So it’s getting closer and closer to the elections, yet I am no closer to knowing who I want to be my next president. In thinking about the whole situation, I’ve realized there are a few root issues that need to be thought about that just aren’t addressed enough. As a Christian and an American, I am in a hard spot right now. My American culture and even some of my churches stereotype me and tell me I have to care about abortion and gay marriage more than any other issue and vote for the candidate that will do the “right” thing on those issues (aka the Republican). But as I look deeper into it and into what it means to truly live for Christ, the “right” thing is really not what my culture, both secular and Christian, is telling me I should do. Rather than call myself a Christian – the definition of which is something I’m not even sure I want to be associated with anymore – I’d rather call myself a disciple of Christ. And as a disciple my principle question in every situation, whether political or not, should be: what will bring the most glory to God and further His Kingdom?
I am an American and I love my country. I recognize what a privilege it is to live here and I believe I am truly blessed. But I am a follower of Christ FIRST before an American citizen, so my first aim should be the furthering of His Kingdom rather than the furthering of the American Kingdom. So when I sit down and think about who to vote for, I am not thinking about who will make America the most rich and prosperous and who will make me the most comfortable and enable me to buy the biggest house, etc. I am thinking about who will do the most to further the Kingdom of God and us to accomplish the purposes He has called us to. Or, in the case of this year’s election, the question we may need to ask is who will bring the least harm to the Kingdom? It may be a “Christian” candidate, it may not.
And going along with these questions, we need to ask ourselves as disciples of Christ what we believe the overall role of government should be. This will also help determine who we vote for. If the Church really did its job, really did what the Bible calls us to do and lived the way Christ exemplified, we would not need the social programs and welfare programs we currently have and the foreign aide the government currently gives. Realistically though, the Church isn’t doing everything it can – it isn’t taking care of all the homeless, the oppressed, the widowed, etc (Is. 1:17) It is doing a lot, but it is not doing all it could. And the American church today especially isn’t doing all it could with the blessings God has given us. We simply can’t use the excuse that we’re doing a lot already – as Christians we are daily supposed to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). We should daily be seeking to grow and change, and the overall Body of Christ should reflect this. The American Church needs to grow and change – we can’t be stuck in the American culture. We look way too similar to American society- we are supposed to look different. We are supposed to stand out. If we are no longer standing out and living in a truly Biblical way in our country, then maybe it’s time to change more, to be different more.
Since the Church is not doing everything it can then, the responsibility falls on the government. So should we be voting for the Democratic candidate, who wants to take more money from the wealthy and distribute it more evenly, putting it in more programs that will help the poor and needy? Is that the government’s role? Or do we vote for the Republican candidate, who will let citizens keep more control over their personal finances and decide what to do with it? As disciples, do we want to have more control over our finances and trust ourselves and our fellow believers with it, hoping that we’ll do with it what God has called us to? Do we deal with the problem from the inside out? Or should we just let the government have more control and address these issues, since we are just not doing it right now?
Either way, there NEEDS to be a heart change in the American Church. If we were living and giving like we are called to, then I would say definitely vote for the candidate that will give us more control over our personal lives and finances and let us reach out to the world the way we decide. But I honestly don’t know if we will be good stewards of what God has given us. I pray someday we will have a Church that does not need the government to help us with our work. I pray someday the government strives to model itself after the Church and the way we live and govern ourselves because it is so successful at dealing with the world’s issues. And I believe we can get to that point, because Christ left us with the perfect example of how to govern wisely and respond peaceably to conflict and command with authority but not violence, etc. But right now the Church is not at a place where the government is going to look to us as an example.
When I say Church, I am not speaking about individual churches, because clearly there are MANY wonderful churches all over the US that are truly doing the work of God. When I say Church I am talking about the Body of Christ overall, so I am generalizing. Right now I am definitely generalizing about the Church in America, and generally speaking, I don’t believe the Church in America is reflective of the way Christ desired the Church to look. I pray that a change starts to happen from the inside out, that our hearts are changed to see how Christ desires us to live with the blessings He’s given us. And I pray that we truly start to live that way, so that some day soon we have a government that will work alongside us but not do our work for us and a candidate that we feel will actually move us toward doing the work of the Kingdom, and not two that both seem to be moving us away from that work.
But for now, vote for the candidate that will best help us bring about that change in the Church that we so desperately need and that will best help us further the Kingdom of God.
