It seems like the older I get and the further away I get from my childhood, I realize just how different some things were for me. Not necessarily bad things… just different things. I think… I am in fact my brother’s sister.
My oldest brother was obsessed with all things politics. Especially during election years. I’m not even sure how many different political rallies I attended or tried to attend growing up. I can count at least four, but who’s to say there weren’t more that I don’t remember. I knew from very early on that a donkey and the color blue were associated with the democrat party just as I knew an elephant and the color red were associated with the republican party. I knew we had other parties besides those two, but those were the main ones. It was also ingrained in my soul that you never, and I mean never, cross party lines when voting. If you’re a republican, you vote republicans only and so on for all the other political parties.
I could and still can spout off random candidates who ran certain years. Some of them I knew their actual name. Others I gave nicknames too so I could remember their name. I affectionately called one candidate a leprechaun until he suspended his campaign for presidency. I bet you can’t guess who I’m talking about. One year Thomas told me we were starting a rumor about someone having a hair piece. Why? No clue, but we tried. It obviously went nowhere because I’m willing to bet this is the first you’ve heard of this rumor.
From a young age, I understood the importance of voting. You didn’t just walk into your voting precinct on election day and half heartedly pick and choose. Research needed to be done. Thankfully, for the longest time, Thomas did the research for me and just told me how to vote. Now that he’s gone, I do it for myself, because it’s important. Before I was even close to being able to vote, Thomas told me, “If you’re an idiot who doesn’t vote, then you’re an idiot who’s opinion doesn’t really matter”. Don’t be an idiot, vote, he would always tell me.
I feel think this could be one of the hottest topic posts I’ve ever made and potentially will ever make. Part of me doesn’t even want to post this. I already have the never ending thoughts of what could happen with this.
November 5th, Americans have an opportunity to cast their vote for who they want as the next president and vice president. We get to vote on different state level positions. We get to vote on different amendments related to where ever we live. November 5th, or any election day, is a big deal.
If you’re ever on social media or the internet during the election season, you will see a lot of posts about if you’re a Christian you should or you shouldn’t vote a certain way. I’ll admit. I’m often guilty of that too. If you believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God and everything that is in it is true, how can you support insert some candidate’s name. If I’m honest, I still struggle with it.
A lot of people seem to approach elections as a popularity contest or they’re voting for something that really means nothing. Because it’s my blog, and I can be honest, I don’t really like any of the candidates running for President. Republican. Democrat. Libertarian. Green Party. You get my point. Sure, some of them have good qualities or decent policy ideas, but across the board, there is not a single candidate who aligns with everything I believe.
How do I as a Christian vote? How do we as believers vote for our next President. This is a question I’ve wrestled with for about a year now. I live in a state where early voting has been going on for almost a week. I had the opportunity to vote Saturday. I checked in, was given my ballot, marked my choices, and turned my ballot into the machine and watched until my vote was cast. I got my “I voted” sticker, and walked out of the polling place at peace with who and what I had just voted for. How did I leave in peace from voting after openly admitting I’m not too fond of anyone? I looked at scripture for wisdom and asked the Lord to make it clear to me.
There are a lot of topics that are being discussed by the candidates. Abortion. Transgenderism. Legalization of marijuana. The border. Immigration policies. Gun control. Taxes. Sending money to other countries. The list could go on forever. I feel like each day there is a new topic being discussed. I have opinions on all the things. But the two that continually standout to me in regards to scripture are the first two- abortion and transgenderism.
As a Christian, I believe that life begins at conception. When you abort a child, you’re murdering a baby. You’re murdering an innocent life. You’ve murdered someone who couldn’t even fight for their life. I’m aware there are circumstances and situations that people will use in order to make cases for abortion being okay. We can agree to disagree on some of those arguments. When we vote no for abortion, we as the church must then be ready to help and care for those women who would seek abortion. We must be ready to adopt the children whose biological mother doesn’t want them. We have to be prepared to be the body of Christ.
Transgenderism. Am I going to be rude or unkind to someone who has transitioned? No. Do I think it’s okay for parents to be letting children, who’s brains aren’t even fully developed yet, make the decision to change their gender? Absolutely not. In Genesis, we read that God created man, and He created woman. God created us in His own image. He only made two genders. In Psalms, we read that before we were born, He made us in our mothers’ wombs. Everything God made is good. He makes no mistakes. There are two genders and He made us the gender we are for a reason and for a purpose.
Scripture puts a huge emphasis on community and who we put around us. Who are “our” people. The ones who walk with us, give advice, point us to the Lord. I took a look at the community surrounding our options for President, and looked for the community that most aligned with what I believe.
Whoever wins, I’ll be praying for them as my leader as scripture tells me to. Praying for wisdom. Praying for discernment. Praying for their salvation if they don’t profess Him as Lord. Praying for unity among our nation and that we would once again be a people who seek the Lord.
If you’re a believer, and struggling with this election and how to vote, seek the Lord. Read scripture. Pray for our country and cast your vote. If you need some help, Albert Mohler and his daily podcast “The Briefing” are great resources. Remember if you follow Christ, you always look to scripture and not culture to set the standard for what is acceptable and what is not. I can also take comfort in the fact that regardless of what happens on November 5th, God’s still in control. My hope isn’t in the republican party or democratic party. It’s in Christ and in Christ alone.
So on November 5th, or before then, go cast your vote, make your voice heard, and then take comfort in the fact that whatever happens, God’s still reigning. He is still king.
2 Chronicles 7:14- If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Grief. Going. Healing. 
Leave a comment