How to Remain Faithful to Jesus When Voting?

This is an article I felt compelled to write for our church to have some guidance on faith and voting. I know many people have the mentality that we shouldn’t talk about faith and politics, but at City Awakening we have a different mentality. We believe the Gospel of Jesus can speak good news into any topic, including our faith and politics. Our vision as a church is to be a place for skeptics and believers to seek truth, find joy, and live with purpose in our city. For that to happen we need to be willing to address difficult topics, and this is one of those topics. 

My goal in this article isn’t to sway your heart; it’s to guide your heart. I’m not trying to sway your heart on who to vote for; I’m trying to guide your heart on remaining faithful to Jesus as you decide who to vote for. Below are four questions to help check our hearts, but also to help guide our hearts in remaining faithful to Jesus when voting.

#1 Do you have a Proud Posture, Pessimistic Posture, or Prayerful Posture toward voting? 

Some of us have a “proud posture” toward voting, meaning we’re proud to represent our political party and candidate. We’re ride-or-die when it comes to our political party and candidate! We’re like a bunch of political gang members who bleed red or blue and draw turf-war lines against anybody who disagrees with us. Is that you? Do you have a proud posture toward voting? 

On the other hand, some of us have a “pessimistic posture” toward voting, meaning we’ve become so disgusted with both political parties and candidates that we don’t even care to vote anymore. We’re tired of all the lies, corruption, propaganda, clickbait news, back and forth political shootouts disguised by a rising weaponized legal system. We don’t know who to trust or what to believe anymore, so we’ve given up and taken on a pessimistic posture toward voting. Is that you? Do you have a pessimistic posture toward voting?

Here is a different question. What posture do you think Jesus would have?... Would Jesus have a proud or pessimistic posture toward voting?... I’m not sure Jesus would align with either of these postures or if he would even vote! But if he did vote, I believe he would align himself with a “prayerful posture” toward voting, because he often had a prayerful posture in life. Luke 5:16 says, “Jesus often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.” The key word is Jesus often withdrew and prayed, meaning he often had a prayerful posture in life, which is a good reason to believe he would have that same prayerful posture toward voting. 

This is so important because a proud posture can easily turn into beating other people down, while a pessimistic posture can easily turn into never helping to pick anybody up. Neither of these postures is good for helping to pursue the well-being of our city and country. But the prophet Jeremiah tells us what would be good is to have a prayerful posture like Jesus. Jeremiah 29:7 states, “Seek the well-being of the city where I have sent you...and pray on its behalf.” 

Do you pray for the well-being of our city and country? Do you pray for our political leaders, political candidates, and our president? Do you pray for their salvation, and for God to transform their hearts to create policies for the well-being of our societal transformation? Do you have a proud, pessimistic, or prayerful posture like Jesus, especially when it comes to voting? If you want to remain faithful to Jesus when voting, then have a prayerful posture like Jesus, instead of a proud or pessimistic posture like many in our culture.

#2 Do you put your hope in a Political Gospel or a Christ-centered Gospel?

A political gospel is where you’re putting too much hope in your political party and politicians treating them like they’re a savior when they aren’t. There is only one savior, and it isn’t a Republican or Democrat; it isn’t Trump or Harris. The only savior we have is Jesus Christ! A political gospel will never do what the Christ-centered gospel can do, because it doesn’t have the power to transform hearts like the real savior Jesus Christ can do! 

It’s been disappointing to see many Christians treating the elections as if we have a political gospel with a political savior. It’s been disappointing to see many Christians more passionate about proclaiming the political gospel than the Christ-centered gospel. The Apostle Paul states in Galatians 1:6, “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, 7 which is really no gospel at all.” As Christians, we shouldn’t put politics or a politician on the throne of our hearts where only Jesus belongs! We shouldn’t be anti-government or anti-politics, but we should be anti-political gospel and anti-political savior because there is no gospel, that has the power to do what Jesus can do!

Politics and politicians can’t ever do what Jesus has the power to do, which is to transform a person’s heart. Politics and politicians can help create policies and laws to restrain a person’s heart, but they can’t help transform a person’s heart. For example, our country has passed many important civil rights laws over the years which have helped restrain racism, but it hasn’t ended racism. It hasn’t ended racism because to end racism requires people’s hearts to be transformed, which the gospel of Jesus has done in many people’s lives. It's because laws can help restrain a person’s heart, but only Jesus has the power to transform a person’s heart. 

My point is the political gospel that so many people are putting their hopes in, isn’t adequate to do what they hope it will do. It isn’t adequate to transform their lives, at least not to the extent they’re hoping for. It can’t transform their hearts and lives long-term, because there will always be another election to change and disrupt things. There will always be another election with new politicians, new policies, and a new political gospel failing to deliver what it promises. So pay careful attention as to which gospel you’re putting your hope in, and which gospel you’re pointing others to put their hope in. Why settle for false hope in a political gospel and a political savior, when you have real lasting hope in the Christ-centered gospel and savior Jesus? 

#3 Do you seek an American Kingdom or Christ’s Kingdom?

The Apostle Paul states in Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” This means as Christians we have a dual citizenship that entails us living as good citizens in our temporary American Kingdom, as we wait with hopeful anticipation for the enjoyment of our eternal Christ’s Kingdom. It’s a dual citizenship where Jesus wants us to pursue the well-being of our country, and to pray for our country as it says in Jeremiah 29:7. But since we’re also citizens of Christ’s Kingdom we need to represent his will, his way, his values, his morality, his truth in all things as we’re living in our American Kingdom. 

Now, even though we have dual citizenship, it’s never a co-equal citizenship! We must never confuse the two kingdoms treating them as co-equal and co-eternal. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God,” not the Kingdom of America. This means our greater allegiance is to Christ’s Kingdom, not to our American Kingdom or any other kingdom. It also means we will never perfectly fit within any political party, because there isn’t a political party that will ever perfectly represent Christ and his Kingdom Party. 

For example, I know some Christians believe the Republican Party aligns with the values of Christ’s Kingdom Party when it comes to many morality issues. But they also believe the Democrat Party aligns with the values of Christ’s Kingdom Party when it comes to caring for the poor. They agree with the Republican Party on pro-life or gender orientation issues, but they also agree with the Democrat Party on providing affordable healthcare and other economic assistance to help the poor. That is the reality of our dual citizenship, meaning we shouldn’t ever feel perfectly comfortable in either the Republican Party or the Democrat Party because we are citizens of an even greater Kingdom Party that can’t be perfectly represented by any human political party. 

When we align ourselves too tightly to a Republican Party or a Democrat Party, then we are misrepresenting Christ’s Kingdom Party which doesn’t align perfectly with either party.  If we never speak against the flaws that exist within the political party, we’re most aligned with, then we are misrepresenting Christ’s Kingdom Party since we should be trying to transform the flaws within both political parties. We should be trying to help both parties align more with the values of Christ’s Kingdom Party. Our opportunity to share the gospel message can also become hindered, because people will often evaluate our Christian beliefs based on the political party we’re aligning with. We must speak about the flaws that exist in the political party we’re aligning with, so people clearly understand that neither party perfectly represents our Christian beliefs. We must communicate in a way that points people to find hope not in a political party, but in the gospel of Jesus and his greater Kingdom Party.

So we are to engage with political parties and elections as citizens in our American Kingdom, but we are to do it in a way that reflects Christ and our citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom. Voting is important but reflecting Christ and spreading the gospel message is more important. The gospel can bring life into every crevice of society, including our politics, but it can’t do that if Christians aren’t prioritizing Christ’s Kingdom Party over their preferred political party. We can’t do that if we’re seeking first the preservation of our American Kingdom, instead of seeking first the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom like Jesus said. The more we seek to build Christ’s Kingdom first, the more we’ll see people thriving in our American Kingdom. 

Now don’t get me wrong! I love our American Kingdom and the many freedoms we enjoy as American citizens. But I have to remember I’m a citizen of Christ’s Kingdom first and a citizen of an American Kingdom second. I have to remember the world has a lot of mini kingdoms with mini kings and queens in positions of authority, but they are all under God’s greater authority since he is the greater king with the greater kingdom and authority. King David writes in Psalm 103:19, “The Lord established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.” The implication of this is huge! It means you don’t have to lose hope if the people you vote for don’t get to sit on the temporary White House Throne because Jesus is always seated on the greater eternal throne! Our hope and salvation come from Jesus not a president, because Jesus is the greater king with the greater authority, and he’s always seated on the throne! He rules over all like King David said!

So, where are you seeking hope? Are you seeking your hope in a president or the Savior? Are you seeking your hope in an American Kingdom or Christ’s Kingdom? If you want to remain faithful to Jesus when voting, then seek hope in Christ’s Kingdom instead of our American Kingdom. Live as a dual citizen, but don’t place our American Kingdom above Christ’s Kingdom. Don’t lead people to hope in a patriotic or liberal political gospel; instead, lead them to find hope in Jesus and his Christ-centered Gospel. In the words of John Piper, “We cast a vote every week by assembling in congregational worship and singing our allegiance to Jesus as Lord over all lords, King over all kings, President over all presidents, Premier over all premiers, Chief over all chiefs! In worship we say loudly for all to hear, Jesus Christ is our King over all other rulers!” 

#4 Do you vote Policy or Personality?

Both policy and personality are important when voting. We want to vote for a candidate who has policies that align with our Christian values, but we also want to vote for a candidate who has personality behaviors that display exemplary character and reflect our Christian values. The dilemma is that there will never be a candidate who will perfectly align with Christ in policy or personality. Every candidate will have flaws in both areas, so we will always face this dilemma when voting. This means we must vote for the “better” option, not the “perfect” option. 

Sometimes we run into an election season where both candidates have flaws so significant, that we cannot decide who the better option is. In a situation like that, some people may lean toward voting for whoever has the “better” policies. For example, according to NPR, “There were more than a million abortions provided in the U.S. in 2023.” For many people voting for a candidate who has a policy supporting the death of over a million babies or an unborn child in the third trimester, isn’t ethically proportionate to voting for a candidate who has a vulgar personality. One is endorsing taking a life while the other is endorsing poor character. Even though both aren’t good, they are not ethically proportionate issues. However, there are times when personality can become an ethically proportionate issue to policy. One example would be when a candidate’s personality behavior is racist because racism is a worldview that leads to greater ethical issues of oppressive and genocidal policies toward certain people groups. In that case, policy and personality could be considered ethically proportionate, so not voting for that candidate is the “better” option.

But what do we do when we feel voting for either candidate compromises our Christian values and moral integrity? In this situation, we have the option not to vote or to write in the name of another candidate that we feel is a “better” option. But I still think we need to ask ourselves a few important questions before making that decision. Does the decision to not vote or write in a vote relieve us of moral responsibility? Does this decision still assist in determining the outcome of the election and current unethical policies? Does choosing not to vote or writing in a vote for another candidate, forfeit the power my vote has in the current election to assist in changing or maintaining the current course of our country? In other words, for that election, one could have voted for a viable candidate to change things or a viable candidate to keep things the same. However, does their lack of voting for a viable candidate take away that opportunity? Does that person still have a moral responsibility for the impact that their lack of voting may have on the outcome of the election and the direction of our country? I am not suggesting that you are sinning if you vote, don’t vote, or write in a vote. I am suggesting we need to consider if there are moral effects to each voting decision since they each influence the election and direction of our country. 

Still, I know some people’s decision not to vote or to write in a vote does have the moral intent of reforming a political party. Their moral intent and hope are if enough Christians do not vote or will write in a vote, it may lead to reforming a particular political party or both parties. This person may be less concerned with the current election and instead looking further ahead to future elections. They think that if a political party loses enough votes from this third group of voters, it will consider how to gain or regain these votes in future elections. Perhaps to gain or regain those Christian votes, political leaders will work towards reforming policies and consider the character of a candidate’s personality in future elections so that they better align with Christ and our Christian values. In this case, the moral intent is to help reform our political parties regardless of how it tips the scales of the current election outcome. In this scenario, the greater moral desire is to see more Christ-centered political reformation instead of the same dysfunctional political deterioration that is hurting our country. There is no easy solution to our voting dilemma!

Look, I care deeply about our country and the people in our country. I want to pursue the well-being of our city and country as it says in Jeremiah 29:7, but I won’t do it proclaiming a political gospel. I desire to vote for who I believe is the “better” candidate, but I will not place my hope in that flawed political candidate or their flawed political gospel. I will put my hope in Jesus Christ and his eternal gospel. What is this election season revealing about where you’re placing your hope? Is this election season revealing that you’re placing your hope in Jesus Christ or a political candidate? Is this election season revealing that you’re seeking Christ-centered unity or political unity in the church? Is this election season revealing that your heart is more concerned about your friend’s salvation or who they’re voting for in the elections? My hope is that when people interact with members of our church, they will see us as people who love Jesus, our church, and others more than our politics. My hope is they will see us caring more about spending eternal life in heaven with them through faith in Christ than their temporary vote in a ballot box. 

I know these are very sensitive topics for many of us! So let me admit that my view isn’t perfect because I am a flawed individual just like our political candidates and everyone who is reading this. Since that is the case, we need to be humble when talking about politics knowing we are all flawed people and there are many difficult issues to consider when voting. But the more we dialogue about these things in a humble Christ-centered way, the more we will sharpen each other in our faith for the transformation of our lives, country, and world. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Our leaders, our staff, and I are willing to have a humble dialogue with you as we walk through this election season together. But as Christians, let’s remember our responsibility to try to seek the well-being of our country. Let’s do that by being informed voters who also think through the moral effects of our decisions. Whether we vote, don’t vote, or write in a vote, let’s be informed voters and think through how our decision will help or hinder the well-being of our country. Let’s research equally the pros and cons of each candidate, read the Bible thoroughly for guidance, dialogue humbly, and pray diligently for wisdom. 

Regardless of what we decide we need to remember voting isn’t the only thing or the most important thing we can do for the well-being of our society. We have a chance to pursue the well-being of our society every day by living out one of our codes at City Awakening to love a few so we can love the many! We can love a few people so well that they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives! The greatest good we can ever do to help transform our city is to love people and point them to the love of Jesus. The more people we love and point to Jesus, the more our American Kingdom will start to look like Christ’s Kingdom. Your vote is important, but sharing your faith in Jesus is more important! Saving America from moral and economic decline is important, but saving the eternal lives of people in America is more important! So the greater question isn’t who will you vote for, it’s who are your few and what are you doing to love them?