You’ve seen the post. I don’t mean a particular post on social media; sadly they are all too common but the central thread is fairly consistent: if you’re a Christian, you must vote, and the candidate or party is almost always implied or even stated directly. In short, to be a Christian means to vote and to vote a certain way. An article on Baptist News quotes Al Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
We have a responsibility to make sure Christians understand the stewardship of the vote, which means the discipleship of the vote. … They need to understand that insofar as they do not vote or they vote wrongly, they are unfaithful.
Al Mohler, via https://baptistnews.com/article/should-real-christians-really-vote-republican-today/
That is quite the claim! If a Christian cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate he or she is unfaithful to God? The absurdity of this statement doesn’t need explanation. Where is this in Scripture—our only infallible source of faith and practice? There is no law requiring American citizens to vote so not voting is not disobedience to government.
What does it really mean to be faithful? What does it really mean to honor the Lord as a Christian who is a citizen of the United States? As Christians we are exiles living in a foreign land (1 Peter 2:11). How are we to live faithfully in this context? Peter tells the exiles this:
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV
Pay close attention to what faithfulness looks like: living as servants of God. They must honor everyone. There is a special love for the church. Further, they are to honor the emperor. The emperor when Peter wrote this was Nero, who brutally tortured and killed Christians. He doesn’t say to seek his replacement. He certainly does not say to seek to overthrow such an evil emperor. The will of God for these exiles living in foreign and hostile territory is to do good and to honor everyone, including the evil emperor. What does it mean to “do good”, though?
The prophet Jeremiah also wrote to exiles. God’s people had been taken to Babylon where they were confronted with idolatry on a massive scale. They were among a people who had no regard for the God of Israel, and why should they? They had just defeated his people in battle! Jeremiah gives them instructions for what it means to live faithfully in a world that does not love the Lord nor the things of the Lord.
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
Jeremiah 29:4-7 ESV
See what faithfulness looks like: they build houses and plant gardens. That is, they must know they will be there for a long time. They have to work to provide for themselves. They are to get married and have children, even in the midst of those who hate God and worship false gods. Their children are also to grow up and get married. They will be there for some time, after all. Then he says to seek the welfare of the city of Babylon.
The word translated “welfare” is “shalom”—the peace and the well-being of the city. They must not seek Babylon’s downfall, either from taking up arms themselves or even praying for the downfall of the government and the nation. They must instead focus their hearts and minds on the welfare of the city, its blessing and prosperity. Just as Peter instructs us to honor an emperor as wicked as Nero, so the people of Judah must seek the prosperity of the city of Babylon—the very people who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and forever altered their way of life.
Notice that God says in Babylon’s welfare they will find their welfare. In Babylon’s shalom, they will find their shalom. The people of God would prosper as the pagan and idolatrous land of Babylon would prosper. Far from seeking its harm, they are to seek its blessing and prosperity!
The truth is Babylon was wicked and evil. The people worshiped false gods and despised the God of Israel—their Creator and the one to whom they each owed allegiance. After instructing them to seek the welfare of Babylon, God says something extraordinary.
For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
Jeremiah 29:10 ESV
Rather than seek the destruction of Babylon, they are to seek its prosperity. This does not preclude God’s judgment of Babylon, however! The prophet is so bold to predict a timeframe for Babylon. When Judah’s exile reaches 70 years, God will restore them to the land of Judah and Babylon’s time will come to an end. Just a few chapters earlier he said:
Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the LORD, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
Jeremiah 25:12-13 ESV
The timing of that judgment belongs to God, and he revealed it to his people. All nations will one day be destroyed, for there is only one kingdom that will last forever. The prophet Daniel declared an everlasting kingdom was coming that would destroy all other kingdoms. The timing of this destruction is unknown to all but God, but the surety is known.
God knew Babylon would be overthrown and he knew when it would take place, yet what does he tell the exiles? Build houses. Plant gardens. Have children. Faithfully do good in the world, even though it would all be destroyed. Seek the welfare of the city God would one day destroy.
God calls his people to live in a land that is hostile to him and to his people. The calling placed on them is to go about their lives in faithfulness. Build houses, plant gardens, get married, raise families. Do good. This is where some will argue that the good that must be done is voting! But is it? Voting is an outward act that can be done without any concern for the Lord and his honor. The prophet Micah addresses these outward acts and then declares what it is God requires of us.
With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Micah 6:6-8 ESV
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The truth is God is not looking for outward displays of faithfulness from us. God is the one who required burnt offerings, yet is this really what the Lord desires from us? No, it is not! The Lord desires of us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk in humility with him. Rather than outward displays of religious piety, whether burnt offerings and sacrifices or even casting a ballot for president, the Lord desires an inner character change, one that results in us doing justice. He desires we do what is right. He desires we love kindness. He desires we walk humbly with him.
One could argue that voting for candidates who support good policies is loving one’s neighbor. Maybe. You know what loving your neighbor is really like? Instead of relying only on a cast ballot for righteousness, why not volunteer to tutor at the local school? Why not volunteer at North End Community Ministries, which operates out of our building and provides goods and services to tens of thousands of people each year? Get involved in your neighborhood association and actually seek the welfare of the city in which we live. Look for ways to care for the poor in our community. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. Give money to support NECM and these other organizations. Seeking the welfare of the city is practical, not merely conceptual.
If you can vote in good conscience, then by all means: vote! Vote for the candidate(s) you think best suited to bring about the shalom of our world. Understand, however, that your priorities in voting may not be the same priorities others have. You must approach this in the manner the apostle instructs us in Romans 14. There the issue was whether to eat meat, for most of the meat available in Rome came from temples and had been sacrifices. Paul acknowledges that it’s just meat, so go ahead and eat it, yet some would abstain from eating. That is, they would choose to not participate in something that was perfectly acceptable for them to participate in. He said this:
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls.
Romans 14:4a ESV
If you choose to vote, then vote your conscience. If your brother or sister in Christ votes with different priorities, who are you to pass judgment on the Lord’s servant? That person will stand or fall before the Lord. If you choose to not vote, then do not vote. There is only one who can pass judgment on you and each one of us will stand before him and give an account for our own lives.
The truth of the matter is the gospel of Jesus is dependent on the outcome of an election—but that election took place before the foundation of the world. That election is the one that determines our fate. That election is the one we must be working toward. That election is the most important election of all, and it is the Lord’s business. Until he returns, he has shown us what faithfulness looks like. It is to work and build and plant. It is to serve and raise families and worship. It is to love our neighbors as ourselves. If that requires a vote, then vote. If not, it’s up to you. What is most important is for you to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself.