This election, make the Bible your voting guide
Over the last few months, I have smiled as I passed a few “Jesus 2024, Our Only Hope” lawn signs, thinking they captured something of the desultory spirit many of us have in this election cycle.
You won’t find many voting guides — if any — filled with Scripture, and you likely won’t come across any political ads reminding us of who truly holds power in our world and how his values drive character and policy. But perhaps we should.
Going back to the Bible could give us much-needed context and guidance in this contentious election season.
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Voting is important. The next leader of the most powerful country in the world will likely have a tremendous impact on everything from foreign policy to the price of gas. Many issues intersect with us personally, and we naturally get passionate or anxious about what’s to come for our nation. We vote, not only as an act of civic duty but also a critical way to serve your country and community, to assert our voice and values.
As the candidates’ standpoints are polar opposites in some cases, either side will often describe the other as an “existential threat.” Make no mistake, it is essential that our elected officials echo and amplify our values. But by reading through the Bible and looking at history in the light of what Scripture tells us, we learn that worldly leadership is temporary and the impact is not eternal. Leaders — good or bad — come and go and no matter who sits in the White House after the presidential election this November, God sits on His throne in Heaven and is ultimately sovereign over this world.
Knowing the fleeting nature of humankind, America’s founders implemented a unique system of bifurcated power into the fabric of our country, ensuring that no person could single-handedly unravel our moorings. The founders understood the wisdom of the prophet Isaiah, who said: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” The word of God remains constant, unchanging and supreme in a world of ephemeral leaders.
Given this context, what should our response be?
We are called to participate in society, to be salt and light, a city on a hill. Interestingly, Jesus talks far more about how we should live than what we stand for. We must remember the Great Commandment and let it guide us in our civic duty. As we read in Matthew 22: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Jesus reminds us that our love for God should inform every aspect of our lives, not just our spirituality and religiosity. And it should inform how we vote as well. He continues: “And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” By prioritizing these two commandments, our votes and our engagement with people who vote differently become expressions of faith.
Elections catalyze countless challenges. They challenge our intellect, our interpersonal relationships, and even our continued interest in civic duty. I take comfort — and I hope you do as well — in recalling that God calls us not to the voting booth, but to Him. We are called to one another as one church, not as a political party. God calls us to follow Him, not to follow any earthly ruler. We are a people called to love, not to power.
God’s leadership surpasses the authority of any government. We ought to take comfort in this. No matter who holds office, God holds ultimate authority over us. We answer to Him. Even as earthly governments inevitably fall short and political plans fail, we still submit to God’s loving authority and trust in His eternal, unchanging plan. His plan supersedes any political scheme. The Psalmist observed, “The Lord has established His throne in the Heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.”
Perhaps, in addition to consulting a voting guide this November, we ought to open our Bibles. A voting guide can offer expedient advice on temporary political issues. Our Bibles, however, hold timeless wisdom that is universally applicable.
If we are to heed Philippians 1:27 and make our lives “worthy of the gospel of Christ,” we must vote using Scripture as our guide, all the while realizing the limitations is political leadership. We should be “hidden with Christ,” rejecting ultimate social and political identities and staking our identities in our Messiah.
In the face of increasing division and rancor, I have been reflecting on how often Jesus’s followers encouraged him to lead them to political victory and throw off their godless leaders — restoring Israel to her rightful place. Yet He had a higher calling, one that reaches out to us even now, urging us to “love one another,” a simple, yet incredibly difficult mandate. We may be tempted to idolize political leaders, having faith in their plans to right our teetering ship, to save our nation and in the process forget to see each other as equal image bearers of God.
So please, go vote and engage in the political process as citizens of God’s Kingdom, living out love, integrity, and a commitment to God’s Word. Instead of being cynical, combative and exhausted, let us remain focused on being disciples of the loving God who sits on the eternal throne.
Carlos Campo is CEO of Museum of the Bible.
