Today I received an email from a friend with the title “Who would Jesus Vote For?” that suggested there is no way that Jesus would vote for Obama. One of my friends on Facebook posted an article from a blog entitled “Letter to Sarah Palin from God” that said Palin should repent of many of the things she has said and done.
I find myself tired of the rhetoric, angry with the accusations, and horrified that many sincere Christians have become so certain that they know the will of God concerning the elections.
Unlike many of my fellow Christians I cannot say that God has told me how I should vote in the 2008 election. I turned 18 years old in 1977 and have voted in every election in which I was eligible to vote and have yet to hear God say – Kimbrough, vote for this specific candidate or this particular party. I do my best to understand who would be the best candidate for our country. However, I find myself, more often than not voting for a person but against a person – picking in my mind the lesser evil.
The criteria that I use in this decision is not an exact science. I do not ask the question, “Am I better off than I was 4 years ago?” or “who will make me feel good about being an American?”. As a Christian who happens to be an citizen of the United States of America, my allegiance is to my Savior and Lord. I try to read and apply God’s written word in light of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ inaugural address in Luke 4 reminds us: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Should not that be the focus of our lives as well?
The two issues that continue to come to the forefront for me: the sanctity of life (the unborn as well as the born) and the importance of justice in the world. I must say that neither candidate is ideal when it comes to the sanctity of life: Obama disturbs me because of his votes on the abortion issue and McCain disturbs me because of his lack of regard for those already born. I also feel that each candidate is primarily concerned for their own political lives and do not care about justice in the world. The question I ask myself is who will do the least damage to God’s call to justice?
I find myself cringing at the way so many people seem to claim their identity as Christian Americans in this day and age. It is my hope that we can find our identity first as a Christian and let American be the adjective to describe us. Neither party captures what it means to be Christian, and neither party saves us. May God have mercy on us, because we have let the world divide us. My prayer is that we, as Christians continue to pray for God’s transforming power to work in our lives, our leaders, and our country. I am open to God’s continuing leading? Are you?
