Vote for Those You Have Faith In
– By Rev. John Boyanowski
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” Romans 13: 1-7; ESV
It has been said that politics and religion should never come together; and that I whole-heartedly agree with. However, I believe all believers have not only the right, but also the responsibility to vote for our next leaders of our great nation. The passage above clearly shares the fact we are to be subject to the authorities placed by God. Please take note that they are placed there by God. And because of this, we are to obey God by being good subjects to the authorities who rule over us. What does that exactly mean?
First of all, it does not mean that we blindly follow our leaders, especially if they are going against God’s will. You might ask, “Then why did God place them in office if they were going to be bad leaders?” To answer this, let’s look into the Old Testament.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” … “But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’” 1 Samuel 8: 4-5; 10:19a, ESV
I encourage you to read the Scriptures between these two clips because it gives great detail on why Saul was chosen: it was what the people wanted. God wanted to have His people set apart from the world; yet the people desired to become like the rest of the world. So God gave them what they wanted. And if you read the rest of 1 Samuel, you will see that they lived to regret it.
It wasn’t until 2 Samuel that we see God’s choice of the king, David, come into power. And even though he also faltered, he was viewed as a man after God’s own heart. Through David, God would establish Israel as an independent nation who sought God’s will for their lives. (Sound like our nation when it was founded, right?) God used Saul to show the nation that having what everyone else has doesn’t always make it a good thing. If they would have waited for the Lord to show them their leader instead of demanding one they thought was good (according to man’s standards), a great deal of issues would never had taken place. Now, let’s fast-forward to today’s election…
This election, we have the privilege to vote for who we believe will be our best choice as leaders on a variety of levels of government. And if we want to seek God’s will, we should choose the person(s) we feel best have the moral code, ethical code, and dare I say, faith base as the voter. Please note that I stressed faith and not religion. At the beginning of this article, I stated that religion and politics should never come together. I firmly believe faith should be in all aspects of life; especially in politics. We need leaders whose faith points directly towards God and will seek His counsel in all matters. We have the ability to choose a leader who will rule like Saul or one who will rule more like David.
If you have faith in your choice, ask yourself, “Why do I believe this candidate is the best choice?” “Do they have the same morals/ethics that God is looking for in leaders or will they be people of deception?” “Can I pray for them in a positive manner and truly support their decisions for my life and the lives of my loved ones?” “Have I done my homework and really looked at the candidates and see if I can support them in the majority of their decisions for this country?” When you answer these questions, you can make an informed decision on Election Day.
I am not here to sway your vote to one side or the other. I am here for you to decide what it is you want from a candidate and how will they best mirror your desires for the United States of America. Do you have faith in their decisions and moral/ethics? Will they do as they say or will it be just flowery words that are as empty as the moon? It is important to not just pick someone that is popular or looks good, or has only one quality or two that you like. You want the total package; someone who will best represents your thoughts and needs. You want someone with sound judgment and wisdom, patience and understanding to the things you value.
No candidate is perfect. If you are looking for perfection, look towards Jesus Christ. If you are looking for godly leaders, vote for the one(s) you feel has the best values. The key is this: vote. If you don’t vote, you forfeit you voice. If you forfeit your voice, you have no room to complain because you didn’t exercise your rights. Be thankful we have the honor and privilege to vote. There are many who wish they could.
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