Unless you are living under a rock (or in a different country), you know this is not only an election year here in the United States, but it’s also less than a week from Election Day.
I have to admit, this may be my least favorite time of year for at least two reasons.
- The campaigns and debates have deteriorated into mud-slinging, truth-bending and line-towing displays of disrespect, and…
- About half the people in the country think the other half are all “idiots” and/or “liars.”
After spending 15 years of my life as a sportswriter, I’ve heard plenty of great quotes in my time (many of which I could never use in a family newspaper), but one of the best quotes I ever received nailed the nature of politics in America square on the bull’s eye.
Not long after retiring from his sport, legendary drag racer “Big Daddy” Don Garlits briefly tried his hand at politics – running for office on the State level – but quickly “retired” from that arena nearly as fast as he used to race down the drag strip.
When I asked him why he got out of politics so suddenly, this is what he had to say:
“Anywhere I went in America as ‘Big Daddy’ Don Garlits, everyone loved me, but as soon as I put that letter behind my name (as in D for Democrat, or R for Republican) half the people instantly hated me.”
This dark side of the political environment produces a slippery slope for Christian voters.
In the past several weeks and months, I’ve heard people publicly cry out for Christians to vote for “this guy” or “that guy,” but I think this is a little dicey for the “big picture” of Christianity.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong about this, but it can present a risk – maybe not for the individual, but for Christianity as a whole.
I will try to explain.
First of all, I’m pretty sure it would be just as challenging to get a room full of Democrats to agree in unison about all political issues as it would be to get a room full of Republicans to agree unanimously about all political issues.
So, how in the world could one political party or candidate ever capture the whole sum of Christianity?
I agree that during any given election there may be a candidate that is a better voting choice from the Christian standpoint, but as Christians, we need to be careful about making a total connection between one candidate/political party to Christianity.
I’m also not saying that Christians can’t or shouldn’t have very strong, convicted beliefs and opinions about certain candidates or issues – that’s a good thing.
However, we do need to be cautious during a particularly heated political race – like the one we seem to be having this year.
As Christians we like to think that our comments and/or actions could be encouraging a non-believer or someone who is on the fence about faith in general to explore Christianity further.
So we also must accept the fact that our words and/or actions can also be what drives them away from Christianity if we allow ourselves to get caught up in the fray of below-the-belt name-calling and hate-speak.
To non-believers, or those on the fence about faith, that comes off as highly hypocritical.
You may disagree, but I believe it would be safer to treat our voting interests – especially if we are voting based strongly on what we feel God’s will is – the same way Jesus told us to handle our “acts of righteousness.”
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them…” – Matthew 6:1
Essentially, there’s nothing wrong with the “righteous act” of voting itself.
Voting is not only a good thing, it’s our right as Americans.
But if we go about it in such a behavior that we are publicly condemning the choice other voters are making and/or their candidate, we might be turning a “righteous act” into a “self-righteous act.”
My point is, we should certainly be prayerful and seek His guidance and direction in choosing which candidate to vote for, but don’t we also need to do the same regarding how we conduct ourselves in these matters?
In other words, let’s cast our votes, not stones.
A Changing Grace 