This may be the most contentious election in the history of our nation.  Families are divided.  Christians are divided.  Facebook friends are divided.  Much hostility is in the air.

With that in mind, let me suggest a few principles that should be on your mind when you enter the voting booth.

 

1. Secular Government is oppressive.

In 1 Samuel 8, we find Israel establishing their first king.  But before they moved forward with that historic change in the way they governed their nation, God warned the Israelites about the evils of human government.  The problem with government by man is that it is run by, well, men [and women].  And those men and women are all stricken with a terrible flaw:  every person is desperately evil.

Jeremiah puts it like this:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?  (Jeremiah 17:9- NKJV)

Rule by man will always be flawed because of our sinful natures.  Bigger government means bigger flaws.  Limited government means limited flaws.

 

2. Life is precious.

God puts a high premium on life.  Genesis 9:6 says, “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (NKJV)  When you enter the polling booth, you certainly must ask yourself which candidates or policies are most reflective of God’s perspective on the value of human life.

 

3. The law is a schoolteacher.

The Apostle Paul tells us in Galatians 3:24 that the Law (referring to the Old Testament Law) is a “school teacher.”  By that he means that the Law teaches us what is right and what is wrong.  Human laws have the same effect on a culture. For instance, laws against prostitution, incest, stealing, murder, etc. have a way of writing rules of right and wrong on people’s hearts and consciences.  It teaches us what is right and what is wrong.

Therefore, we must be careful when choosing candidates or policies that go against God’s Laws.  When we do so, we begin teaching a generation of citizens that those Laws that God has established really don’t matter after all.

 

4. Morality is good for a society.

God’s ways are always best.  Murder is bad.  Adultery is bad.  Fornication of any type is bad.  Children raised by both parents is a good thing.  When you pull morality out of a culture, it ends up leading to chaos, conflict, suffering, pain, and eventually anger.  So much pain in this world is a result of man’s departure from God’s ways.  It is good for our culture, then, when we vote for candidates and policies that promote God’s morals for our nation.

 

5. Poverty is bad.

God clearly wants us to do what we can to help the poor and oppressed on this earth.  Some people ask the question, “How could God allow the poor to go hungry like that?”  But, as Francis Chan has brilliantly pointed out, God could turn around and ask the same question of us.  How could WE allow the hungry to go unfed?  What are WE doing about that?

While politics are not the ultimate answer to poverty, there are certainly policies and strategies that can make a difference in helping those who are poor.  For instance, figuring out ways to help more people get jobs is good for all citizens and echoes the biblical principle of the value of hard work for one’s provisions (see 2 Thessalonians 3:10, for example). I believe it is important for us to keep the poor in mind when it comes to voting.

 

Conclusion

So, then, for whom should you vote?  I would suggest that you vote for … GOD!  Vote for His ways, His principles, His honor in our natioin.  Vote for truth and righteousness as best as we can find it in the midst of a sinful generation.

And in all things, pray.