In less than a month, we will once again have the opportunity to head to the polls and vote in a national election. This opportunity is a blessing from God that many people around the world do not have. It is also a responsibility and a spiritual discipline for Christians. But like most spiritual disciplines, there is a strong individual component to it. For spiritual disciplines such as prayer and bible reading there are some common principles (such as DO IT!), but how those principles are implemented (such as when, where, how long, etc.) is an individual decision between a believer and God. In the same way, there are scriptural principles that all Christians can apply to their voting decisions but how each individual Christian applies those principles will vary.
One of the worst aspects of the political process is the tendency to demonize opponents. Every one seems to try to paint their opponent as the worst thing since Adolf Hitler. Christians have too often fallen into this trap and not only demonized candidates but also demonized the supporters of those candidates. This is shameful. Christians need to learn to disagree with godly character, humility and love, avoiding the temptation to join the mud-slinging. To paraphrase Paul: There is neither Democrat nor Republican, neither Conservative nor Liberal, neither Left nor Right, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Godly men much smarter than I have written good guidelines for making voting decisions. (For example: here, here, here, here, and here.) I won't bother to reiterate their points, but I will add a few suggestions of my own.
- Do your homework
This one is obvious and everyone says it, but not everyone does it. Here are some good resources: - OnTheIssues.org - See what national candidates (President and Congress) have actually said on specific issues.
- FactCheck.org - Cut through the spin and distortion, particularly in political advertising.
- VoteSmart.org - Another site with non-partisan information on candidates.
- League of Women Voters - Non-partisan voters guides, often right down to local city elections. Oakland County's voters guide is here. Unfortunately, it appears the Macomb County LoWV hasn't joined the 21st century yet.
- Avoid playing in the mud
When candidates or their surrogates (PACs, etc.) go negative, they almost always distort their opponent's position to make a point. Don't fall for it. Find out exactly what the candidates have said and try your best to find non-partisan analysis of those positions.
- Donkeys and Elephants are not the only animals God created
It is my opinion that our political process would be much healthier if we broke up the two party monopoly. That is a daunting task, to be sure. Everyone loves a winner and everyone wants to be on the winning team, so nobody wants to support a third party candidate. I believe our focus should not be on picking a winner but on picking the best candidate for the job, regardless of their popularity.
- Don't discount the ugly duckling
Charismatic people can be scoundrels, and effective leaders are not always Prince Charming. Personality can reflect a person's character or it can hide it. Far too often I hear people expressing opinions about candidates based on their appearance, how they smile or don't smile, their posture, etc. Character is what really matters.
Finally, remember that no matter what happens on November 4, it won't cause the sky to fall. God is still on the throne and whoever is in power is God's tool to accomplish His purposes, whether they know it or not. Our hope for the Kingdom of God should never be in the political process, but in the sovereignty of God and the power of the Gospel.