Contentious presidential elections are nothing new in the United States, though we have not witnessed one as divisive as this one in a long time. We expect for there to be some division between the supporters of the two major parties, but this year we have witnessed significant divisions within each party as well. Now that we are in the last stretch of the election season, which includes the inevitable “October surprises,” all of those divisions have simmered to the surface. What has been surprising, perhaps, has been the increasingly antagonistic attitudes believers have taken toward each other, which often arise out of a perception that if a person does not support one specific candidate, they do not care about the future of this nation.
While there are many symptoms associated with this perspective (including a lack of trust in God to select our rulers [cf. Rom. 13:1, Dan. 2:21], fear of a specific candidate [cf. Matt. 10:28, Ps. 118:6], and trust in earthly institutions such as the Supreme Court [cf. Ps. 121]), at the root of this worldview is a lack of understanding of our citizenship, specifically our Kingdom citizenship. When we are adopted into God’s family as sons and made coheirs with Christ (Eph. 1:3-14), we become citizens of the Kingdom of God, which has many implications for how we are to conduct ourselves in the earthly kingdom (space does not permit me to expand on these here as much as I might like). First, we must recognize that we are now merely sojourners here (1 Pet. 2:11). This fallen world is no longer our home, so it should not draw our allegiance in the way that it once did when we were still lost. Second, and as a result of the first point, we must resist the temptation to become overly involved in the things of this world, including the political arena. After calling Timothy to be a good soldier for Christ, Paul reminded him, “No solider gets entangled in civilian pursuits…” (2 Tim. 2:4). The transition between being salt and light and being entangled in civilian pursuits can be subtle, so we must guard ourselves all the more. Third, we have been appointed to be ambassadors of the King here in this earthly kingdom (2 Cor. 5:20). As ambassadors, we represent our Sovereign and His message (the Gospel), which includes both the call to salvation and the call to obedience and holiness. Fourth, if this fallen world is not our home, then our longing should not be for it or the things of it. Our hearts should be attracted to the things of God and repulsed by the things of this world – including those things supported, pursued, and done (even in their private lives) by candidates for office when they contradict the things of God (1 Pet. 1:13-21, Phil. 1:21, Rom. 12:1-2, John 17:14-15).
Brothers and sisters, I have become increasingly convinced that we are not facing an election where we must choose between the lesser of two evils, but that we are facing an election where we must choose between two individuals who are both unfit for the office. When your choices are all unfit, it does not matter which one is more or less unfit – none should be put into office. What is a Kingdom citizen to do in this case? Some have suggested we “hold our nose and vote,” while others have suggested we do not vote at all. While we do have a responsibility for being active participants in the system, we must begin at an even more fundamental level. Above all we must evaluate why we are choosing to vote in a specific manner. Is it an attempt to secure an earthly kingdom that is passing away, or is it a natural outgrowth of our Kingdom citizenship that declares our allegiance to God and God alone, as well as the things that God approves? Remember, “[I]f the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matt. 5:13). Just something to think about…
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