Message to Christians: This Election Day, Your Vote Is Your Choice

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[Ned_Flanders]

I'm thinking of Christians as I write this but I'd like to think it is a message that could apply to anyone.  

I really hate it when people say things like, "You can't be a Christian and vote for [that candidate]" or "I don't see how any Christian could vote for [that party]."  I know the Great Commission Church Establishment (and many other Churches, for that matter) would have questioned your salvation if they knew you were a liberal Democrat.  But I used to be a part of another Church where if you told them you were a conservative Republican, they would have called you a fool.  Back in 2008, I visited a co-worker's Church once for a men's prayer breakfast and one of the elders got up to speak and said something about "that fool George Bush."  To me, it's a scary thought that all the people in a Church would monolithically vote the same way.  Or that people would use a God label to shame the personal choice of others.  And you don't even need to be a part of any Church to get a bullying, shaming judgment from somebody for not supporting the candidate they think is the answer to all of the world's problems.  I vote for Jesus every time to do that.  

I encourage everyone to find the political issue that matters most to you and vote for the party that purports to stand for that issue.  And don't let somebody else tell you what to do.  I early voted this past Friday.  I looked at the issues, made my choice and I am proud of it.  If you still don't know what choice to make, pray about it.  But don't let somebody else use bullying and shame to tell you who to support.

Be Blessed,
Ned Flanders

[EverAStudent]

I too am all for not allowing anyone to tell you whom to vote for and for disallowing bullies to dictate your voting choice.

Of course, I am also not in favor of Christians voting purely on the basis of political expediency.  If our Lord's principles do not drive our thinking and our choices then we have lost an even greater battle than that of an election:  http://craigwbooth.xanga.com/769405504/democrat-shows-true-heart/

[ustawannabee]

At this point in the game, if you still can't decide who to vote for, just stay home!!!!

[EverAStudent]

This United States of America is the greatest experiment in freedom and citizen government ever attempted.  Go flex your citizen muscles, exercise your freedoms ... Go and VOTE !

[Ned_Flanders]

Of course, I am also not in favor of Christians voting purely on the basis of political expediency.  If our Lord's principles do not drive our thinking and our choices then we have lost an even greater battle than that of an election:

Define "political expediency."

EAS, I'm not kidding when I say I've gone to Church with people and they say they cannot believe how anyone could call themselves a Christian and vote Democrat.  And then I've gone to a different Church and people say that you're a fool to be a Republican.  

I spoke to a Christian once who talked about the need to see moral issues first like abortion and defense of heterosexual marriage over social issues like unemployment and health care.  Later on, I spoke to a Christian who called health care and unemployment moral issues and abortion and gay marriage social issues!  God is concerned about all of these things.  As for myself, I think I understand morality.  But try translating it into partisan politics.

Again- if an issue or the issues is/are uncompromising for you, you have the freedom to vote for the candidate of your choice, whoever that may be.  Just be aware that a lot of people who pray to God just like you do are convicted about all kinds of issues.  

[EverAStudent]

Define "political expediency."

In my understanding a "political expediency" is anything a person voluntarily decides to do to attempt to make his or her life easier or more prosperous with little or no regard to the eternal context of that decision. 

Perhaps an example: in Nazi Germany a political expediency would be to fly the Nazi flag outside my home to fit in with my neighbors even though personally I abhored the Nazi party and found them immoral and did not actually support their cause. 

While in Egypt Abraham found it politically expedient to pretend his wife was his sister and let Pharaoh take her as a wife.

In today's language a political expediency might be to vote for the party that promises to give me the biggest share of government money even if I believed that the government was acting unethically by doing so.  For instance, it is my personal belief that it is unethical for either a person or a government to spend more money than they earn or more than they have saved in advance, so naturally, if I were personally going to vote based on ethics, I would vote against those who favor deficit spending even if they promised me the most money in return. 

But if I voted for those most likely to enact deficit spendind policies just so I could get a bigger share of redistributed monetary wealth, then I would be voting based on political expediency instead of on my ethics.  Hypothetically, of course.  Yet, in reality in the state in which I presently reside current widespread voting practice has installed many wise local politicians who cut budgetary spending (in spite of special interest group pressure) to ensure the state operates in the black with a balanced budget even during the recession (unlike California).

Similarly, if someone were to vote for a candidate based solely on what color their skin is without regard for the candidate's ethics or morality, then again that vote, in my personal opinion, is a vote rooted in political expediency instead of eternal values (e.g. clansmen voting only for white candidates simply because they are white).

All that said, not everyone's ethics and moral values are the same.  And I have little interest in trying to dictate to the rest of the world what their ethics ought to be.  Christians, on the other hand, have many of their ethics and values defined by their relationship with Christ via the Word of God.  For Christians to vote without applying those principles of biblical ethics would be not simply folly, but sin.  Scriptures do not dictate who to vote for, but they allow Christians to make up their own minds by use of spiritual discernment through the application of God's written and revealed wisdom which must inform all decisions.

Go vote.

[Ned_Flanders]

Define "political expediency."

In my understanding a "political expediency" is anything a person voluntarily decides to do to attempt to make his or her life easier or more prosperous with little or no regard to the eternal context of that decision.

EAS,
Thanks for the definition and your thoughtful e-mail.  I've gotten quite a response in other places where I submitted my essay.  I'm glad for the feedback but my position really stays the same... the point is for Christians not to judge each other on their political choice.  And my bottom line is the same: my hope is in Jesus Christ. and not any politician, to save a world that has changed its mind time and time again on what morality and values are.

You have every right to feel very strong about your politics and it is a very powerful thing to cast a vote for the issues you believe in. 
Peace,
Ned

[araignee19]

One thing I have learned over the past few years is how very little I really know. I am the type of person who loves to learn and question, and I try my hardest to make informed decisions. However, that being said, there are a lot of gaps and incorrect ideas in my knowledge of the truth (What I mean by "knowledge of truth" is that there is absolute truth in this universe, even if we don't know it, and most of the time we are pretty ignorant of it). Everyone has some gaps and incorrect ideas. Every person is right on some issues, and wrong on others. Despite the fact we don't know everything, we ultimately have to act upon what we do know, or just sit and waste our life away. The problem is that every person has different gaps and wrong ideas. I fully believe that two people can make two different decisions based on what they believe to be true and both be following God in faith. That doesn't mean everyone is right all the time, but at a certain point, I believe God wants us to act on what we know and trust that he will use it. I think that is part of living in faith.

Even those who believe the Bible is the final word on these situations can, based on what they know and don't know, come to different conclusions about what it means, or how it should be applied in the setting of governments or unbelievers.

This applies to politics very nicely in my opinion. Two people can support two different parties, politicians, or views, and both be following God in faith to the best of their ability.

This does not mean that we should simply stop searching for the truth and testing out beliefs to see if they are correct. But at a certain point do what you believe is right and trust God with the results, even if it goes against your church's ideas on politics.

[Ned_Flanders]

One thing I have learned over the past few years is how very little I really know. I am the type of person who loves to learn and question, and I try my hardest to make informed decisions. However, that being said, there are a lot of gaps and incorrect ideas in my knowledge of the truth (What I mean by "knowledge of truth" is that there is absolute truth in this universe, even if we don't know it, and most of the time we are pretty ignorant of it). Everyone has some gaps and incorrect ideas. Every person is right on some issues, and wrong on others. Despite the fact we don't know everything, we ultimately have to act upon what we do know, or just sit and waste our life away. The problem is that every person has different gaps and wrong ideas. I fully believe that two people can make two different decisions based on what they believe to be true and both be following God in faith. That doesn't mean everyone is right all the time, but at a certain point, I believe God wants us to act on what we know and trust that he will use it. I think that is part of living in faith.

Even those who believe the Bible is the final word on these situations can, based on what they know and don't know, come to different conclusions about what it means, or how it should be applied in the setting of governments or unbelievers.

This applies to politics very nicely in my opinion. Two people can support two different parties, politicians, or views, and both be following God in faith to the best of their ability.

This does not mean that we should simply stop searching for the truth and testing out beliefs to see if they are correct. But at a certain point do what you believe is right and trust God with the results, even if it goes against your church's ideas on politics.

I really like this, Araignee.  Thanks for "getting it." 

[BTDT]

I really like this, Araignee.  Thanks for "getting it." 

Thanks to both of you!  You have said it better than I think I could have, so it's a simple "amen" from me. :-)

When I look back at how some of my Christian and political convictions have changed over the last 30 years, I'm amazed.  And I'm sure they'll continue to evolve and (hopefully) grow.  I could easily ask, "Was I in sin then or am I now?"...but IMO that misses the whole point.