Today, Americans head to the polls for the midterm elections. Christians should be taking part.
Daniel Darling, writing for the North American Mission Board finds three reasons in scripture for Christians to vote.
First, Darling says “We should vote out of love for neighbor.”
He points to the prophet Jeremiah who told the Jewish exiles in pagan Babylon to “seek the welfare of their city” by building, planting, creating and cultivating. While New Testament Christians are not Jewish exiles, there is something we can learn from the words of Jeremiah. We, too, are exiles in a world that is at odds with our beliefs. Our vote should reflect those beliefs.
Second, “We should vote because God has given us a stewardship for which we will be held accountable.”
In Romans 13, Paul reminds us that all civil authority is granted by God. Our vote is a God-given divestment of authority to the voter.
And finally,
“We should vote because it can help speak up for the vulnerable and help advance the gospel. As Jesus prayed in John 17, we have been sent into this world, as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. Your vote represents your place in that kingdom.”
To quote founding father Samuel Adams, “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote… that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”