Here is Dave Smith writing at the Illinois Family Institute writing about your duty to vote:
In less than two weeks, Americans will know which candidates will direct the course of our state and nation for the next two to four years. Unfortunately, too many Christians do not understand exactly what is at stake. With each passing election cycle, we ought to be ever more concerned with the vital issues of essential liberty, morality, and ethics. Right now, due to the steady erosion of long-held liberties, coupled with the rise of bigger, more tyrannical government and a blatant disregard of corruption in leadership in all areas of government, our Christian values and way of life are quickly disintegrating.
This progressive disintegration is exactly what we can expect to happen when Christian citizens choose to ignore their responsibility to actively participate in self-government. When we refuse to fulfill our obligation, we squander a precious gift given to us by God. By declining to take part in the political process, we are relinquishing our God-given authority and handing it over to atheists and humanists who will abuse, distort and exploit it for themselves or for godless agendas.
It is unthinkable that Christians would refrain from the political process, knowing full well that the absence of their voice and vote will allow godless ideologies and philosophies to influence and capture the culture!
Romans 13 tells us that “there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Who has been appointed as authorities here in America? The first three words of the U.S. Constitution tell us: “We the people” are the appointed rulers. In our republican form of government we delegate our authority to certain offices and branches of government, but we are ultimately responsible for the authority that we delegate.
Therefore, when the Bible we profess to believe in tells us that political power comes exclusively from the very God we worship, it is unconscionable for Christians to excuse themselves from the public arena on the grounds that “Christians shouldn’t be involved in politics.”
I must also point to the fact that a Biblical view of love requires our political engagement. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with your entire mind.” He goes on to tell us that the second great commandment is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Read more: IllinoisFamily.org
Image credit: www.illinoisfamily.org.
