The 2020 election was a terrible tragedy from all perspectives, regardless of political party. We have little reason to believe that future elections will fare any better. Our nation is bitterly divided, and no amount of education or indoctrination will change that.
In the matter of politics, Christians are as divided as the rest of the nation. Some insist that anyone who claims to be a Christian must vote Democrat because of their reputation of being for the underdog while Republicans are pro-business. But Republican Christians on the other hand decry the Democrat’s fierce support for abortion and the sense that many leading evangelicals are more at home with Republican platforms.
So where do we draw the line? How do we discern what is best? Where are we forced to compromise, given that neither party is free of corruption or misguided policies?
Unless we look at the larger picture, we will not find any common ground or any way of evaluating the competing platforms and personalities. Comparing individual policy positions will always lead to a stalemate in deciding who is doing more good than harm. And furthermore, in today’s world of calculated manipulation of public opinion, we need to question the personas that are being presented to us as well as the specific “facts” that are either presented or censored.
If we begin with an honest view of the current state of decline and the inability of politics to solve this massive problem, it changes how we approach the question of voting. At issue is not the image which a party seeks to portray or even its proposals for the next legislative session. Rather that are two overarching factors. The first, has to do with government’s monopoly on power. The second has to do with whose approaches will slow down the decline and whose will inadvertently (or intentionally) accelerate the decline.
Government and Power
By definition, governments hold a monopoly on power. They both make and enforce the laws which everyone must follow. From that premise it follows that for countries in which the people have a voice, they need to be very careful what other powers they grant to that government. Because once a government has jurisdiction over an area of society, they not only have the responsibility to decide what that area will become, but they have the power to enforce that decision and to resist anyone who might disagree.
So the first question we must ask as we vote is: What areas of life is this candidate proposing to control, and am I willing to give them absolute power over those areas?
Slowing the Decline
If our only hope of saving our way of life is to first reform and re-evangelize the Christian world, then what we most need is time. Our best hope for time is to slow down as many aspects of the decline as possible. That means that we need to carefully examine each element in the decline (see here) and evaluate how the candidates and parties will act in regard to those elements.
Those who favor policies that contribute to the problems related to decline need to be opposed. Those who favor policies that could conceivably mitigate against the decline should be supported.
Admittedly, people will disagree on many of the issues, as to whether they help or hinder our goal. But at least we have a starting point for making the choice, rather than going on the distorted images presented to us by both the media and the politicians.
Conclusions
Christians need to stop supporting individual politicians on the basis of their personal beliefs or because some preacher vouched for their character. Politics by its very nature forces good people to compromise in ways they would rather not. While character is a factor of course, it cannot be the deciding factor (there are many competent CEO’s who’s character is unbecoming).
Our primary concern is to limit the power of government (which is incapable of solving the real problems anyway) while simultaneously slowing down the decline of our nation.
Perhaps then we will have sufficient freedom and adequate time to reach the hearts and minds of people.