Voter’s Guilt

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” –Samuel Adams, in the Boston Gazette, 1781

I voted last Tuesday.

Unlike many of my Facebook friends I am not feeling so proud of this fact. I had done some homework and read the voter’s guides. I tried to make sure I knew what the candidates’ stances were on major issues. I also had input from many social media sites.

I went into the booth and pushed the buttons I thought were the “best” of the available choices.

Two years ago I heard John Lofton speak at a Mid-Atlantic Reformation Society meeting (thinkandreform.org). I thought he was pretty far off to tell us that if there was no one “righteous” running for office, then we should not vote. I think that he even went so far as to say that if we had voted for an unbeliever we should repent. It seemed crazy at the time. However, I heard this truth: The lesser of two evils is still evil.

From the past records of those I had to choose from this year it is clear there was no one righteous running for office in my precinct, therefore I did not vote for anyone righteous.

The longer I live, the more I study, and the worse things get – regardless of who is in power – the worse I feel after voting. Romans 13 tells us that all authority is given by God so the people in government offices are under God’s authority. I can see how far we have fallen when I read the next few verses in that chapter. They say that the authorities “are not a terror to the good, but to the bad.” These days it seems to be the bad that are making gains in their agendas before our civil magistrates.

Aimed at no candidate in particular, but things I have been thinking about: it bothers me when a candidate says he is “pro-life” but votes for a law that limits abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy. This man has not voted for life but for the approved murder of babies, only early in the pregnancy. How is that “pro-life?” Why not fight for no abortions?

If the “better” choice is a man who campaigns with his wife and children at his side so we are deceived into thinking he is “pro-family” but then he votes for or advocates for gay marriage, he is not a supporter of the traditional family. I feel duped. Why not fight for the traditional family?

During the campaign of more than one person we have heard numerous promises about financial responsibility only to elect the person and see he/she spends as much money placating donors as the last guy. There is nothing righteous in taking hard-earned money from taxpayers and spending it on frivolous benefits for political gain. Why not limit the spending for the good of the taxpayer?

The list of how politicians compromise the Word of God is long. As Christians is it important to know the candidates stances from a biblical perspective and how they have voted? Do they act on what they say or say what they want us to believe and hope we pay no attention once they are in office? In other words, does character or integrity matter in the civil sphere?

When the “better” candidate is the lesser of two evils, do I need to repent of voting for him/her?  After all, the lesser evil is still evil.

 

Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked. Psalm 26:2-5