April 16, 2024
As we think about this year’s election, we need to remember it is imperative that Christians vote and be engaged in this process. It’s one of the most basic rights we have as Americans and one of the great responsibilities we have as followers of Christ.
There are at least three things we need to know, as a general rule, in participating in all elections.
First of all, we have got to be registered to vote. And that’s easy to do, simply by going to the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. Secondly, you must vote. This you can do in a number of ways: early voting, absentee voting, and election-day voting. You need to plan ahead by looking at your calendar and knowing where those precincts are or what you need to do in order to be present on that day. And then, thirdly, you need to vote for the right person.
There are a number of ways you can do that. You can go to www.openstates.org or https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do and put in your zip code to find out who the people are representing you in government and who may be running in this year’s election. You can go, for example, to the Faith and Freedom Coalition website and/or the Georgia Right to Life website.
There, look at some of the issues, what the particular candidates believe about these issues, and how they line up with your biblical convictions. Then, look at the candidates’ websites and at the endorsements given to them by various organizations. These are just a few of the things we can do to be prepared and educated as voters.
God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people.” So, if “we the people” as the U.S. Constitution says we are, we as Christians can make an exponential difference from a stewardship perspective. Since we are a part of the government, God expects us be responsible citizens.
Then, there’s a gospel perspective we have. Because we’ve been changed by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ our very nature brings light and salt to the process. And so, it’s important for us to be involved just for those two reasons alone. But additionally, there’s the generational perspective. We are talking these days a lot about “nextgen” and how to reach and impact the next generation in student ministries. But, we need to understand that elections have a way of creating the environment that our children and grandchildren are going to be living in one day. We need to know that God has given us a stewardship responsibility to impact that next generation by the way we vote.
We want to elect people who are educated on the policy issues and are biblically knowledgeable about what is going on in our day and time (1 Chronicles 12:32). Our country is not helped by politicians who give us a lot of empty rhetoric. We need men and women who actually have ideas about how to work on the issues we’re concerned about.
We need to be engaged in the political process because God knows that in our day, we need statesmen more than we need politicians! We must realize that a politician is someone who “knows the truth, but tells you what you want to hear.” A statesman, however, is someone who “knows what you want to hear, but tells you the truth anyway”! We need people running for political office or already in office who are motivated by truth and more interested in the next generation than in just winning the next election!
Friends, now is definitely not the time to stand on the sidelines! We need to be reminded of Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” If we don’t get involved and stay involved, God is going to hold us responsible and we are going to have a lot of “mourning” on the way.
Let’s choose to make a difference in this year’s 2018 election! Remember, we can do all things through Christ!
For more information visit the Georgia Public Affairs website. Also, click here to listen to Dr. J. Robert White’s interview with me on the 2018 Election.
For voter guides regarding the upcoming election, click here and here.
