I recently posted a meme on Facebook concerning the concept of voting for “the lesser of two evils” and it has caused an interesting conversation. This conversation is not unique to me for a Facebook friend (Pastor Cary Gordon) most effectively created a series of educational cartoons addressing this very subject some time ago. You need to watch them and can find them Here.
The truth of the matter is that any and every candidate for political office is flawed by the very nature they are born with. There is no such thing as a “perfect” or flawless candidate and yes, Jesus is never on the ballot. However, to support a candidate who carries a Biblical Worldview, quality of character, and a correct understanding of the Constitution is not asking for too much. American Christianity has become so compartmentalized with regards to the application of the Scripture and the Faith to their civic responsibilities that we have perpetuated the cycle of poor candidates to the place we accept almost anyone with any flaw as long as they “sound” politically conservative. This is seen in the manifestation of TWO theological gaps articulated by many Christians.
1. Acceptance of the two-party system as the only valid template for an election.
Christians, unfortunately, refuse to think out of the box concerning our corrupt two-party system. I constantly hear the drumbeat that says, “If we don’t vote for Candidate A we will get Candidate B and I know Candidate A is terrible, but at least he is not as bad as Candidate B. Plus, we get a seat at the table and there is more of a chance for good appointments and……” Last time I looked in the Bible and the Constitution I saw no mandate for having only a two-party selection process.
The sad truth is that until Christians move their influence in another direction this cycle will never be broken. Listen, the Church could conceivably take-over the GOP if it wanted to, but that won’t happen until we understand how to vote biblically. Until we understand that there is a biblical approach to the vote we will continue to be judged by our unrighteous rulers.
2. Ignorance of how Scripture applies to a contemporary democratic-republic (voting) when most of it was written under a monarchical (King) or oligarchical (Sanhedrin) template.
Christians either believe that the Bible doesn’t address our current system of selecting rulers or it’s precepts cannot be transferred to our current process. So, most believers assimilate and insert political philosophy and pragmatism into their worldview at this point rather than searching for any biblical framework. We assume God gives us no guidance with regards to the selection of rulers and He ostensibly let’s us do whatever we want as He “secretly and sovereignly” directs the election. I will address this later because I do indeed believe in sovereignty, but not as most Christians apply it in elections.
I want to suggest 5 theological foundations with regards to how God might instruct us on how to vote in an election. There are probably more points than these, but this is at least a starting point.
1. JESUS IS LORD OVER HOW YOU VOTE.
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,”
Colossians 3:23 NKJV
Please note the word “whatever”. That means…WHATEVER! Voting constitutes a “whatever”. So, appropriate application would be that as you go into a voting booth you are voting “as to the Lord”. Your faith is not disconnected from your vote. In fact, your faith becomes a filter by which you discern and implement the precepts you know about civil leadership. The assumption is made that you have not only prayed about who to vote for, but you have thoroughly vetted the candidates by the Scripture. The candidates positions are prioritized in accordance with how Scripture prioritizes those positions. You have accurately distinguished their positions with regards to whose function it is to accomplish those things (Civil Government, Church, Family or the individual). Your vote is not your own. Your vote is in accordance with the Master whose agenda is greater than simply you.
2. YOUR VOTE EMPOWERS SOMEONE TO RULE.
As you enter a voting booth you are literally empowering a person with great national power. With a stroke of a pen they can implement righteousness or unrighteousness. It is important that your choice is not simply the “lesser of two evils” because if that is your position you are empowering some degree of evil. It is analogous to throwing a set of car keys to a 12 year old or a 14 year old. Which one will you empower to drive? The 14 year old may be incrementally a better driver than the 12 year old, but statistically speaking…they are both going to crash the car.
We have been empowering people, in recent years, who are driving the bus called America closer to going off a cliff with the only distinguishable difference between the two is that one is driving the bus 100 MPH and the other is driving it at 80 MPH. We can no longer empower people who refuse to change the direction of the bus. The logic of many which states, “Well my candidate won’t drive the bus as fast -or- My candidate is a better driver at those speeds than the other candidate”…is simply crazy. We are to empower righteous rulers (notice, I didn’t say perfect). Much like David’s selection by Samuel in the Old Testament, we may have to walk down the line of Jesse’s candidate sons and say, “Nope…none of these. Is there anyone else?”, and let God pull His leader out of the sheep field. Sometimes the sheep field is analogous to the “third-party”. There is always an option besides those that are put before you by man.
3. YOUR VOTE COMMUNICATES YOUR WORLDVIEW.
Your vote is a way to communicate what you value and believe in. A politician uses their vote tallies as ways of determining their mandate to govern. So if you simply vote the “lesser of two evils” you need to be completely aware that your vote will be seized and interpreted as an endorsement for their worldview.
Now I fully recognize that there will never be a candidate with whom I would agree 100%. However, there are issues like Life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty which are essential in the evaluation of a candidate.
4. YOUR VOTE IS BASED ON SCRIPTURAL PRECEPT NOT SUBJECTIVE REVELATION.
I believe God can and indeed still does speak within the boundaries of Scripture. In other words, the Lord will not violate what He has said in Scripture by leading you to do something which is in contradiction to that established revelation. So, a prophetic word, vision, impression, and the like does not override a Scriptural precept. It is incredibly difficult to justify Scripturally the empowering of a civil leader whom God views as a “minister” (see Romans 13) that egregiously violates the Lord’s ways.
Of course, God has used evil rulers in Scripture to accomplish His will, but that does not justify our personal empowering of them to perpetrate their evil based on a subjective sense that God is leading us to help this leader win.
I am amazed at how many Christians vote according to how they “feel” rather than what God may have laid out by biblical precept.
5. YOUR BELIEF IN GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY DOES NOT COMPROMISE YOUR VOTE.
We cannot purposefully create anarchy and empower evil and then simply use Romans 8:28 to justify our disobedience. You cannot say, “I know this candidate promotes anti-biblical policy, but God is sovereign and I believe he will shake things up and we need something shook up”. That is a convolution of sovereignty. That is an attempt to drag God into your willing disobedience of His Word.
If November’s election presents to us two untenable candidates according to the Scripture, then be advised, you are under no obligation to empower either one. The lesser of two evils is still evil and there are always options in the voting booth to that reality. I encourage you to trust God with this nation, not a convoluted political philosophy that is trying to force you into two unacceptable alternatives. I know, I can hear the choir of nay-sayers screaming that this nation will fall off a cliff if the worse one gets elected. It just might. I can assure you that it will also fall off a cliff if the lesser one is in charge. Perhaps it is at that point that the words of the prophet will be fulfilled.
“And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.”
Isaiah 61:4 NKJV
Mark David Mattingly
May 1, 2016 at 2:50 pmI agree with your points above. Under the US Constitution, We the People have both the full authority from God to vote and also the full responsibility to vote. Not voting or voting irresponsibly is simply mocking God, for which anyone who does so will be accountable in the long term, plus we will suffer the consequences of disobedience as a nation in the short term.
Most pastors are simply unwilling, for whatever reason, to even present something this brief and concise to their people in the pews. Why? Because they are afraid to lose members, and more importantly to them, the money that those members bring. The proper handling of God-Given authority and responsibility is therefore largely ignored in the Church in the US, and the result is that the room is swept clean to allow for the ungodly secular form of government that pervades in the US to come in an occupy.
Thurman Mason
May 6, 2016 at 1:34 pmPerhaps I’m missing something. You write, “If November’s election presents to us two untenable candidates according to the Scripture, then be advised, you are under no obligation to empower either one. The lesser of two evils is still evil and there are always options in the voting booth to that reality.” Do you realize you are effectively saying that Christians in America NEVER have an obligation to vote? Fact is, we will ALWAYS have to choose between the “lesser of two evils” because until Christ returns there is no one but flawed sinners available to run and occupy political office. At least in a democracy, albeit a corrupt one like ours, we can still have a significant effect on the outcome. So, IMHO it really does come down to choosing between the lesser of two evils
Kevin Baird
May 6, 2016 at 1:59 pmGreetings Thurman and thanks for inputting the blog.
In the article I mentioned that theologically by our very nature we will always have a “carnal” candidate because of the very bent to sin (Doctrine of depravity). The point I was trying to make (However ineptly that may seem) was that we are not locked into a two party scenario with egregiously flawed candidates. Yes, all of us have sinned have come short of God’s standard, but there is an evaluation of every candidate concerning their testimony and whether or not their character supports their desire for leadership or disqualifies them.
If you read the totality of my views you will find out that I would never advocate for an ejection from the process of electing civil leaders. I simply suggest that the two party (false) choice is not something we are beholden to accept.
Thanks again for stopping by!