Christians must render unto God what is God’s, but also render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. In our representative democracy, that means that every Christian must vote, and be informed and prayerful. Many will be called to be poll workers, a few activists, and a tiny minority…candidates.
By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA
Primary elections are fast approaching, and the political storms are surging in this presidential election year. West Virginia’s primary elections are on May 14th. Many people are just now beginning to pay attention to the races, and many do not know who they should vote for. National races, like Trump and Biden, swallow up media time and space, and local candidates rarely gain publicity.
For Christians, the question of who to vote for is secondary to the question of why and how to vote. Christ-followers are first citizens of heaven and only second citizens of our earthly nation. Our allegiance lies first with Jesus and only second with the United States (in our case). The direction of believers’ allegiance is not new. Followers of Jesus refused to worship Roman emperors and perform religious duties that would put Rome above God. Often, these Christians were killed for their “disloyalty.” Killing Christians was a bad move for Rome. Christianity was spreading like wildfire through the Empire regardless of the persecution. Further, the sterile and abortive Romans needed to have their failure to make more Romans offset by the fecund Christians.
Continue reading “How Should I Vote?”
