Voting: The Simplest Form of Civic Involvement
PERSPECTIVE — Government largely operates while “we the people” pay little attention, yet its decisions affect nearly every area of life. Those elected to office impact things like taxes, community development, medical issues, and even roadways. We hope those people make good decisions, yet few citizens get involved with the processes or even consider these things. Every election season is filled with candidates who vie for our attention and commitment at the ballot box. As Christians, how important is it to vote? What does God’s Word have to say about voting? By what means should we evaluate these candidates? How are we to be good Biblical citizens?
Voting in elections is the simplest form of civic involvement for all citizens, including Christians. Yet sadly the church has low voter turnout. Pastors who say they are thankful for our freedoms, but don’t inform congregations to get to the polls or equip them with how to vote biblically, are part of the reason. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 admonishes us to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” – which includes all elected officials … as well as our pastors. We need to pray for and encourage our pastors to lead in showing righteousness in the public square by discussing elections and voting biblically. Proverbs 29:2: “When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice. But when a wicked [man] rules, the people groan.” Remind them that the goal is not to “Christianize” government, but rather to fulfill our part to uphold God’s righteous standard in the community. Yes, it is extremely important for Christians to vote.
It is the responsibility of the pastors to inform their congregation what God’s Word teaches in every area of life, including government. Roadways and community infrastructure aren’t “spiritual,” so we could suppose government isn’t “holy enough” to get involved in—but that would be wrong! James 4:17 tells us “to him who knows to do good and does not do it – to him it is sin”. We only need to look around to see the battle between good and evil in front of our eyes. The culture is at war with God, pushing for “rights” to murder the preborn babies and trying to corrupt the children in the community with godless ideologies and access to explicit material. Read James 1:27. Who else will stand in the gap for these innocent ones but the Christians?
Despite the lack of pastors connecting biblical instruction with the topics relating to civic responsibility, we must read and know God’s Word for ourselves. The Bible teaches morality and instructs us in all things, and we are to apply it when we evaluate candidates. “Thou shall not murder” – Christians cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate who supports or encourages abortion. Now although every office up for election does not regulate things to do with abortion, many people that get elected to local offices wind up running for other (“larger”) positions in the future. Additionally, God’s Word says “He made them male and female” – there are no other genders. Any candidate supporting an agenda that says otherwise is not one a Christian should cast a vote for. Another easy way to tell if you should vote for someone or not is to see if they support anything from Romans 1:22-32. This can “test” school board candidates regarding where they stand regarding explicit material available for minors in the schools. Additionally, it can apply to those on city councils, mayors, and commissioners for their position of “pride” type events.
Most of the relevant information on candidates can be obtained from their websites and social media. Additionally, you can call their campaign to ask their views on these subjects. While there are no “perfect” candidates, there are some that are obviously more supportive of evil and unholy things than others, and sometimes the choice we have to make is their opponent who is less supportive of evil actions. Abstaining from voting leaves a void that evil is ready to fill. There are Christian voter guides that help do this legwork for the church – Florida Family Voice, iVoterGuide, and Citizens Defending Freedom all have resources available. Therefore, be an informed voter, and as a good biblical citizen, encourage other Christians to go and do likewise. Our children are depending on us to keep them safe, and, more importantly, God will hold us accountable for protecting them and stewarding their freedoms.
This piece was submitted as part of our Pairing Perspectives series, which features two intentionally paired local Christian perspectives on timely topics. This topic of this edition was Christian civic responsibility. Read the paired perspective from contributor Daniel Toops here:
Daniel Toops
— Caron McCullough is a local Space Coast mom who loves Jesus, her husband, her sons and freedom. She enjoys meeting new people, homeschooling, attending events, discussing natural remedies, listening to all kinds of Christian music and reading.
— Christians of Brevard is a multi-church initiative that seeks to amplify the voices of local churches and ministries for the purpose of encouraging the local body of Christ and advancing the Kingdom of God. Join our Facebook community @ChristiansOfBrevard
