Prayerful Voting
Last week my daughter and I went together to an early-voting station to cast our ballots. It was Annie’s first time voting, and at this particular polling station, the workers cheered for every new voter. It made me smile seeing Annie get those cheers. Being with her while she voted for the very first time got me thinking about why Christians vote and how we should go about it.
Last Wednesday we interviewed Penny Young Nance of Concerned Women for America, and one line in particular stood out to me. Penny said that “Christians throughout the ages have been expressing their faith by making a difference in the culture in which God placed them.”
At times I’ve prayed about how I should vote, but I’ve never thought about voting in precisely those terms. The truth is, the bible doesn’t have much to say about voting directly. There’s certainly no commandment that says, “Thou shalt engage in participatory democracy.” Nevertheless, I do think Christians have a responsibility to vote when we can. Some people point to Matthew 22:21 (“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…”) to support the idea that Christians should fulfill their civic duties.
For me, what it comes down to is that God doesn’t call us to be separatists. We’re not supposed to wall ourselves off from the community or the country where we live. Instead, we’re called to engage in our communities and, as Penny said, to make a difference in our culture.
What better way to engage with our community than to participate in its governance?
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Do you plan to vote tomorrow or have you already voted? Why do you think Christians should vote?