Hint: Bible references are hyperlinks!
If there’s one guideline we can bring with us to the voting booth this November, it is the important principle that Jesus repeatedly brought to our attention. His mandate was to love one another (John 13:35). That means we must love everyone–those who don’t look like us, and surely those who don’t think or vote like us. Jesus goes so far as to say that what we do to our neighbor is like doing it to Him. See Matthew 25:40.
Instead of the tit-for-tat retaliation that seems so prevalent in this particular election cycle, we need to keep our focus on the most vulnerable in society, and avoid fearmongering for certain groups of people, as some have tended to do.
Of course, we know that no political party will follow the principle of love perfectly (they are only human, after all); but, if, to the best of our knowledge, one side is better at loving our neighbors than the other party, then perhaps we can prayerfully cast our ballot with a clear conscience, knowing that God is in control of the final outcome.
Speaking of God being in control, let’s remember what our relationship should be to government. Jesus pointed out that obedience was expected of us. After all, we are to “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Matthew 22:21
It’s helpful to remember Romans 13:1-2 that reveals how governments get their power. Simply put, God gives it to them. He appoints earthly authorities above us, and we should obey them as much as possible, so long as we don’t disobey God’s law while doing it (Acts 5:29).
Some authorities, of course, will abuse their power, whether they’re a preacher, doctor, teacher, parent, or anyone in charge of others. Which is why we are fortunate when we live in a country that gives us a chance to choose our political leaders.
Even so, we can trustingly know that God is in control of the election results in our country this November, and we are obliged to remain law-abiding citizens, while still helping and loving our neighbors to the best of our ability.
Loving our neighbors was the sermon theme at my church this past Sabbath. Pastor Joel Navarro at Piedmont Park SDA Church reminded us of the previous verses and also who are neighbors are. Using the illustration of “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood”, a popular children’s program for decades, he showed us a picture of Fred Rogers, sitting side by side with a black police officer, with both of them soaking their feet in a kiddie’s pool. The pastor mentioned how controversial this image was at the time, breaking color barriers in the sixties. I can remember clearly those days. I lived in a highly segregated city that had those laws of segregation.
But, whether it’s racial hatred, or maybe just a fear of immigrants, we need to remember that every living person on this planet is our neighbor. After all, the Bible says “For God so loved the world”, and therefore, so should we.
See another article on this subject, published last week… Vote for Jesus Every Day!
