 The 2016 presidential election is shaping up to be monumentally confusing and impacting — and I don't think that surprises any of us. But don't allow the uncertainties and perplexities of this process to excuse your ignorance and justify your non-participation. Instead, let me encourage you to thinkingly inform yourself of the candidates and issues in order to take advantage of our God-given and government-given right to be "salt and light" (Matthew 5:13-16) in the election process.
To help you do so, let me strongly recommend two resources: First, listen or read Al Mohler's episode of "The Briefing" on Tuesday, January 26. In this 20-minute podcast, Mohler thoughtfully analyzes the presidential race from a Christian worldview, interestingly explains the non-traditional political philosophies underlying the two front-running candidates, and helpfully guides the Christian voter in biblical principles that should inform his/her decision. Second, read this article by Joel C. Rosenberg. It's a personal, not political, blog entry, and it is a bit outdated now (published November 24, 2015). However, it is a fairly helpful (albeit not exhaustive) overview of the most promising conservative and evangelical candidates. While the last two posts on this blog have been of a more political nature, there is no intention to make this a political blog. Rather, I hope this venue will continue to serve as a "ministry of grace" (Ephesians 4:29)—biblically, thoughtful, carefully, and graciously addressing many different areas that concern the follower of Jesus. Undeniably, some of those areas right now are of a political nature. At the end of "The Briefing" episode mentioned above, Mohler helps frame these issues in their proper place within the broader Christian worldview. He writes, Finally, Christians have to always remember the balance—that politics is important, but it’s never ultimate. Politics can’t deliver us, no matter who is elected. And that means that we have to put this into a perspective, a proper biblical perspective, where we understand the urgency and the importance of voting rightly, and we take responsibility as Christians citizens to do that which is right according to the Christian worldview, according to our own biblical principles, our own Christian reasoning. But we also understand that we can never fall for political promises of the Right or the Left...that will promise us more than politics can deliver. We indeed await the perfect government of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 9:6-7), but until then we represent Him as best we can, even in our political responsibilities. Comments are closed.
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