My eight-year-old, Gabbi asked, “Who are you going to vote for?” I hesitated.
She continued, “I’m going to vote for whoever you’re going to vote for.”
My heart sank. She is truly looking at me to know how to live in every way, even civic engagement.
Gabbi won’t be able to vote for another decade. I can’t even imagine the America she will live in 10 years from now. Yet I feel an immense sense of responsibility to do now that which will strengthen and secure blessings on the nation in which I live in the future.
I told Gabbi, “I’m voting for Donald Trump, but I’m going to tell you why, OK?”
She sat on the sofa across from me, smiling as she does when she’s about to learn something “juicy.” As much as I want our children to follow us as we follow Christ, I want them to also understand why we live as we do.
Sitting across from my sweet innocent daughter I tried to speak simply and truthfully about what is happening in America. “Gabbi, we have two people running for the opportunity to lead this nation,” I began. “They have two different plans for the direction of this country. Hillary Clinton wants to expand killing babies. Hillary Clinton thinks that your religious beliefs must change if you believe killing babies is wrong. Hillary Clinton wants to increase control. That means she believes people should be controlled by the government.” I said.
Gabbi was no longer smiling, and I could see her discouragement. “So what does Donald Trump want to do?” she asked.
I took a good breath. “Well, first, let me say this: I believe Hillary Clinton to be wicked and an enemy of Jesus. However, I don’t think Donald Trump is an angel. Donald Trump has a pretty bad past … actually, a really bad past. (I gave a few PG examples). But Donald Trump wants to save babies. He also wants to protect your right to live according to what you believe. We call that religious freedom. Gabbi, I believe Donald Trump wants to see the kind of country that will allow you to live more freely.” I ended.
She was fully engaged, yet I wasn’t sure she understood what I was saying. “Do you have any questions?” I asked her.
“No,” she said.
“Gabbi, I’m going to take you with me to vote on Tuesday, OK?”
Her eyes got wide. “You mean like behind the curtain?” she asked.
“Well we don’t have a curtain, but we do have privacy stalls,” I laughed.
“I can’t wait!” she yelled.
On Tuesday, November 8, I will not vote as a single-issue voter. I will vote as a major-issue voter. Reducing the number of babies slaughtered in this country and, dare I say, around the world is a major issue. Maintaining my God-given freedoms in a nation established to do just that is a major issue. So I will vote for Donald Trump on Tuesday.
As Bible teacher and pastor John MacArthur recently said: “I’m not voting for Donald Trump; I’m voting for a worldview; I’m voting for an ideology that’s closer to Scripture. … It isn’t about Donald Trump. This is a massive, massive, massive worldview issue. … People say, ‘Well it’s scary to think of what Donald Trump might do,’ and I say, ‘It’s scarier to know what Hillary will do.’”
Do I want to vote for Donald Trump? No. I would prefer to vote for Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, or even Marco Rubio. But they are not on the ballot for president. So I will allow reason to overrule emotion – a luxury enjoyed by humans as compared to animals – and choose to vote against the evil that Hillary Clinton has arrogantly stated she wishes to expand and initiate in this nation. I’m not voting for the lesser of two evils; I’m flatly voting against evil as it’s been clearly communicated. When I consider the birds of a feather adage and think of Mike Pence, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, and others, I’m encouraged by what we could see come from a Donald Trump administration. On the other hand, when I think of Anthony Weiner, John Podesta, Cecile Richards, and others, I shudder.
I’m voting for Donald Trump because what he asserts is better than what Hillary Clinton asserts. My conscience is clear before God. I will vote to secure the greatest good for all of us, especially the household of faith.
But I will not vote and go to sleep. I will vote and continue to pray. The Lord knows who will lead this nation next, and it will be according to His sovereign plan. I trust Him completely.
