On July 1st, 1971, eighteen-year-olds were given the right to vote.  I had just turned 18.  Cool!  That November I cast my first vote for George McGovern for president, because he wanted to legalize marijuana.   I hope God forgets this when I get to heaven.

Now imagine that Jeus were a citizen of the USA.  If that were so, I wonder if He would embrace His responsibility to vote as a citizen of our democracy? 

I suspect that He would.  After all, He was diligent about paying his taxes (Matt. 27:27) and He made it clear that even a person of faith was to discharge their responsibility to government (Matt. 22:21). And in a democracy – that would require Him to participate in the process by voting.  So, He would most likely vote.

To what party would Jesus belong?   I suspect that He wouldn’t.  He made it clear that his primary allegiance was to the Kingdom of God.  He once said, “My kingdom is not of this world” – John 18:36.  I therefore suspect that He might be registered as an independent therefore not beholdin’ to any party.

But for whom would Jesus vote?  Would He vote for the most religious candidate?  Not necessarily.  He was brutal in his criticism of the Pharisees.   Would He vote for the “green candidate?”  Not necessarily.  After all it was He that cursed a perfectly fine fig tree (Matt 11:13-14). 

I suspect that He would most likely vote for those whose agendas best reflected Kingdom values.   

That’s fine for Jesus, but do we really have to vote?  We are told multiple times in the Scripture that we are to be subject to those who govern us (Romans 13:1-8). We live in a democracy which is predicated on the idea that we participate in governance by voting.  When we choose not to vote, we disobey the Scripture. 

But for whom do we vote?  Oh my!  The last election, I had to hold my nose to cast my vote.  We often seem to have terrible options.  And even if we should find a candidate of noble character and vote them in, that candidate is still a child of Adam and after being elected could be caught in a scandal.

To be sure, it would be difficult to find a candidate that got every value correct.  The goal, however, would be to identify the best fit.

As a pastor I worked hard to keep politics out of the pulpit.  Suppose a non-Christian was seeking the Lord and came to look for Him at the church I led.  If I endorsed a political candidate that was not his choice, he may walk out and never return to church.  A soul might be forever lost because of my politicizing.

I did, however, urge our congregation to vote based on Kingdom values.

What are those Kingdom values?  Let me raise just a few.  You can probe the Word of God for the answers.  Should government care for the poor? (Matt. 25:43-46):  Should governmental care for the poor undermine personal responsibility?  (Eph. 4:28).

Should government be concerned about our environment?  (Gen. 3:23):  Should we elevate the environment over the needs of mankind?  (Gen. 1:28):  Should government be able to use force to defend this country if necessary?  (Rom. 13:3-4):  Should government seek peace? (1 Tim. 2:1).

Should the country operate with a balanced budget? (Pro. 22:7, Rom. 13:8):  Should government protect the legal right to an abortion?  (Psalm 139:14-16): Should capital punishment be used to deter crime?  (Romans 13:1-7):  Should government be able to justly tax her citizens? (Romans 13:5-7). 

These are but a few of the biblical principles that speak to the issues we face today.  Some are more important than others and should be given due weight.

Next election, let’s get out and vote.  Not for a personality, or a party, or even for our own personal preferences.  Let’s inject God’s Kingdom values into the laws of the land we love. 

A PRAYER: Oh God, we really don’t want to do this. Help us to do Your will

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you always