Christians need to vote! One notable evangelical figure (who shall remain nameless) recently criticized the positions of a particular candidate in a few political areas, but then went on to say that his way of dealing with this is to refuse to vote for him under any circumstances. But if this candidate in question turns out to be the nominee whose policies most closely follow Christian values out of all the candidates running, is this a good idea?

I think not! It would be nice if we had a perfect candidate as an option, but Jesus is not running this year. If the choices aren't very impressive, what we need to do is choose the candidate who would be the least offensive to a Jesus/Biblical world view... A good way to look at this would be to focus on which candidate will nominate the most Godly judges to the Supreme Court. The next three likely Supreme Court vacancies are liberal judges. The Supreme Court nominees of the next president will probably replace these three, and are absolutely crucial in order to re-criminalize abortion (which according to both common sense and the Bible, is nothing more than killing infants). We have never had an opportunity like this in our lifetimes, and may never again.

We have crucial court battles going on right now that are challenging the ban on one of the most gut-churning issues of our time: partial-birth abortion. This is a hideous procedure too sick and gross to describe here. As Supreme Court Justice Scalia stated, "even the most clinical description of this procedure evokes a shudder of horror". If we can do anything to stop this activity, we have a reason to vote. If one candidate supports this procedure and the other doesn't, it's pretty easy to determine which one would be less offensive to Jesus in this regard. As Christians, we need to be fighting this abomination "tooth and nail" until it is re-criminalized. Who we elect today will have an influence on whether or not this activity can legally continue in the United States.

If we act childishly and fail to elect the option most in line with Christian values (even if they are imperfect in some areas), we may squander this rare opportunity to move our country closer to its Christian root values. One candidate running right now has publicly stated that he thinks our Constitution is a "living document" that can be re-interpreted with the times. Reflect on this statement for a moment; this means that according to this candidate our rights are not necessarily guaranteed, but rather can be rescinded if the courts decide to interpret the Constitution a different way! Electing somebody with this type of philosophy is dangerous.

It's always possible for the candidate we elect to let us down, but we need to vote for the best option available in every election. Otherwise, we lose for sure. Prov. 29:2 (NKJV) says: "When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan." We will do well to always cherish and exercise the right to influence who will be in authority over us. Many in the world have no such right, and if we don't use it, we may lose it. If you are not at this time registered to vote I plead with you to do so and get informed on the issues (not just the rhetoric of the candidates), and get out and vote… (by the way we have voter registrations in the church office)… God Bless.