The Salty Peanut Gallery

Are you like me? The closer we get to Election Day are you having increased difficulty with the prospects of walking into that voting booth and pulling the lever for either candidate?

Take the financial crisis for example. This was a perfect opportunity for Senator John McCain to knock one out of the park. The American public said overwhelmingly they didn’t want this bailout. Many Republicans said they weren’t going to vote for the bailout. All McCain need to do was to say, “I’m not supporting this bailout. Here’s my plan to substantively address the issues.” But rather then actually tackle the REAL reason we’re in this mess (i.e. the across the board greed and corruption not only in Congress, but within the banking industry, and among mortgage holders who tried to buy houses they couldn’t possibly afford) BOTH candidates seem only interested in throwing more money at the problem without doing one meaningful thing to insure this crisis never happens again.

IT’S ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE!

Is it any wonder that so many Christians have given up on politics this year? “I don’t like either candidate, so I’m staying home.” And frankly, I wouldn’t blame you. I am SO there. Chuck Colson reminds us that “not voting is not an option—it’s both our civic and sacred duty. Voting is required of us as good citizens and as God’s agents for appointing leaders.”

How do we go about choosing the best candidates? Not by pulling a partisan lever—that’s knee-jerk ideology. Christians live instead by revealed truth, never captive to any party. Thus, the best place to go for wisdom is not the candidates’ websites, but the Bible.

Colson gives some important principles that should guide our decision:

1. Government’s role is to wield the sword to preserve order and restrain evil. So we should seek leaders best able to do that and to pursue justice.

2. We are commissioned to choose leaders of competence, virtue, and character. That’s why not voting or rejecting candidates because they are not perfect on some biblical or political score sheet is a dereliction of our trust.

3. In casting a vote, judgment should ultimately be guided by what we perceive to be the common good, a term not often heard in today’s special interest charged political debates. So maybe a particular candidate isn’t going to cut your taxes or vote for your favorite program, but the real question is, will he serve all the people, or only the loudest?

In Augustine’s “The City of God” believers are reminded of Jesus’ teaching that while we may live in “the City of Man”, we do not belong to it. We are Kingdom people. But while we’re here on earth we are obligated to be good citizens “out of obedience to God and love of neighbor.” Colson explains:

Augustine’s teaching also helps us to put the coming election into perspective. On Election Day we should be the best of citizens, voting for the candidate best for all the people. And then the next day, after indulging in your celebration—or pity party—get busy working to advance God’s kingdom in this earthly society.