Many in America have sighed that our election choices are merely a choice between the “lesser of two evils.”  If we look at the degraded process of campaigning and debating of our elections, I agree. 

We do not behave or speak with the semblance of dignity I remember as a young person growing up in the 60s-80s,. Even that was a far cry from the seriousness and high-stakes decisions that were being made in the 40s and 50s as our nation faced global war, again, on such a great scale. We have changed as a nation.  As my mother used to say, we’ve “lost our notching stick,” which was to say we have lost our very basis for reasoning rightly — we’ve lost our mooring.

But we can’t spend our time decrying a lost poise and grace, a sense of fairness and duty. We are better served by looking at what we have before us. 

We cannot recapture, in the days before a major election, what once was, but we can try to search out the truths and principles from the mass of lies and half-truths given to us in the various media (print, online, televised, etc.). 

1. We must realize that we don’t elect PEOPLE to office, but POLICY.  Remove the faces of our candidates from your mind.  There is too much at stake here to focus on a person’s visage. 
2. We must realize that, in America, we don’t elect INDIVIDUALS to office, but PARTIES.  Parties make policy. 

In America we don’t only have two parties, we have several.  While it is true especially this year that our country will most likely choose our next national and global leader from one of two main parties, Republican or Democrat, there are other parties we need to consider that are on the ballot: Independent, Libertarian, and Green.

Do you know what each party stands for? 

Know the Platforms on U.S. Ballot 2024

Democratic Party Platform (92-page PDF, all text)

Republican Party Platform  (28-page PDF, not all text)

Independent Party Platform (dropped out) (16-page PDF, all text)

Libertarian Party Platform (10-page PDF, all text)

Green Party Platform (website with a linked Table of Contents)

What is a Platform?

These are statements of faith.  The positions taken guide agendas and proposals for law.  They uphold or destroy our U.S. Constitution.  They affect your personal life through taxes, your education and your children’s education and the direction of our next generations, your freedom to speak up and defend yourself, your home and country, your earthly right to receive fair and equitable treatment in work and society, and even your freedom to live.  If you have not yet read your party’s platform, do so now.

The Fallacy of Relying on Campaigns and News Reports

All media is biased in their representations of the claims.  While nothing is foolproof, studying the party’s platforms will reveal what is at ground level, the real agendas of each candidate, because all candidates must abide by their party’s stated aims or be ousted by their party. 

Then.  When my children were school age, they could download and print these in a few pages each as a list of agenda items with quick explanation as a key part of their civic instruction. We knew where the candidates stood on issues of national importance. 

Now.  Many party platforms have cluttered their agendas with campaigning. The platform should not be based on “the other candidate,” but upon what the party itself hopes and plans to achieve if we give them the office.

There is a place for campaigning and learning how each candidate has proven dedication to the party platform. For that, you will need to check their voting record and past acts for yourself, not relying on hearsay. Holding the elected officials to their platform values and ethics, and agendas, will outlast the candidate when Congress meets again.

To Vote or To Not Vote?

Christians have a unique situation when choosing to participate in our nation’s voting process. How far into the mess do we get without losing the focus of our life’s energy, work, and worship on Christ? 

1. We who are eligible to vote in this country, have not only a right to do so, but we have a responsibility to be a light to the rest of the world (Matt. 5:14-16).  Our vote counts.  What we do or do not allows the “wave” of policy to wash over our country and to affect and infect the lives of those in other countries as well.  What we do can grant freedom or remove freedom to worship God according to the Spirit of God within us. 
2. We are making a choice for the leadership of the free world. We are not taking sides against those who disagree with us when we fill out our ballot. There is no loyalty at the ballot box toward man, but only to the principles of Christianity as written in God’s Word. There is NO choice that will be 100% pure in that respect.  We choose the BEST party that has the most hope of fulfilling Christ’s own mission on this earth. No man can judge another’s decisions, even when Christians disagree. We can trust God that, if our fellow Christians are voting differently than us after seeking God for their decision, God is in it. Only let us call ourselves as well as our friends to submit to the Lord through prayer and research and not base those decisions on loyalty to any but Christ and His Word.
3. What is Christ’s righteous “party platform”? (Fulfilled in Christ in Matthew 11:5; Luke 4:18; and Luke 7:22):

Isaiah 61

To not vote, simply because the candidates are flawed or are not Christians or true Christians is to get the cart before the horse.  It is the party that counts, not the individual.  The parties and “we the People” will hold the candidates accountable for their adherence to stated purposes and aims. God is in the habit of using flawed people to carry out His righteousness in this earth. Let’s look for where God is working, following the known aims of His heart for mankind, not judging God for whom He uses.

To not vote, simply because there is a mistaken idea that Christians should not be involved in politics misses the fact that our Bible shows that the early Christians were to be found in all places, conducting their personal and public lives according to the Word and the Spirit. We are not to rely on those wordly positions, but we are to “be Christ” wherever the light of His salvation needs to shine.

We must remember the witness of great men such as William Wilberforce, an elected official, who spent his public years to his dying day fighting for the abolition of the slave trade in England. Because of his witness, and the witness of so many others, America followed suit to the praise of God!

There is general agreement that the same city treasurer named Erastus mentioned in Romans 16:23 is most likely the same Erastus mentioned in an inscription found in Corinth that mentions Erastus as having laid the pavement “at his own expense.” 

To not vote, is to hand over your God-given right and responsibility to be “salt and light” in this world.  Our worlds are no longer communal or local.  We live in a tightly integrated global network of powers and rulers and authorities as well as communities of human beings just like you and me.  We cannot not vote!  We must choose. 

How to Decide and Vote in the Way of Christ

1.  PRAY! We cannot do anything with God’s wisdom, if we do not ask Him for it. And as we pray, we must do so rightly:

• ADORE – (Psalm 103:1-7; Psalm 29:1-2) Come to the King of Kings bearing gifts!  What gifts?  The gift of praise.  We orient our minds and heart to see Him in all His goodness.  What has God done in your personal life, your community and family, your work, your nation, your world, that causes you to see Him as He is as Father and all Good? Spend time in wonder. We can also call this step “Acknowledge” — By our praise, we acknowledge that He exists and is Sovereign over us and our world.  
• CONFESS – (James 5:16; 1 John 1:8-10) He is Holy God; we are not.  We have much to confess of our own private lives, and we must also confess of our national sin as well. We must own our nation’s failures and name them.  But we must also Repent of those sins.  If there is anything that stands between us and a “brother” (any human being), we must be willing to get up from our prayer and make it right.  This is an act of obedience and aligns our motives to God’s.
• THANK – (2 Kings 7:18-22; Phil 4:6; John 11:41-42) We have so much to be thankful for in our private lives and in our world.  Even though we may be going through much hardship, and even though our world is in such a mess, God is actively involved preserving us from greater evils, alleviating suffering, healing wounds, setting the captives free, avenging injustice, and saving souls for eternity. Think on the ways God has intervened in your life and has shown that He is there with you, and with our nation. Thank Him for this!
• SUPPLICATE – (Philippians 4:6; Eph. 6:18) We have the privilege through the sacrifice of Christ, to lay down our requests before Him and ask Him to intercede on our behalf.  Most surely, that is what He is doing right now as we speak (Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25)!  Ask God to give you guidance as you read and study and pray about this Election 2024.  God knows all the candidates are unworthy, just as I am unworthy to conduct my own life sinlessly.  God knows that only one of these candidates is His choice to bring our nation to the exact point in His Sovereign Plan that He has ordained from the foundation of the world.  We ask that we vote in unity with His wisdom.

2. STUDY! Read the platforms.  Read your Bible.  Decide which most aligns with the aims of Christ in His Word. What are some of the key items to look for? I list only a few samples:

• Sanctity of Life – We must respect, care and preserve the lives of the elderly (Lev. 19:32; Isaiah 46:4; 1 Peter 5:1) , the unborn (Jeremiah 1:4-5; Gen. 1:27; Gen. 9:6; Psalm 127:3; Ex. 20:13; Luke 1:41, 44; Isaiah 49:1, 5; Ex. 21:22-25), the disabled (Job 31:15; Luke 12:6-7; Amos 1:13), the imprisoned (Genesis 4:15; Heb. 13:3), the ill and the weak in crisis (Jeremiah 22:3; Ex. 23:7). (See also “Justice” below.)
• Taxes – “For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain [to keep it from eating the grain]” (1 Cor. 9:9; 1 Timothy 5:8; Deut. 25:4). “The laborer deserves his wages” (Luke 10:7; Matt. 10:10). Pay civil taxes as unto the Lord (Rom. 13:1).
• Property Ownership – God as Creator owns all (“In God We Trust”; Ex. 19:5; Lev. 25:23). God has set man to exercise stewardship over God’s gifts: Gen. 1:26-28. Private property is implied in the Ten Commandments and in acknowledging boundaries and possessions: “Thou shalt not steal”, “Thou shalt not covet” (Ex. 20:15, 17, KJV; also Mark 10:9; Luke 18:20; Luke 19:8; Rom. 13:9; Eph. 4:28).
• Education and Parenthood – Education is the shaping of godly character; this is the parents’ responsibility, not the state’s (Deut. 6:6-7; 11:9; also Proverbs 1:8; 4:1-5; Eph. 6:4). Children are to obey their parents first, before the state (Eph. 6:1-4). This includes parental sovereignty over their children’s health, social, and financial decisions as well as their education. God is the source of all wisdom; a national education must allow parents to align their child’s education under God’s direction (Prov. 1:7; Daniel 1:17). Education is for all citizens (James 1:5).
• Financial Frugality and Accountability – God is the true owner of all (1 Chron. 29:11-12). No bribes (Ex. 23:8). Reduce or eliminate debt (Rom. 13:8). Balance the budget (Prov. 21:5). Be diligent in assessing debts and assets, income and outgo, the truly needful and the surplus accounts (Prov. 27:23-27). Invest in eternal benefits that give sure profit (Matt. 6:19-20; Matt. 25:27). Show no impartiality to either the rich OR the poor (Job 34:19). Plan and provide for retirement (Numbers 8:24-26). Save money, but do not hoard (Prov. 3:9-10; Luke 12:15). Work to earn your own way, for God works and He made us to work and cultivate, to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 2:2-3, 15; Gen. 5:29; Colossians 3:23-24). For more on financial principles visit “What the Bible says about money” at CompassFinancialMinistry.com.
• Healthcare – Our bodies belong to God; therefore, God must be at center of our healthcare choices (1 Cor. 6:19-20). This principle and principles of finance and accountability, sanctity of life, and justice must merge to support a system of healthcare that includes freedom to choose, freedom to veto healthcare that violates scriptural mandates, and equitable access to quality healthcare without coercion (Matt. 25:37-40).
• Justice – Only God is just (Deut. 32:4; Prov. 29:26). Therefore, God must be our foundation of justice system (Psalm 89:14). Civic justice considers the weak and fatherless, the afflicted and the destitute (Ps. 82:3). We should “seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless and plead the widow’s cause (Isaiah 1:17). God must be at the center of our decisions on justice, not relying on emotions alone (Michah 6:8). We cannot be just to some specialized groups and neglect others (Luke 11:42). God will enact His justice on the oppressors if we do not (Luke 18:7-8). Justice is for all, including the guest (Deut. 27:19), however all laws are to be observed (Rom. 13:1-14; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17). When justice has been perverted, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
• National Defense/Law Enforcement – There is a time for offense as well as defense (Ecclesiastes 3:8). War is serious and not to be entered into lightly (Matthew 24:6-8). Our military is and must remain, except in the direst of circumstances, a voluntary force: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Our military is only as great or as just as the God or “god” they are called to serve: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12-22). With God at the helm, our nation will serve “valiantly” (Psalm 108:12-13). This implies the support of judicious and sufficient funding and oversight, and includes local, state, and national law enforcement on land, sea, air and space.
• Immigration – (see verses under “Justice”).

3. VOTE!  Early voting is still available.  Schedule when you will go to vote and set all things aside to keep that schedule. Do you need childcare or transportation or time off work?  Arrange it now. 

Though there are warranted concerns in all parties’ platforms, not all parties will address those concerns in a way that most matches the way of Christ.  None will be perfect in this.

We are voting for a CIVIL leader, not the head of the Church. Only Christ is head of the Church. It is to our shame that we as a nation cannot produce a leader of Samuel or Joshua’s character and faithful standing.  But in the history of Scripture, we find God using and even praising flawed men and women (such as you and I) who obeyed God when called to service (Hebrews 11). 

Vote for the future: for our children’s children and the generations beyond them.

After Voting: We’re Still Called

Finally, after you have voted, our responsibility as citizens of this nation does not end. We must continue to vote locally and nationally for agendas (bills, resolutions, etc.) and offices in the same way. 

We must remain vigilant over the temporal, earthly rights we have been given and exercise them for the good of others and for God’s glory.  This is our act of worship and service for God.

We vote as our thanks to the men and women who fought and died throughout our nation’s history, and serve us even to this very day, to stand for the right before God. 

© ReadPsalm119.com, 2024.

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Postscript:

I , the author, am not ashamed to say that I am a Republican — by choice, based on my continued study of the party platforms.  I do not wish to hide my personal conclusions. But every Christian must seek Christ for themselves before God and gain their own wisdom for personal decisions. I value that right for you. I don’t pray for my candidate to win, but that all America will fall on our knees before God and repent of national sin, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, and ask God to heal our land. No candidate will turn this nation around.  Only Christ through His people can make that change.  It begins with us. 

SCRIPTURE FOR PRAYER

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their lan

 Joel 2:12–18 (ESV)
Return to the Lord
12  “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13  and rend your hearts and not lyour garments.”
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
14  Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, 
a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
15  Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly;
16  gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders;
gather the children, even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.
17  Between the xvestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord Had Pity
18  Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

Haggai 1:5–13 (ESV)
5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who learns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and son all their labors.”

The People Obey the Lord
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.”

Zechariah 1:3 (ESV)
3 Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

English Standard Version © 2001-2004 Crossway. (esv.org).