If I want to make one of my twins squirm, all I have to say is, “Son, when a mommy and a daddy really love each other…” We’ve had the sex talk, so they know where that conversation is going. They yell, “Dad!” and look for a quick exit.
If I want to make adults squirm in our church, all I have to say is, “So what do you think about the election?” Eyes dart around the room to see who is there, what I know about their political opinions, and how guarded I need to be with mine.
These are not as unrelated as you might think. A good friend who follows Jesus and served under three administrations in Washington told me that allowing Fox News and MSNBC to teach Christians about politics is akin to allowing our children’s middle school friends to teach them about sex. The message will be slanted and will rarely appreciate the whole picture. Yet many of us allow cable news to shape us more than the gospel.
Never has the discomfort been more pronounced for Christians than it is with the one candidate we know will be on the November ballot. Before the 2016 election, Donald Trump’s very public approach to money, sex, and power bore little resemblance to that of the Christian faith. Yet since his election he has championed evangelical causes such as religious liberty and the protection of the unborn. How should Christians reckon with this unique candidate? How do we deal with the reality that we will disagree on whether to vote for him, his Democratic opponent, or none of the above?
Let’s get uncomfortable and have the talk. I’m not going to tell you how to vote. But here are seven opportunities this election affords us to more faithfully follow Jesus.
1. Feel the Tension
From the moment Jesus told Pontius Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), his followers have lived in the tension of submitting both to a heavenly King and an earthly ruler. Rarely do these two rules perfectly overlap, so a tension will always exist between our national and spiritual allegiances. The early church felt this tension when Constantine legalized Christianity in 312. One the one hand, this meant freedom for Jesus’ followers to live out their faith without the persecution that plagued the first Christians. But over time the faith became so compromised by the state that some Christians fled to the desert in an effort to retain its purity.
If your heart is shaped by Jesus’ prayer to our Father in heaven—“Your name…your kingdom…your will”—then you will feel the tension of any candidate you vote for. This is a good thing. It reminds us that we are not home, that we are in exile, that we are called to live faithfully while we await the return of our King.
2. Differentiate Voting from Defending
Voting is a binary activity. Even if you only feel 51% inclined toward one candidate over another, you still give that candidate 100% of your vote. It is a regrettable situation but for now it is what it is.
Yet voting for a candidate—even if you do so holding your nose with the other hand—does not require defending that candidate all the time, at all costs. If anything, our allegiance to King Jesus should free us from the tendency to jump wholesale onto a political bandwagon. Unlike political partisans, we should be able to both praise the good our leaders do and criticize that which contradicts the way of Jesus, whether in tone or substance.
3. View Voting as One Way to Love
Voting is one way we love our neighbors. We choose candidates who we believe will work for the common good.
Yet this is only one of many ways we are to love our neighbors, and honestly, not nearly the most important. Whether or not our candidate wins, we can still share resources, speak out about injustices, grow healthy families, and create a safe and nurturing church environment. Voting does not relieve us of our responsibility to be proactively merciful. It is simply one of many ways in which we seek to be a faithful presence within this fallen world.
4. Educate Yourself on Bible and Government
Why do we have government in the first place? How do followers of Jesus relate to that government? Which political issues are closest to God’s heart? What does the Bible say about all of this?
The very event of an election should send us back to these fundamental questions. We should transcend the preference of personality that elections often devolve into and use this season as an opportunity to learn more about how to think about politics from a Christian perspective.
Of course, books abound on this topic from those who have a very clear political agenda. One I would highly recommend that has a kingdom agenda is Jonathan Leeman’s How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age.
5. Pursue Unity with Believers who Disagree Politically
What unites us in the church is our common confession, “Jesus is Lord.” Our political disagreements test whether or not that truly is our highest allegiance. Use this election season as an opportunity to ask a brother or sister in Christ what informs how they vote and learn how to listen—really listen—well and without harsh judgment. Be honest about where your commitment to Jesus leads you as you weigh options. Work to reinforce the common ground of your faith even if you sharply disagree about politics.
Why would we intentionally initiate such dicey conversations? Because we take seriously Jesus’ prayer that we would be one, knowing that this is our witness of God to the world (John 17:21). Because we want to recapture the meaning of “evangelical” as a people shaped by the gospel (the evangel), not a voting bloc. Because we want to display in our unity that Jesus is larger than our political opinions. And because we might actually learn from people who have different perspectives than we do.
6. Point Unbelievers to King Jesus
If the President’s approval ratings and the polling for Democratic candidates are accurate, it is likely that most of the unbelievers you interact with have frustrations with their options. Identifying our deep desire for a strong, wise, compassionate, and just ruler is a strategic way to turn a conversation toward King Jesus. Use natural discussions about our imperfect leaders to talk about our perfect Savior who not only came as a humble servant to die for our sins but will return as a conquering King to bring final justice and make all things new.
7. Long for Jesus’ Return
The steady stream of political ads and the increasing ubiquity of lawn signs keep us mindful—whether we want to be or not—of the coming election day. Let this propel us toward a heightened posture of loving Jesus’ appearing (2 Timothy 4:8). Jesus may not be on the 2020 ballot, but our anticipation of his coming, consummated reign should outweigh any political hopes we hold and ground us in a calm assurance against the outrage and anxiety of our day. Let our desire for right rule, a harmonious and prosperous society, and the very presence of God stir in us a daily cry of “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!”
AMEN…
Great words, Chris! Thanks for sharing these thoughts. May God be glorified as his people reflect the incomparable reign of King Jesus in all our commitments and conversations.