How Would Jesus Have Voted?


As I write this, it is several days after our national election and we still don’t know who won the presidency.  A lot of Americans are on edge while we wait the outcome in a handful of critical states.  Law enforcement departments in large cities are wondering if the outcome will trigger a violent reaction in their streets. 

In the run-up to this election, I have pondered a fascinating question: how would Jesus have voted if he were an American citizen today?  There are many Christians who would quickly wave the question away, doubting that Jesus would even bother to vote. They reason that Jesus wasn’t concerned with political matters.  He was singularly focused on the Kingdom of God.  And I would certainly agree with them.  But I don’t think the question of political engagement for Jesus-followers is that simple.  After all, Jesus did say that people should “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.”  I take that to mean that since we are all beneficiaries of the rule of government, we ought to support the government as required. Jesus fulfilled his civic duty and paid his taxes. (He once paid a tax with a coin found in a fish’s mouth! Matt. 17:24-27.)  Our idea of participatory government, however, would have been foreign to Jesus in his day.  But, I believe, if Jesus were an American citizen today, he would have voted just as he did his civic duty two thousand years ago.  I just can’t tell you who he would have voted for!

The election of 2020 will be historic for many reasons.  Those who are old enough to be aware will remember it until their dying day. Because we are so divided as a nation, there has been a lot of anxiety about our democratic process and its outcome on both ends of the political spectrum.  Both conservative and liberal Christians have not been immune to this hyper-apprehension. Many desperate posts on FaceBook have betrayed the peace and serenity that should characterize the soul of a Christian. 

While I can’t guess who Jesus would have voted for, I believe that he would have done his civic duty with a certain level of indifference.  He would have been all too aware of the limitations of human politics. Likely, he would have recalled the admonition from Psalm 146: “Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

But joyful are those who have God…as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God” (vs. 3-5).  No politician or political party will save this country. Most are corrupted by the temptation and quest for power. I believe Jesus would have voted to fulfill his civic duty. But he would not have invested his faith and hope in the outcome of an election.  After all, Jesus has taken the title of “King of kings and Lord of lords.”  All the nations and all the politicians will one day bow their knee before him.  If you’re a Jesus-follower, such a realization should help allay any fears and temper any hopes you might have from this year’s election outcome.

Not all FaceBook posts are cries of desperation.  Quite frequently, I’ve encountered bits of wisdom from a friend’s post.  I found and shared this bounty of wisdom the morning after the election: “…when everything settles out, it doesn't matter [who wins] because the person I follow isn't elected. So, I get to do two things: A) I get to pray for whoever gets elected and B) I get to ACT like a follower of Jesus even if I don't agree with the results of the election. I DON'T get to act like a jerk.”

Thoughtful words.  Those who follow Jesus have the opportunity to be agents of peace and serenity to an anxious country. Our hope is in the Lord, not an imperfect politician. 


 

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