Election Day is upon us. How will we vote? Will we vote a straight ticket regardless of the convictions of the individual? Let me suggest that we be compelled by our conscience to say like the Apostle Peter: “We must obey God rather than men.” This includes voting with integrity and a good conscience. This principle must also include our convictions. Our first loyalty must be to the Lord.
Pray for wisdom: Sometimes it’s difficult to know who to vote for and how to vote on the issues that seem to be worded to confuse rather than be understood. Daniel tells us that God will give us wisdom and understanding. Ask Him! James tells us: “If any lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” Have we asked for political wisdom and understanding? Perhaps we need to do this before we go the polls. It was Solomon who wrote: “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” I can’t imagine entering a voting booth without asking God’s help, and then casting our vote for the candidate that will be most likely to honor the will of the Lord, seeking His wisdom and understanding on the issues at hand.
Ask some Discerning Questions:
- Does the candidate believe in God and does he strive to live by Christian principles?
- Does his or her personal lifestyle and voting history indicate honor for God’s moral law?
- Where do they stand on the issues: Abortion and sanctity of life? Same sex marriage?
- Does he or she recognize and respect the Christian influences that brought the Pilgrims to our shores, which shaped our nation and its founding documents?
- Does the candidate surround himself with people of integrity and high moral character, or does he choose his staff from those whose conduct is questionable?
- Does he or she demonstrate respect for those of the Christian faith, or does he allow them to be ridiculed and attacked?
- Is he or she a person of courage, vision, conviction, and moral righteousness?
- Will they place the good of our nation before their own personal preference and special interest groups? Sometimes politics, advancing self and party, take precedent over what is right and the welfare of the nation.
Don’t be indifferent to the system that blesses us. God has given us freedom and liberty under democracy. It’s a mistake on our part to become so disillusioned that we refuse to participate in our electoral process. It is true, “Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.”
Electing our governmental leadership is a privilege that was won on many battlefields. It must not be regarded lightly. It is a duty of Christian citizenship to participate in the freedoms others have died to make possible. And it is our duty to prepare for this Election Day.