As a veteran and dairy farmer, Uncle Austin laughed at the commercials, “In the Army, we do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day.”
He had already worked the machines making sure each Holstein had been milked. Cows that don’t get milked two to three times a day are at risk of developing mastitis – a painful condition that is expensive to treat and, if untreated, can cause death.
Between milkings that day, he discovered his pickup was down, and no one was around. His niece, my wife, said, “There was no way he was going to call anyone.” So, he climbed onto his John Deere 4020 tractor, cranked it like he had thousands of times before, and started rolling.
It was the kind of speed we might take to travel along to smell the wildflowers while bicycling, but the smells he had that morning weren’t those. As he drove down the small, paved road, the diesel and smoke mixed with the mist of a country morning into a thin, grimy, sticky substance. Eyes squint or tear up for protection.
Better suited for dirt and fields than the pavement he was on, the large tires rumbled along. When Uncle Austin finally arrived at the voting polls just before they opened that morning, I can only imagine what people said.
“What in the world?!”
“Who is that?”
“Is that…?”
“He must’ve really wanted to vote.”
“To vote or not to vote?” was NOT the question in his mind. He had decided, he made a way, and it didn’t matter he had more to do in his busy day. This was important for so many reasons.
As a World War II veteran rescued by the Allies from a German war camp, he knew the importance of freedom, of America, and of having a say in America’s direction.
As a businessman, he knew the importance of having men and women who paid attention to details that make an economy strong, just as he did to keep the farm strong.
As a dairy farmer, he was aware of the law of reaping what is sown. In just a few days without doing the work, cows would suffer and die. With them gone, so to the farm would go.
“It’s just one vote,” wasn’t a concern for him because he was going to plant his vote. Just like a seed in the ground, there’s much that goes on before we see the crop.
As a Christian, he probably prayed for wisdom and not just on the day he voted. America needs more Christians to vote wisely. But how?
People are ____________. What was your first word? Biblically, we’re all sinners in need of Jesus and the salvation He offers. God has delegated some of His work to us as – well, as trite as it might sound yet still important – His hands and feet.
Again, how do we do this? James 1:5 says to pray for wisdom, and recently Tom Gilson provided some great wisdom:
Pray on the basis of candidates’ alignment with godly principles. Pray that the good candidates would win. Pray that the less-good ones would lose. And pray that the truly bad ones would go down in flames. Electorally speaking, that is.
That’s it. It’s that simple, at least in principle.
Gilson’s piece is powerful for pastors who face the complications around voting that might inhibit their shepherding.
Here, though, let’s look at some biblical guidelines to better discern who to vote for in our elections.
One resource that can help you discern how to vote provides information that works alongside these biblical principles. It is iVoterGuide. You can get sample ballots, voting information, and candidate evaluations to guide your use of the following biblical principles.
Some biblical guidelines
In Exodus 18, Jethro hears of all God had done for Moses and how He delivered them out of Egypt. Jethro visits Moses at the mountain of God (v.5). But look who he’s brought with him: Moses’ wife and two sons!
Moses shares the stories of the good God had done, and Jethro rejoices and praises God (v. 9-12). With Exodus 18:13-27 we find some excellent advice given to Moses and excellent guidance on choosing the best possible candidate when voting.
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe...(Exodus 18:2).
While I’ve written about this verse several times, I owe credit to Wallbuilders, an organization that presents “…America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built.” This video is relevant every time we have the opportunity to vote:
Four items can help us choose someone who is humbled by the knowledge of God (whether they’re a believer or not), has the ability to do good when they get the position, and can be trusted overall to think of others over themselves.
Unfortunately, we live in the real world where each of these is often on a line continuum with “Yes” on one end and “No” on another:
- Capable/Able
- Fear of God
- Trustworthy/Hate lies
- Hate a bribe/Despise covetousness
If the people we vote for fit these guidelines and are elected, we’ll have a better harvest of freedoms. Even so, it doesn’t mean elected candidates are like the slogan from a Ron Popeil commercial: “Set it and forget it.”
No, instead, they require our regular prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-3) so we might lead quiet, peaceable lives in all godliness and reverence. They require our prayer to withstand the pressures and temptations they may face or they may slide on that continuum toward "No."
For example, one senator from Mississippi and my church would never go to D.C. without his wife. He wanted her eyes, her support, and her prayers. Many men have been blessed by the advice and prayers of their wives.
We must be praying, as Gilson wrote, that they may keep truth and humility above power and privilege.
“So we must let our voices and our votes speak truth. If that includes criticizing people we helped elect – and losing favor with them as a result – we must speak truth regardless,” wrote Gilson.
The truth is America is post-Christian now, even though many nations view her as a Christian nation. This nation founded on Christian values doesn’t value Christ as it did before.
Despite a larger population, do as many of her pulpits flame with the righteousness of God? Without those pulpits and the changes in the hearts of men, women, and children of the land as accomplished by the Holy Spirit and each person’s voluntary submission, there aren’t enough politics to fix the many problems America faces today.
Many in culture would like to cast us out or exile us to the private practice of our beliefs. Because of this, we should look at Jeremiah.
He wrote a letter to the exiles captured and moved to Babylon. While we Christians are not exiles, the culture doesn’t really desire our God and His ways. Luckily, even if like a football game where the referees seem biased, we can still play the game God has provided for us. Come what may, we can pray, vote, pray.
With that in mind, we should follow the words of Jeremiah 29:4-9: build homes, plan to stay, plant and grow and enjoy the fruits of growth – do not dwindle away!
Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace (Jeremiah 29:7 Amplified).
Not peace just for the city, but our nation too. And you don’t even have to own a tractor. But you must not give up. Stay faithful and do as God leads.
