Why I Won’t Be Telling You Who To Vote For Anytime Soon

Should a Christian vote for Donald Trump? This was the subject matter of a debate I recently watched between two evangelical leaders. It was filled with passionate exchanges and was well debated. That being said, it left me wondering if this is a conversation we should be having at all. I have always shied away from telling or even intimating to people how I vote and I’ve certainly never articulated to people publicly how they should vote. My reasons for staying clear of this conflict are simple:

I don’t want to indicate that a human leader is the answer. I am reminded of a story from the Old Testament (I Samuel 8) when Israel asks God for a human king. The intention was that God would be their king but they wanted to be like the neighboring countries and have a human king rule over them. This was God’s response:

Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.  He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.  some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.  He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.   He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.  He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.   Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle  and donkeys he will take for his own use.   He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.   When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day. 1 Samuel 8: 10-18

We are not Israel and we are not electing a king, but this text teaches us an important truth: human leadership will often let us down. Why? Because they are humans. They have flaws, weaknesses, shortcomings, and sin. Pastorally, I never want to intimate to people that a human leader is the answer. I want to spend my time on Sunday morning pointing people to Jesus. A leader worth following, listening to, and worshipping.

I don’t want to indicate that there is a fully righteous choice. The moral flaws and failings of our candidates have been well documented. It would be easy for a follower of Jesus to identify the public sin of either candidate. An endorsement of a specific candidate can easily be seen by our community as an endorsement of their sin. I’m not at all interested in endorsing sin. Instead I point people to Jesus, in whom there is no sin, and encourage them to follow Him.

I don’t want to hurt Christian influence: Whatever influence I have in this world (which isn’t much), I want to use it to make Jesus famous. Make His grace clear. Make His ways known. Neither Trump or Biden can save a person’s soul, forgive their sin, or give them eternal life. Jesus can and will when we point people to Him. I am not willing to give up my ability to influence someone toward Jesus in order to influence them toward a political candidate.

I don’t want to hurt Christian unity. I am reminded of Jesus’ high priestly prayer before He want to the cross:

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,  that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.   I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—  I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17

Unity is a big deal and unity is something that should be protected. I have democrats, republicans, and libertarians that attend the church I serve. I have been alarmed this election cycle by how many people in the American church are willing to set aside unity in the name of politics. Political ideology has become a test of fellowship for many and for some a test of our salvation. I agree that political matters can be very important, but there is something that is even more important. Faith.

The Apostle Paul will pick up Jesus’ argument in Romans 14 when he teaches about not quarreling over “disputable matters.” Not disrupting the unity of the church over matters of opinion. While it can be difficult to figure out which political matters fit into the category of disputable, I think most people would agree that many or most are, in fact, a matter of opinion. Paul will write:

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.  Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.  It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.  So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.  Romans 14: 19-22

Vote wisely. Engage politically, but engage in a way that honors and upholds unity. Honors and upholds mission. Honors and upholds Jesus.