During election seasons the question always arises — how involved should a Christian be in political matters? And how should they determine how to vote?
First off, there’s much more than national races. State, local, school boards, mayor, and so on. How should a Christian determine how/who to vote for? What criteria should be used to determine a vote?
In 1 Corinthians chapter four Paul notes it is required of stewards to be faithful. The United States is a representative democracy, so as a steward of this country you must be faithful and exercise your due diligence in your vote. But by what criteria?
Many people are single-issue voters — as long as the candidate is for (or against) issue ‘X’, then they’re acceptable.
The hardest thing is finding out what a candidate actually believes, for the simple reason they don’t want you to know, because no matter what stand they take, some people won’t like it. To avoid taking any position at all means nobody is upset.
It takes work to find out what exactly someone believes, as many for political expediency will simply tell you what you want to hear (and then flip as soon as the election is over). You’ve got to do some homework to determine how the candidate will likely respond to a certain issue.
So who to support? Find a candidate who lines up best with Biblical principles. Nobody is perfect, but frequently when you consider two possibilities, one lines up with Biblical principles much better than the other.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. (1 Chronicles 12:32 KJV)