Disclaimer: This is my story of voting. Everyone’s
story is different, even those who come from a background similar to mine. I cannot speak for anyone else.
My Voting Background
I grew up in a Beachy Mennonite
community. Beachy Mennonites (and many other varieties of Mennonites) believe
that they are citizens of Heaven before they are citizens of any earthly
country. Because their primary citizenship is in Heaven, they don’t get too
involved in earthly politics, including voting. In addition, because Mennonites
are pacifist, there is never a presidential candidate whose policies they can
support 100%. So I grew up surrounded by people who didn’t vote. And honestly,
I’ve never really enjoyed politics, so I never missed it.
After I became an adult, I wasn’t
really sure how I felt about voting. I didn’t really want to vote because that
would mean researching candidates so that I could make an informed decision. I
remember at one point having a conversation with a friend at work, and she said
that anyone who doesn’t vote has no right to complain about the president
because they did nothing to prevent that person from becoming president. I
agreed with her. I believe that whether you vote or not, you are called to
respect those God has placed in authority. But I also realized that my laziness
was really the only thing keeping me from voting. I believe that while I am
first and foremost a citizen of Heaven, I am temporarily a citizen of America,
and it is my duty to do what I can to improve the lives of my fellow citizens.
(Now before you think I sound holier-than-thou, I’ll confess that I don’t do
very well at that, but I try. I really do.)
Four years ago, during the 2012
election season, I really planned to vote. Unfortunately, I was unorganized or
lazy or something, and I missed the registration date. So this election season,
I registered long before the cutoff date.
This Election Season
But those long years of being taught
about not voting and the years of waffling in adulthood had an indelible impact on
my view of voting. When I first started thinking about voting this election,
I’ll be honest, I almost panicked. The thought of supporting a candidate whose
character was extremely questionable was unthinkable. I didn’t expect to agree
with a candidate on every single issue, but I did want to cast my vote for
someone with integrity. This election has seemed to me to be full of
mud-slinging and name-calling, the very things that made me dislike politics in
the first place. But I was, and still am, determined to do my part, to be a
responsible citizen while God has me here.
That panic raged for months as I
researched candidates, worried that if I voted for the wrong one, something
terrible would happen, but I honestly didn’t believe that there was a right
one.
God's Sovereignty
Then I started listening to God’s
voice. Here are the things I know to be true about God:
1.
God
is sovereign. He is in control and will place in office whomever he chooses.
2.
Throughout
Scripture, God allowed His people to be enslaved in order to bring them back to
Himself and to glorify Himself. If it will bring more glory to Him and if it will strengthen the faith of His children, God will not hesitate to allow evil people to come to power, take our religious freedom, and/or allow chaos to ensue.
3.
Even
when evil people were in power, God was still in control.
4.
Even
if the worst thing happens and “that candidate” (you know who I mean, even if
“that candidate” is different for you than for me) is elected, God’s ultimate
plan will still play out.
As
I started listening to God’s truths, I felt that pressure lift. I realized that
even if I vote for a candidate who does not win, God will place whomever He
wishes in authority. He does not need me to accomplish His purpose.
My Choices and My Character
This conviction led to another. My
vote has a much larger impact on my character than it does on the country. Who
I vote for and give my support to says more about my values and character than
about anything else. If I compromise my values and vote for someone who doesn’t
try to minimize violence, both against the unborn and those who aren’t like
him/her, that compromise will affect my character.* Compromising something I believe so strongly would lead
to other compromises. How can I claim to be a woman of integrity if I am
willing to compromise a belief that is at the core of who I am as a Christian?
I am now at peace with the knowledge that I will vote for a candidate whose
values I can, for the most part, support, and the outcome is not up to me. God
will take care of the outcome, but I am responsible, with God’s help, for my
own choices.
Final Thoughts
If I could give one piece of advice
to Christian voters this election, it would be this: Please don’t cast your vote out
of fear. Fear is never a good basis on which to make a decision. Cast your vote
out of faith. I don’t know who God wants you to vote for. That’s between you
and Him. But don’t vote out of worry for the future. Vote knowing that the
future is in God’s hands and that your character is indelibly affected by that
choice.
*I bring up these two things because I am adamantly pro-life, not just for the unborn, but for all humans including illegal immigrants and Muslims, because I believe we are all made in God’s image. Violence against a group of people simply because they are not wanted or we are afraid of them is, in my mind, not acceptable. I also believe that human life is more valuable than my religious freedom.
