Make no mistake, this writer would love to be able to vote for Jesus. He is precisely the one we need; he is incorruptible, and they wouldn't be able to kill him. They already tried that. The one big flaw in His campaign, for whatever office you might name, is that He is not on the ballot, and probably never will be.
Like William Tecumseh Sherman said, and Jesus would undoubtedly echo, “I will not accept if nominated, and will not serve if elected.” Unlike Sherman, who considered himself not fit for the office of President, Jesus would decline for even better reasons, He already has a job, and it is bigger than any other.
Yet, sadly, some tell me they are planning on voting for Jesus, and not for any actual candidate running for office. They must think they are being really clever, and above the fray with that approach, but the truth is, they should simply grow up. That's right, they should grow up and realize they should do the best they can with the tools and opportunities they are given, and not just whimper down and squander those chances.
The fact is that Christians who take that kind of stance, either voting for Jesus, or deciding to not vote at all are much like the wicked servant highlighted in the parable of the talents, Matthew 25: 14-30. Three servants were given talents to invest, and of the three, one of them said, in verse 25,”And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground...” Not voting, or casting a meaningless ballot for Jesus, or Mickey Mouse or whoever, is like that wicked and lazy servant, hiding your talent in the ground, and it is done out of fear, not reverence, or moral superiority, or even good humor.
Voting, and elections generally, in this self governing republic, are not just sporting events, or a way to virtue signal. The healthiest way to look at voting is to see elections as a kind of collective mind being engaged, all of us thinking together to work to solve our problems. We might, individually, not have the same opinions, but collectively, when we all sincerely engage to make the best decision, society will generally come to the best decisions. As such, we have a civic obligation to take part in the process, and to do it as well as we can. To just slough it off, to squander this duty, this opportunity, is very much like the wicked servant who buried his talent.
What's more, not taking a sincere and well thought out stance because you are afraid of offending some friends or relatives is doubly bad. Not only are you squandering your God given “talent”, but not taking a stance, in public, on vital, spiritually significant matters like justice, and judgment and righteousness, out of fear of offending others, is sure to offend the One who created and saved you.
You say, “But, but...I don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils. That sounds ungodly to me.”
Oh do grow up. In fact, let me be very emphatic about that, without resorting to the F-bomb so often used these days to indicate deep passion about something. Grow all the way up!
Yes, you will be voting for the lesser of two evils. It is good for you to recognize that, because that is how it has always been, and, until Jesus does return, how it will always be. Do grow up and do the best you can with that.
As someone said, “If men were angels, we wouldn't need governments.” Men, needless to say, are not angels, and so we have to have governments, flawed and dangerous though they be. The are a necessary evil, and so we must choose between the lesser of two, or more, evils. That is the sad reality folks, grow up and face it like grown human adults.
While we are on the subject, don't get hung up about whether or not your side wins every battle. Another passage from the Bible might help here.
Ecclesiastes 11:6 tells us.
“In the morning sow your seed,
And in the evening do not withhold your hand;
For you do not know which will prosper,
Either this or that,
Or whether both alike will be good.”
Whether you win or lose every battle, know that your best efforts, carried out as to the Lord, will always help the cause of Christ. Some efforts will work, some won't, but it is always a good idea to make the sincere effort. So get out and vote, and use the loving spirit you have been given to maintain relationships with other folks, especially with people who disagree with you, whenever you can.
Finally, never, and that means never, give into the temptation to sit on the sidelines, to squander the gift of self governance God bestowed on us through the work and sacrifice of our forebears. Don't deign in a spirit of phony virtue signaling to not vote, or to vote for someone not on the ballot, like Jesus. When you do that, when you bury and stifle your own “talents,” you merely prevent the knowledge and wisdom God has gifted to you from being entered into and effective in that collective mind we call self government. Sure, you can still pray, and have an effect in the spiritual realm, but so can the minions of the enemy, and they also vote. In high numbers by the way.
It is time for we, the Christian people of this nation, to stand to it like true men and women. To do our dead level best to move this nation in a righteous and godly direction. In short, it is time for us to GROW UP and vote.
And may God bless us as we do.
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