Christian Campaigning
By Rev. David Wilson Rogers | April 18, 2015
Predictably, the cycle has again begun. Several candidates for the President of the United States have declared their run for office. With the early stages of the 2016 race already in progress, clear lines of either preference or disgust have clearly surfaced among voters with regard to the initial candidates for office. The question is, how is a Christian to best engage this election season?
For many, the question will be answered by aligning with the candidate who best reflects their understanding of Christian values. Accordingly, many will also polarize against the candidate that is perceived to most violate one’s Christian values and faith priorities. While this is a common approach to understanding the dynamics of Christian voting, it overlooks a more subtle, and perhaps more important dynamic, involved in Christian voting.
Romans 12 and 13, as well as Ephesians 4, provide Christianity with a valuable, and indispensable, framework for approaching something as important as a national election. In these passages the Bible calls for a clear understanding of right and wrong, but also a priority for love, tolerance, and mutual respect. Additionally, there is a priority for understanding that government, whether we like it or not, does provide an important role that is both sanctioned by God and affirmed in the Bible.
The real challenges that we face as Christians in the election cycle is not so much who gets elected to office, but a fundamental priority of how we choose, support, and speak on behalf of political candidates. When political rhetoric is couched in hatred and defamation of character it is not Christian. When people mindless spread half-truths, biased political speculation, and outrageous propaganda, this denies God’s will for Christian conduct. Christians need to do more than support the right candidate, we must do so in a genuinely Christian manner!
The reality is Christians will not agree on which candidate, which political party, or which set of religious priorities are best for the future of our nation. Furthermore, there is no political party that completely embraces Christian theology or completely rejects Christian theology. What is troubling is that in our great disagreement over politics and Christian priority, Christians on all sides of the debate tend to speak vile and hate filled pronouncements against all those who disagree. When this is done in the name of Christ against faithful followers of Christ, it is the very body of Christ that is wounded.
Clearly everyone that is a registered voter will have the opportunity to cast a ballot in November 2016. Until then our priority, as followers of Jesus Christ, is to monitor our behavior, our rhetoric, and our tone throughout the election cycle. It is one thing to disagree with a candidate. Yet, it is something wholly different to demonize that person or to use insulting, dehumanizing, and hate filled rhetoric to describe that individual. In simple terms, when Christians support, engage in, or promote negative campaigning, it does not honor Christ.
Now is the time for Christians to rise above the murky and stagnant waters of politics as usual and carve out a genuinely Christian path. It is a path absolutely not defined in partisan platforms or dogmatic decrees. Rather, it is a path carved in love, respect, and an appreciation for diversity.
Support the candidates that you faithfully believe will be the best for our nation. Give time, prayer, and study to discern God’s will for the leadership that will take our nation in to the future. But most importantly, let us conduct ourselves as Christ would have us do.