I realize my blog today may not be appreciated or accepted by some, but it is my view.  If you disagree, you disagree.  I will not call you names or seek to vilify you for that position.  I hope that you will hear my questions and convictions with civility.

I saw a disturbing report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. That study projected that approximately 104 million people of faith, including 32 million who self-identify as Christians and who regularly attend church, may abstain from voting in this election.

My immediate question was, “Why?”  Why would so many Christians or people of faith not be involved in the selection of the next president of the United States?  Why would so many put the decision of the type of governmental representation we would have in the hands of others, many who are non-believers and have a vastly different ideological view?  Why?  That is a perplexing question for me, a fellow believer.

I understand that the politician’s and political activists’ incessant diatribes and rhetoric can be difficult to stomach. The nastiness of politics is often anything but Christian, frequently quite uncivil, and leaves one feeling they need a shower after listening. I understand the dirtiness of the political process. I do, but I also realize what is at stake and how it affects voters and non-voters.

I have had Christians, including preachers, tell me that they do not do politics, and they leave that to the politicians.  My standard response is, “That’s what got us in this mess.”  Tragically, the misunderstanding of the original meaning of ‘Separation of Church and State’ has been instrumental in this attitude.  Also, the belief that if believers are involved in politics, they somehow secularize the gospel, and the desire to be faithful to Christ precludes any involvement in the political process. 

If a believer believes that they should not participate, I will not denigrate them for that view. However, I will ask that they consider what is at stake and how their decision affects others, including their children and grandchildren. 

In America’s quest to become independent from England, the clergy was generally deeply involved and influential in the decisions made.   In the subsequent years, pastors would preach ‘election day sermons’ in which they detailed the issues and even suggested how the congregants voted.   They contrasted the positions of the parties and candidates to biblical precepts, principles, and standards and voted accordingly.  We should, too.

If we do not participate in the process, we surrender our privilege and responsibility to choose the nation’s direction.  If the nation elects leaders and officials who hold anti-biblical views, that nation will not enjoy the blessings of God.  If a country chooses leaders who espouse policies and agendas that are in harmony with God’s word, that nation will have the propitious smile of heaven.

Christians are to be ‘salt and light’ in a dark world.  I question if that is possible if we remain in the background with no voice regarding the type of government we live under.  Yes, we are citizens of another world, but we live in this one.  When millions of unborn babies are being aborted, young children subjected to gender transition treatments, the family unit of father and mother relegated to unimportance, and freedom of speech and religion being diminished, how can a believer not be involved at least in casting a ballot?

I hold the view that if a believer or anyone who opposes the views of the Leftists withholds their vote, they are voting via absentia for what they oppose.  Had they voted for the candidate or party that took a stance more closely aligned with their view, they could have possibly provided the needed majority to reject those agendas.  Withholding their vote allows that side a better opportunity to prevail.   Therefore, in reality the non-vote becomes a vote in the negative. 

I believe that as a believer, it is my responsibility to voice my desire, which hopefully is God’s desire, by my vote.  If I did not vote, I would feel that I have neglected my responsibility to provide my family with the desired sanctuary to live, thrive, and survive.  If I fail to participate and the nation becomes something other than the Free Constitutional Republic established, how much responsibility do I have for that condition? 

I am not saying that if you do not vote, your name will be blotted out of God’s Book of Life.  No, I am saying that we are to be good stewards of the Blessings of God.   Our government is supposed to be a government of the people, for the people, and by the people; therefore, as a good steward, I have a responsibility to help determine the nation’s direction politically.

I voted for the party and candidate with a history of and expressed views that give the best hope of protecting our religious liberties and freedoms.  I voted against the party and candidate that seeks agendas and pursues ideologies that I consider anathema to the Bible and my faith.   I voted for Donald J. Trump and the Republicans.  Not because they are without flaws but because the other side is more profoundly flawed and immoral.

God bless you, and God bless America!