Would Jesus vote for Republicans? Would Jesus vote for Democrats? Would Jesus vote for Donald Trump? Would Jesus vote for Joe Biden? Or… would Jesus even vote at all?
There’s nothing in the Bible that says we should vote.
There’s nothing in the Bible that says we shouldn’t vote.
I believe the decision to vote ultimately boils down to an area of Christian liberty (Romans 14). One can vote, but one can also NOT vote, and that’s perfectly okay.
But, is voting always wise?
In our current political environment, where we have become increasingly polarized politically as a nation, it seems increasingly unwise to vote. To do so almost seems to require we compromise our witness as Christians, especially as more and more political parties attempt to co-opt the Church for their own political gain.
I might be speaking hyperbolically here, but imagine a scenario if we had two candidates running for office: Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Please tell me, which of these guys you would vote for? Would you vote for Hitler or would you vote for Stalin.
I would personally vote for neither. And I don’t think Jesus would either.
I can imagine it now. If those were our only two options on the ballot, there would be a fierce debate and division within the church over which candidate to support. And people would be making fierce defenses of each, and denouncing as demonic anyone who voted otherwise.
But some of you might be pragmatic and say, while you like neither candidate, those are our only two options, so we should vote for whichever one we deem the lesser of two evils!
And part of me can’t help but just sigh over such a depressing notion.
Such is just a notion that we should vote for the sake of voting, and that voting itself is a civic virtue that we should all be engaged in, regardless of how bad the choices.
That sounds smart in a way. And maybe that’s fine if we can vote in a vacuum, in a completely emotionally detached way.
But most of us probably can’t vote in an emotionally detached way. We either love our candidates or hate them. There’s seldom an indifference. And that love or hatred of possible candidates often seems to warp us on the inside, which has the ability to impact us spiritually.
When I sit there and think who would Jesus vote for if He could vote, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus would even vote at all? As I close my eyes, pray, and read the Scriptures, I can’t help but think… no, Jesus wouldn’t vote at all. And while we might have the liberty to do so in Christ, I wonder how many of support a candidate, without compromising something of who we are in order to do so.
Should you vote? I’ll leave that up between you and the Lord.
