What's in a vote?
Those of us who find ourselves inside a voting booth this November will make some difficult choices a little more than a month from now. We will discover the importance of some, and never know the of impact of others. We must make judgments on issues and assess the character, ideology and ability of people, though many of us find such judgments uncomfortable at best, and onerous at worst. We wear the mantle of government by the people, of the people, and for the people in the United States, which comes with significant personal responsibility.
Every choice comes with an accompanying judgment. And God honors those choices even if they reject him, even if they bring evil into the world, or even if they lead to death. God made us that way because he loves us and gave us the freedom to love him back. I find it amazing that we live in a society where such choices are honored by the government itself, especially in light of the history of human civilizations, where such choices were given to only a privileged few.
How can we “Judge not...” and still vote?
I believe the anatomy of the spirit and soul of every person contains several organs. They have names like conscience, knowledge, etc. I have an organ I call my “spiritual liver.” Its the place I put all the questions that don’t appear to have easy answers, either in scripture or in creation.
The name came from my former professor and life long mentor, Dr. George Blount. “The most important questions are not the ones for which we have answers, but the ones we must live with.” I put those questions in my spiritual liver, which is not a particularly beautiful organ, either internally or externally, but I think it holds all the quandaries we must face making judgments that lead to important choices.
Fortunately, Jesus did not say, “Judge not!” and leave it at that. He said, “Judge not, lest ye be judged by the same measure.” I used to think he was talking exclusively about God judging us by the same measure we judge others. As I examined the gospels, Mark in particular, I began to see that Jesus was also pointing out something very true about human relationships. When we judge somebody, we are likely to be judged by the same measure by others. As I read Dallas Willard’s excellent book, Divine Conspiracy, I was delighted to find this notion quite clearly explained.
Taking Jesus statement in light of the plethora of scriptures in both the Old Testament and New that we examine our own hearts before God, making right our wrongs and forgiving those who have hurt us, I don’t think Jesus is telling us we should never judge people, ideologies or actions. I think he’s telling us to examine our hearts to be sure we are speaking the heart of God and not our own. If we are to make a judgment, as we must surely do in order to make our way in this world, we should be willing to accept the judgment of others by the same measure.
I think this lies at the heart of the angst many liberals feel toward members of conservative churches who rail against homosexuality on one hand, while coddling promiscuity on the other. Leviticus clearly condemns to death the purveyors of both, while Jesus clearly redeems both of them to life. Social liberals rightly agree with Jesus when they say that social conservatives should be judged by the same measure they are judging others.
Many liberals fall into the trap of grouping together all conservatives that believe homosexuality and promiscuity to be wrong, calling the whole lot haters and hypocrites. If people live in such a way that upholds the standards they proclaim, especially when those very same people perform acts of love toward homosexuals and adulterers, they should be respected by liberals and conservatives alike. Not all liberals hate conservatives, and not all people who believe in marriage between one man and one woman to be God’s only choice, are haters of homosexuals. The beauty of the Gospel is that people can love others, and love God back, despite the judgments they make, because of the work of the Son.
How does the Bible relate to voting?
I find this to be a very personal question, one that goes to the very heart of my world view, and my daily conversations with God. I believe that the Bible contains the very heart of God, clearly communicated and complete and maintained without error. I also believe that creation clearly communicates the very nature of God, expressing his love to be so amazing that he would create the whole universe for just one human being. I believe that the conduct of our lives takes place in the context of those two great expressions of God. Creation is the great parable, and the Bible contains the explanations for that parable. As George used to say, “I find all the same questions in physics that I find in the Bible.” The Bible makes no sense without creation, and creation can not be fully understood without the Bible.
Most of the questions with which I struggle most lie at the heart of the relationship between creation and the Bible. Voting has become a gift from God, because it brings these questions to the fore and requires me to make some decisions. Here are a few of the questions that will shape my judgments in November.
- When does life begin?
- What is the role of marriage in society?
- How does the responsibility of parent relate to the responsibility of the state?
- When should a child make their own choices?
- How does freedom relate to responsibility?
- How does military power relate to responsibility?
- What does helping the helpless mean?
Each choice on the ballot will flow from the judgments I make. These judgments will come from living with questions firmly planted in my spiritual liver. It's is not always pleasant place, but a place where God meets me daily. Sometimes are conversations become a bit heated, and not every vote will be confidently cast. Such is the nature of election day for me.
See you at the polls,
Scot
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