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The United States of America is an anomaly. An historic anomaly. 

Our Constitutional Republic is unique in human history. The average citizen’s opportunity and ability to both access and impact public policy at all levels, local to federal, is historically unprecedented. Our freedoms to picket and protest and petition and even personally pester our elected officials is unheard of in the vast majority of the world. We are a blessed people! 

So, why am I seeing and hearing so much from even evangelical Christians discouraging us in the matter of voting? There is a growing Christian chorus urging us to just stay home. Sit this one out. Protest by not voting at all. 

Certainly, as US citizens, we are free to not vote. To stay silent. To be complacent and apathetic. But since when are complacency and apathy Christian virtues? And as a former US Marine, I must say that hearing my fellow Christians trying to convince me and others not to vote is deeply disappointing. This is just my opinion, but an American citizen refusing to vote feels like an insult to our men and women in uniform. I don’t think our military serves in harms way primarily to enable their fellow countrymen’s apathy! 

And yet, as a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, one who by grace hungers and thirsts for righteousness and who holds doggedly to the absolute authority of God’s Word revealed in the Holy Bible, I get it. I mean, this whole holding-your-nose method of voting, especially in our Presidential race, is getting old. Neither Donald Trump nor Kamala Harris would be my personal choice for President. And Mr. Trump has sadly moved to the left in recent months, especially in regards to the GOP’s historic pro-life and pro-family (anti-LGBTQ) platform. And he’s often not kind in his comments towards political opponents. He calls names like a six-year-old. He’s bombastic and pompous. Humility is far too often absent from his life. He loves to sing his own praises. His past is shady. So, yeah, I am not a fan. 

But compared to Harris, Trump appears saintly. Harris and her running mate Walz represent the most far-left, pro-abortion, pro-LGBTQ, economically Marxist Presidential ticket in my lifetime, if not in the history of our country. We must see through all the positive talk and “reproductive rights” and “affirming care” non-sense. Harris / Walz are baby butchers and promoters of child abuse. They hate children and parental authority. They embrace death and demonic darkness.  

We’re not voting for a local pastor of our church. And, frankly, our Nation is in such horrible moral condition now that anyone qualified to be a local pastor has almost no chance of ever getting elected to any political office higher than a small local township. This is just the reality we’re living in, dear brothers and sisters in Christ. So, in my humble opinion, to not vote at this critical juncture in the history of our Nation is dereliction of duty, to use a military term. To stay home is to say these issues don’t really matter that much. That a fairly committed pro-life administration is morally equivalent to a 100% pro-death administration. Surely as Christians we know better. 

We’re never going to be given a candidate that is even remotely sinless, or, sadly, in our current state of affairs, a candidate that’s even close to holding genuine, biblical, evangelical convictions. It seems conservative Catholics are about as good as it gets for higher political offices these days. So, if we let that stop us from engaging in the political process, well, we might as well just renounce our citizenship now. 

Evangelical Christians need a refresher course on moral equivalency, it seems. I will save that discussion for another blog post. But, suffice it to say that when so many in churches seem to think a pastor speaking an overly harsh word that hurts the feelings of someone is morally equivalent to outright adultery, we are confused. And this is spilling out into our political views now. I suspect that’s what’s driving some Christians to be claiming moral high ground by not voting at all. 

But I strongly disagree. I am an abortion abolitionist, as several posts on this blog have made clear. But that in no way means I think Trump’s stance on abortion is no better or worse than Harris’. Same goes for the gender dysphoria pandemic, the border policy, views on sexuality, marriage and parenting, economic strategies, crime and punishment and environmental issues. There’s a more biblically faithful view on all these things! And there’s a less biblical or unbiblical view on all of them, too.  

So, vote for the candidates that align with God’s Word more closely, more often, on more issues. So long as there’s at least one candidate who affirms the sanctity of life, unborn and born, and seems willing to at least make some stands against the anti-family, pro-LGBTQ agenda, I argue we Christians are quite justified to vote for that candidate. Indeed, I encourage it. We need not apologize for being “one issue” (abortion) or “two issue” (abortion + LGBTQ) voters. Because those are not insignificant matters for a people, city or Nation. Ask Sodom (Genesis 18-19). Ask Israel and Judah (2 Kgs 17; Jer 19). 

America is under Divine judgment. Has been for decades. Of that I am sure. But judgment can be more or less severe. Slow and steady. Or sudden and devastating. The one true God of the Bible still rules the Nations and He does not change. We ought to be immensely grateful that our Lord is “slow to anger” (Nah 1:3). This election cycle presents us with candidates who clearly represent either a less severe, perhaps more slow and steady form of judgment, or a sudden calamitous judgment. 

I choose life. I and my Nation are always subject to the sovereign plan and purpose of God. But as much as it depends upon me, I vote for life. I urge you to do the same. Pray. Vote. Pray some more. 

O God awaken us. Revive us. Shake Your people and send us out with the hope of Christ. Remind us that the only way America can ever be truly great again is if we see many more millions of our citizens acknowledge the greatness of King Jesus again. Please, Lord, show us mercy in this election. Not for our sake. But for the sake of the Gospel near and far. And regardless of the outcome You have ordained, may we, Your people redeemed by Jesus’ blood, say, “Blessed be the Name of the Lord.”

by Keith McWhorter