residency in such a place, your response wouldn’t have included the words “after careful consideration.” Trading one’s living room for this condition would be self-destructive and contrary to nature. But from where you are now, if it’s the only escape God has extended to you, should you wait for Him to bring you a place that is ideal, smells nice, and can be inhabited long-term?
Some Christians suddenly suppose that basic survival instincts are unlawful when applied to politics. Rahab’s abode was no place for men of God, yet the Israelite spies found a safe haven there (and Rahab was saved as the result). Isaiah worked with King Cyrus, Jeremiah worked with King Zedekiah, and time would fail me to tell of all the other Old Testament prophets who allied with pagan rulers for the interest of Israel. The different political systems notwithstanding, there is a strong Biblical precedent for accepting assistance from wicked people.
Another stumbling block is the fake sin of realism. Being realistic does not necessarily mean we are failing to trust God. It can mean we trust Him so much that we are willing to make the best of the means He has put before us, even if the desired proportion of improvement is not yet in sight. This is how it works: God gives us goals, and He gives us means. But He rarely gives us all the means at once. We are never going to make it in one reach, so we must keep reaching at different leverages, no matter how sore our arms get.
ONE SMALL VOTE, ONE GIANT LEAP
Now would be a good time for me to clarify that I’m not saying the solution is to vote Republican. If all we do is crawl out of our shells to vote every four years and take no action the rest of the time, the result will just be a slower collapse. What voting Republican does is give Christian leaders a chance to take action. A pliable traditionalist is easier to reason with than an ironclad neo-Marxist. So take advantage of this, and do so transparently and unapologetically.
Perhaps I hear someone contending that a corrupt system cannot be changed from the inside. But it’s not that simple in either direction. If one person fights from the inside and another from the outside, and they both use lawful, effective means in accordance with how God has placed and equipped them, how can one presume to tell the other that God will not use him?
Some Christians will affirm this in theory, but apply it to means that have proven ineffective. Lest I be misunderstood, I would have no problem voting for a third-party or independent candidate under the right circumstances. At the very least, this would require the breakthrough of an organized movement posing an ample threat to the two-party establishment that could be statistically proven and relied upon. Since this has not happened, such voters are staking the future of our country upon a miracle they are in no position to declare.
Does this require us to be pragmatists or incrementalists? Not in identity. But we shouldn’t be afraid of these strategies when they are used lawfully. In its purest form, a presidential vote is a private motion to use a specific person—usually an elite stranger—for a specific outcome, for a specific length of time. Taking this personally misses the point entirely. Prudence and morale demand we give the bulk of our consideration to the outcome, not the individual. The reason I won’t vote for Kamala Harris is not because she isn’t holy enough. This is not unrelated, but the ultimate reason is because she would actively increase the state of evil in our nation. Were I voting for a Christian magistrate in a Biblical nation, the application of this would be different by means of too many variables to count; but the principle would still be the same.
Proverbs 27:12
A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself;
The simple pass on and are punished.
And now, a brief word on Christians who treat the ballot box like the suggestion box in their workplace’s lunchroom. You know, the ones who will leave the booth on election day with a smug grin, thinking of how upended the vote counters will be when they read “no king but Christ” written in for president. This is a fundamental abuse of democracy. If you want to protest, grab a Sharpie and make a sign. The poll isn’t for that. If you want to preach, see what your pastor thinks and take up a microphone. The poll isn’t for that. This is America. Don’t hide behind a cowardly troll vote and fancy that you’ve made a difference. The only statement you’ve made is that you’re bad at making statements.
Proverbs 14:15
The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps.
DISCERNING BOTH TIME AND JUDGMENT
Dear Christian voter, do not bind your own conscience with the charge of voting for no one but the most refined specimen of politician. It is vanity to pour over each one day and night, attempting to calculate the most precise balance of intentions and competence. Even if you could vote for King David, you still might find that he would eventually disappoint you. So stick to what you know, and vote with patience.
Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord,
Like the rivers of water;
He turns it wherever He wishes.
Remember also that there is no enemy greater than hypocrisy. Donald Trump has never publicly made a profession of faith, and if elected again, will not build a great, great New Christendom. That is true enough. But Barack Obama insisted that he was a Christian while robustly advancing DNC abominations. Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, has been in office for the past four years; and now Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, is running. Last week, when Christians at her rally shouted “Jesus is King” and “Christ is Lord,” she told them they were at the wrong rally. An administration that stands on the shoulders of a professing Christian has now grown hostile to the faith in a succession of just three candidates and three terms.
Observing the patterns of 21st century American politics should tell us that it’s not enough to have a president who could pass for a Christian at a local church pancake breakfast. What this nation needs is for the righteous to increase. That’s us, the church. And if we wish to work hard for the Kingdom, love our neighbors and brethren, and affirm God’s promise to preserve His church, then we ought to vote in a way that will keep these things thriving. Preaching the Gospel desperately needs to be done, but the polls are not the place for it. God has given us an abundance of good places to preach. Let’s use the polls to keep it that way.