I write this article as Americans across Pennsylvania and the country exercise their civic duty and constitutional right to vote. Regardless of your political affiliation no one can deny that America is the greatest democracy the world has ever known. We do not always get it right but at least we try. There is money and special interest in politics but our vote does still count. We are a nation where all people have been created equal. This American experiment in democracy has had some very dark days in its past when not all were treated equal let alone given the right to vote. We praise God we have come a long ways from those days. Today the issue is not about having the right to vote but who to vote for. Christians often have a hard time with this particular issue.
A few years ago a leading National Christian figure said that given the options to vote for he would not vote at all. That sentiment was not exclusive to this particular individual. Many Christians have felt this way for years. Often it has been said that now a days we vote for the lesser of evils when we go to the polls. With this in mind, the question that comes up is who then to vote for given the present state of politics. Who is the ideal candidate?
I understand that this article comes out after the nation has voted yet this is not meant to be a Christian voters’ guide as much as it is a presentation of who the ideal candidate should be. At the end of the article I will make the case for who that candidate should be but please read on as I make the case here.
Who would Jesus vote for? That is the question some have tried to answer before. Some would argue that Jesus would not get involved in politics. Others say Jesus was an anarchist not wanting any form of government. The only way to truly answer this question is to look at what Jesus’ book says, that is the Bible.
The first thing we encounter is that Jesus does not talk about politics in the way we discuss politics today. Jesus, God the Son, spoke more about the Kingdom that was to come.
We find in the Old Testament that God warned Israel what would happen if they chose a human government over God being their leader:
“This is the way the kind of kings you’re talking about operates. He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He’ll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He’ll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he’ll take for his own use. He’ll lay a tax on your flocks and you’ll end up no better than slaves.” (1 Samuel 8:10-18; The Message).
This list sounds a lot like the issues many people complain about today, i.e. war, labor, taxes, women’s rights, special interests, too much government, welfare, etc. God was warning that following a human king or a human led government would not solve their problems if anything it would create more. Yet, this is what the people wanted and they chose a candidate according to their own desires and we have struggled with politics and governments ever since.
What was prophesized about Jesus was that he is the ideal candidate, the type that would restore the kind of government that we really need. Isaiah prophesized that the government would be on his shoulders and that the greatness of his government and his peace would have no end. He would reign over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Who does not want a government run by a perfect man who desires all to live in peace? A prince of peace no less who rules with justice. This theocratic type of government is the very ideal but rejected by men. Since Jesus is not on the ballot we often end up choosing candidates to govern based on if they are in fact the lesser of two evils.
What then does the ideal candidate, this Jesus Candidate look like? What should this candidate’s platform be?
The ideal candidate is one who, like Jesus, proclaims good news to the poor (Luke 4:18), the same poor Jesus says will always be among us (Matthew 26:11). A candidate who genuinely cares for those in need; who helps provide them with the basic needs of food, drink, and clothes. A person who cares about those who are sick and in need of health care as well as the plight of those in prison. A person who looks after and takes in those who are strangers to this land (Matthew 25:35-36). Yet a candidate who understands that the general welfare of people is just as important as the value of having work ethic (Matthew 25:14-30). To whom much is given much should also be expected. All of these things the ideal candidate should do both through action but also through the legislative process. Not only for a photo opportunity for the next election but because that is their genuine desire.
Above all though this candidate should love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27). Secondly this candidate should be a servant leader. Jesus talks about this in Luke 22:24-26 where he says that leaders “like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.”
He follows this up by setting the example at the last supper. John records in his gospel chapter 13:3-6 “Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron.”
The ideal candidate is one who prefers service over titles. This truly is the portrait of the ideal “Public Servant.” Who then is this candidate? Where can we find him or her? You should look in the mirror.
The reality is that our nation has become increasingly secular. Sometimes it is easier to find a candidate who doesn’t believe in God then one who truly loves God. As Christians we have a civic responsibility to vote but also a moral obligation to get involved. We will be governed by others until Jesus comes again to complete his work.
A Republican majority in the United States Senate will not bring a revival to this nation and neither will a Democratic president. The only way that things will change is if we who follow Jesus assume this great responsibility.
Yes, not everyone is called to be a politician but I encourage you to get involved whether it is in your neighborhood association, serving in a township, the local school board, or simply your child’s PTO. Maybe some of you will go on to run for a township position, state or even national office. One thing is clear. Sitting around kitchen tables yearning for the days when everyone went to Church or complaining about the current state of politics in our nation is not going to solve anything.
We might not find the ideal candidate but we can do our part and get involved.
“Make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can’t afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!” (Romans 13:11-14; The Message).
Rev. Marcos O. Almonte is senior pastor at Brandywine Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church west of Philadelphia. Pastor Marcos is a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary with more than 10 years working with families with an expertise in theology, trauma and addictions. Pastor Marcos and his wife Mary have three children, Carmen, Joseph, and Lincoln.
