Your Vote Matters...Seeking Clarity in an Election Surrounded with Uncertainty

The Presidential election is quickly approaching and in case you haven’t noticed, I have been rather public when it comes to who I will NOT be voting for, but I have taken a quieter approach as to who I will be voting for on Tuesday, November 8^th.  The reason for my actions are simple…I don’t like any of my options!  As a Christian woman, I find it very disheartening that of all the people in this great nation, we have to choose one of these three candidates (yes, we actually have three options) to lead our nation for the next four years!  I’ll save you from my rants on why I don’t care for any of our candidates, because that’s not what this blog post is about.  Instead, I’d like to share with you how I have finally come to a confident decision as to who I will be voting for on election day!  I pray that this post may bring clarity to any of you who find yourself struggling to cast your support for a candidate.

 Let me begin with this.  I am first and foremost a Bible believing follower of Jesus Christ.  It is this that drives my actions in life and who I support and vote for is no different.  Although I may be registered as a Republican, my political party does not determine who I vote for.  If I were honest, I have a hard time identifying with any one political party.  I come from a family who used to be registered democrats, however as that party’s values and platforms changed, they eventually changed their political party to Republican.  Although the Republican party still values conservative ideas, there are still many Republicans that I can no longer agree with or identify with because of their shift in platforms and beliefs.  That is why I try to be educated on each candidate before voting, regardless if it’s a local, state, or national election.  As a Christian, I try my best to vote for the candidate that supports and stands for those ideas that are closest to what the Bible says.

In Matthew 7:15-20, we are told we will know a man by his fruits.  Therefore, as believers, we shouldn’t accept a person’s words at face value.  God’s Word says we should instead look at the fruit they bear.  Politicians may be the absolute worst when it comes to saying whatever will get them elected, only to abandon their promises once in office.  That is why it’s imperative to take what they say with a grain of salt and instead look at what fruit they bear.  We do this by looking at what policies they have supported in the past.  Check how they voted on certain bills.  Look at their previous actions, listen to past speeches, pay close attention to how they respond under pressure and when under intense scrutiny, find out which charities and programs they support financially, and watch how they treat people, especially before they were campaigning.  You will find out a lot about a person’s character by examining their fruits.  This Biblical principle is exactly the reason why I have had an extremely difficult time casting my support for any of our candidates!  I think it’s a fair assessment based on their fruits to say that both of the front running candidates need Jesus!   

So how does a Bible-believing Christ follower make a decision to cast their vote for someone you personally don’t agree with or identify with?  Well, let me walk you through the process that I have personally gone through to get clarity on this question. 

First of all, PRAY!  As Christians, we should be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father.  God’s Word says we should pray for all of our needs.  As we pray and communicate our needs to God, we must also be willing to listen.  God’s primary way to communicate with us is through His written Word and by the Holy Spirit.  God’s Word says in James 1:5 that if anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God, and He will give it to all men liberally.  Once the primary elections were over and it was apparent who our presidential candidates were going to be, I wasted no time to begin praying and asking God for wisdom and clarity where there may have been uncertainty.  I’m so thankful for God’s faithfulness to do what His Word says He will do.  He is so good.

Next, DIG INTO GOD’S WORD!  As a believer, I wanted to go directly to God’s Word and find out what His Word said about this election!  God communicates to all believers through His Word, which is all we need to equip us for our Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16).  As I began to search God’s Word on what it has to say about government, I was blown away with the number of scriptures that mentioned governing authorities.  There are too many to list in this one blog post, however, here are the ones that seemed to jump off the page and give clarity.  I encourage you to take some time to read all of the scriptures that mention “authority, govern, elect, kings, etc.” and allow God to speak to you.    Here’s a good start.

“Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.” Deuteronomy 1:13 

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Romans 13:1

“A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left.” Ecclesiastes 10:2

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’  And Samuel prayed to the Lord.  And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they rejected me from being king over them.  According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.  Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.’ So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.” 1 Samuel 8:6-22

“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

“And they prayed and said, ‘You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’  And they cast lots for them.”  Acts 1:24-26

After meditating on these scriptures and praying for wisdom and understanding for this election, here is what I have concluded.

First of all, God’s Word clearly supports us having governing authorities (Romans 13:1) and God’s Word gives us clear guidelines as to who to elect for these positions.  We should elect officials who are wise, understanding, experienced, and who bear good fruit (Deut. 1:13).  During the primaries, I was able to cast my vote confidently for a man that I felt upheld those Biblical characteristics.  However, the people voted and their voices were heard and it was apparent that they were looking for someone different.  They were looking for a much different kind of leader than I was.  So what do I do now?  Although, the circumstances were different in scripture, I believe God gave us clear instruction on what to do when the people make a choice for a leader that isn’t necessarily what we desired.  He tells us to “obey the voice of the people, but warn them” (1 Sam. 8:6-22).  So whether or not I agree with the people, I feel it’s my Biblical duty to obey the voice of the people and vote for one of the three final candidates.  Once I had clarity on the fact that sitting at home on election day was NOT an option based on God’s Word, I then began to pray for wisdom on WHO to vote for!  Ecclesiastes 10:2 pointed me in the right direction!  This scripture blew my mind!  I don’t know why, but I guess I have always thought that terms such as “the left” and “the right” were rather new political terms!  Little did I know that this was a term the Bible addressed and God’s Word is very CLEAR as to which side we as believers should stand for!  I came across this comparison chart below not long ago and found it helpful.  It's just a glance at some of the major platforms, but you can find a more extensive comparison here.

As you can see, each of the candidates have differing views on policies and tax plans.  However, as I go to the polls on election day, I will be choosing the candidate that sides closest with what the Bible says.  I will cast my vote for the candidate that is pro-life because the Bible is (Gen. 1:27, Gen 1:28, Psa. 127:3, Exo. 20:13 just to name a few).  I will cast my vote for the candidate that is pro-Israel because the Bible is (Psa. 122:6, Gen. 12:3, Isa. 60:12 just to name a few).  I will be casting my vote for the candidate that will allow me to live in religious freedom and not consider my sincere beliefs a crime.  I will cast my vote for the candidate that will nominate Supreme Court Justices whose “hearts are inclined to the right” and will affirm and protect the laws written in the Constitution rather than create new laws (Ecc. 10:2).  There are many important differences in each candidate’s policies and ones certainly worth looking closely at, however, I believe the Bible gives clear direction for believers on the views that we will be held accountable for.  It is for these reasons, I will be voting for Donald Trump in this 2016 Presidential election. 

We need to be praying for our candidates.  They need Jesus!  We need to pray that the candidates will have a teachable spirit and be willing to surround themselves with Godly men and women for wise counsel.  All it takes is for a small seed to be planted and with the help and nurturing of the Holy Spirit, hearts can and will be changed.  With God on our side, we can still be the greatest nation as “one nation under God”.  Do not sit this one out fellow believers.  Do not allow lies and name calling prevent you from casting a vote.  Look past the person and look at the issues, especially those addressed in God’s Word.  If we take a good look at God’s Word, I believe we all can confidently cast our vote on election day without any remorse or fear.  And then in four years, let’s do better!  Let’s get it right in the primaries and pick candidates that bear good fruit!!!  Can I get an “Amen”?!

Love to you all!  Blessings!