Before we can answer the questions of, “Who do we vote for when no E18 candidate appears to exist?” and “Is not voting an option (or even sin)?”, it might serve us well to explore the process of election (selection) and analyze what it means to vote.
Few Christians have stopped long enough to consider whether or not the Bible has anything to say about “voting”. While it is partially true that the “how” of selecting leaders is never explicitly mentioned, the assumption is that since most of the Scripture was written under the concept of monarchies and dictators that there is nothing to be learned with regards to the election of leaders in a democratic-republic. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the Scriptures are indeed the blueprint for all of life then it should be assumed that there will be, at the very least, some precepts that would be applicable to the way a believer approaches voting.
The concept of voting is extracted from Scripture only by practical assumptions. For example, some vote was taken when the report of the “spies” was received (10-2, “let’s not go into the promised land”). The apostles “voted” when they moved to replace Judas with Matthias (and an interesting debate occurs as to whether that was actually God’s choice). There was also some form of “vote” when the Apostles wrestled over the Gentile issue of Acts 15 and it was decided that one need not be a Jew before becoming a Christian. Again, I will quickly stipulate that these are veiled references to some form of selection or registering an official decision.
“Voting” as it is practiced in our democracies and republics is generally missing from the Bible and perhaps even suspect. Why was voting generally suspect? Answer: The carnal nature of humanity tends to vote their self-interest rather than God’s interest. We choose not what is biblically necessary, but rather what is personally beneficial. This causes the voting process to be fraught with potential corruption, ego, pandering, and self-promotion. While the intention of voting is that every person gets to speak into the selection process of their leadership, the outcome is a highly manipulated system which has produced untold numbers of compromised individuals into leadership. There is no argument that voting may be the best of any number of ways to select leaders, but we must recognize that voting in and of itself does not guarantee a righteous outcome. Most people, including many Christians, vote upon a basis that isn’t biblical. Many vote strictly out of party loyalty, passion for a particular candidate, fear of the alternative, or secular pragmatism. If we are to follow the Scripture which instructs us, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31), then surely that would include our voting.
I would suggest that a vote can represent one or more things to the American voter:
1. A declaration of support for a candidate.
2. An empowering of an agenda or platform.
3. Participation in a mandate to govern.
4. The elevating of a person to Civic Leadership (Hiring or Yoking)
5. Communicating a value system.
While these things may have a place, for the Bible-believing Christian there are a few other considerations:
1. An affirmation of the biblically qualified.
2. A command to honor God.
3. The fear of the Lord in identifying leadership
Now of course, this doesn’t yet answer the question as to how we should approach an election with no apparent E18 candidates, but it lays the foundation for how I believe a Christian should approach elections.
Stay tuned…
Answers coming…
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