Exhortation, October 24

Should Christians vote in this year�s Presidential election? The question is a reasonable one. All of the candidates have glaring flaws, and the candidates that you find most agreeable have no chance at all to win the election. Your vote seems to make no difference, and with no good choices it might seem best to simply drop out in protest.

But the question of whether to vote, and how, is really only one small part of a larger set of questions: Should we participate in American politics and society at all, and if so, how? Here, I believe we have clear biblical instruction. Quite commonly in Scripture, righteous men participate fully and wisely in less-than-ideal political situations. Joseph rules next to Pharaoh, Daniel is a high official in both Babylon and Persia, Mordecai has enough access to Ahasuerus to warn him about a plot, Nehemiah is cup-bearer to the king of Persia, and Paul talks about Christians who are members of Caesar�s household. In some cases, the rulers that Jews serve are converted, but that is not always the case. Obadiah, as his name suggests, was a servant of Yahweh; but he was also steward of the house of idolatrous Ahab. Scripture demands that we be uncompromising in the midst of corrupt political regimes; but it does not require that we drop out.

Christian disillusionment with the political system arises, paradoxically, from too exalted a view of what politics can do. If Christians are disenchanted with politics, it is because we were too enchanted with politics to begin with. Politics is not now, and has never been, a solution to the problems that America or any other nation faces. We do not believe in salvation by law; if Torah, which came from God, cannot save, how can we expect enactments of the US Congress or decrees of the Supreme Court to bring peace and justice? If we never expect law to save us, we won�t be surprised when it does not.

Once our hopes for politics are chastened, then we have a more accurate estimate of the purpose and place of political life. It is not indifferent. God establishes governments and powers to establish civic order and a reasonable order and peace so that the gospel can go forward, which is the power of God to salvation to all who believe. There are still hundreds of questions to ask and discuss here, but let us raise these questions in an atmosphere of modest hope, which is not the same as disillusionment.

As Joshua taught us last week from Proverbs 1, wisdom involves cleverness in mastering challenging and complex situations. Participating righteously in a corrupt political system requires a great deal of wisdom and discernment. But we often approach this and other issues without the mature insight that Scripture demands. In our sins, though we profess to be wise, we are fools, and our foolish hearts are darkened. Confession of sin is therefore a crucial POLITICAL act.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, October 25, 2004 at 09:22 PM

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