Voting: An Act of Obedience

This week millions of people across the nation will stream to the polls to cast their votes on a variety of local, state and national races and issues. Sadly, millions of others will opt to stay home, refusing to exercise their right to vote.

Every year the outcomes of major elections are determined by a minority of voters who take the time to make it to the voting booth. Then the inactive majority proceeds to grumble about decisions made by officials they didn’t elect. I’m of the opinion that if you don’t vote, you should lose your right to complain.

But for followers of Jesus, there’s more reason for making the effort to vote than just being able to mutter and gripe in good conscience. It’s also an act of faithfulness and obedience to God.

We seem to think that government was an invention from the ever-innovative mind of mankind. However, the Bible says otherwise: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). Knowing mankind’s annoying proclivity for following its own selfish, self-serving ways, God established government to create laws, maintain order and protect us from ourselves.

That being said, as citizens of a democracy in which we have – and should enjoy – the Constitutional right to vote, we should recognize this is our opportunity to participate in the governing process that God has ordained.

Interestingly, two people, even fellow believers, can look at the same candidate – or the same issue – and reach different conclusions on how to vote. And that’s okay. That’s why we cast our ballots in private. What matters is that we do vote, and hopefully do so well-informed about the candidates and issues being contested.

In fact, the same Bible passage seems to suggest participating in the governmental process by voting is more than a right; it’s an obligation. “Consequently, he who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves…. For he is God’s servant to do you good…an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:2-5).

Do you desire for your community, your state and your nation to be governed in a manner that pleases God? Then vote for the candidates and issues you believe most closely align with biblical values. Even if the outcomes aren’t as you would like, at least you’ve done what you could.

And after the election, the Scriptures teach, our responsibility doesn’t end. In fact, it’s just begun. Then, God tell us, we’re to pray. As the apostle Paul wrote, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority…” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). What if you don’t like the elected official? What if he or she is not aligned politically or ideologically with your personal views? God says we’re to pray anyway.

Years ago, long before the Iron Curtain fell, I knew a very godly man who prayed for each of the top leaders of the then-Soviet Union – individually, by name. At the time I questioned the wisdom of this, but then the Berlin Wall was destroyed, the iron fist of Communism in Eastern Europe lost its grip, and millions of oppressed men, women and children received their first taste of freedom. Who’s to say my friend’s faithful prayers didn’t play a significant role in what transpired?

So vote. It’s not only your civic duty; it’s also your spiritual duty. And then...pray!

Exercising Your Right

Tomorrow is Election Day. The outcome of citizens streaming to the polls will determine who serves in the White House for the next four years. For those of us who voted early, it will be a bit anticlimactic. We’ve already cast our ballot for our candidate of choice – or the lesser of two evils – however you happen to regard the options.

But the key to this act is it’s our right – and a privilege at the same time. The Constitution guarantees that citizens of the United States have the right to vote, expressing their preference of persons they wish to represent them in government. But it’s also a privilege. Many nations do not offer such a right. Leaders command by force, and citizens of those lands are ruled without having influence in the matter.

Sadly, many of our fellow Americans will “elect” not to vote, either out of apathy, inconvenience, the conviction that neither candidate deserves their vote, or simply because they didn’t take time to register. Too bad, because it’s a wonderful right to participate in the selection of those that lead our nation.

The great question, of course, is who will win. Already there is gnashing of teeth over what will happen if “my” candidate doesn’t win. Our country will “go to hell in a hand-basket,” people argue. Strangely, we hear this complaint from both sides.

Years ago we didn’t have early voting, so first Tuesdays of November were special days, everyone streaming to their election sites en masse. We’d wait anxiously for results, without much clue about what the outcome would be. Today, however, it seems everyone does polls, projecting who will win, garnering the most electoral votes. We even get reports on early voting. So some of the suspense is gone.

But suspense is gone in another respect, too. For everyone fearful of what will happen if the opposition candidate wins – liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat – we have assurance from the Bible.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, the apostle Paul writes, “I urge, therefore, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanks giving be made for everyone, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quite lives with all godliness and holiness.” What that says to me is no elected official is beyond God’s control.

It also says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Romans 13:1).

If we believe this, it means God is not in heaven wringing His hands, fretting over who wins the election. He’s got it figured out. “I’ve got this,” He’s telling us. That’s not to say we shouldn’t vote, shrugging our shoulders and concluding, “Why bother, if God’s already got it handled?” We still have the responsibility – and stewardship – to take part in the political process, even when we feel what we do is of little consequence.

The confidence we can have is that the “governing authorities,” just as everything else in this world, fall under God’s sovereign will and direction, so whether our candidate of choice wins or not, we need not fear the future. 

As a great speaker once said, “God knows what He’s doing, and He does it quite well.”