The Christian Virtue of Voting

Why It's Better to Vote Than Not Vote

Recently, Christianity Today posted a piece by Robert Postic, which argues that people should not feel pressured into voting in a national election, because Christians are not obligated to vote as a “duty,” especially when there are serious misgivings about both candidates.

I found this article troubling and misleading biblical and ethically. While I agree that voting is not a Christian “duty,” the Bible doesn’t really frame any action as a “duty,” except to obey God. But, I am going to argue, it is a Christian virtue. I’ll get to that in a moment.

First of all, if you search your English Bible for the language of “voting,” you’re going to find very little, because ancient Israel and ancient Rome weren’t places where commoners voted for their representatives. We are not given a biblical theology of voting, because politics just didn’t work that way back then. However, the way Scripture forms and guides us is often not in specifics, but in moral and virtue formation, how we think about the world and how we do right in the world. A good basic motto from Scripture for how to engage in the world comes from Galatians 6:10: “do good to all people.”

When we decide not to vote, we are basically saying, I don’t want to be complicit in harming people by my actions. That’s sort of noble, except…someone’s going to be elected with or without your vote. Whatever bad that might happen if you vote for the “wrong person,” well, that might happen anyway. Postic presents the case that sometimes not voting sends a message about Christian values. Okay, but if you want people to know about your values, then tell them what your values are. Write a blog post, post a sign, wear it on a t-shirt, whatever you like. But in the case of a presidential election, it’s not just about broadcasting our values, it is fundamentally about helping to make a consequential choice.

Life is full of choices, all of the time, and there are some very difficult choices in life, and there are times when we just don’t know if we did the right thing or not, because the pros and cons are too even. (Now in this case, I think there is a far better presidential option, for the sake of democracy and decency; but we’ll work with hypotheticals here.) But God doesn’t judge us because we happened to make the wrong choice. God looks at the heart, he can penetrate past our actions to our inner being, and see what gave birth to those actions (1 Thess 2:4).

Paul doesn’t say, send good vibes to all, he says do good to all. Life is about doing, about turning our good thoughts and hopes into action, and when we fail or make the wrong choice, God knows our hearts. There is no real virtue in inaction. Even while we all struggle with the fact that the two-party system means we don’t match up perfectly with one side, the goodness mandate of Scripture should prompt us to some action, even if imperfect, even if uncertain. We weigh the options, we do our homework, we listen to reasonable and verifiable information, we seek wise counsel, we pray, we study the Scriptures, we talk to our pastor, we read good books, we think theologically and morally—and then we act.

Now for those who struggle with: what if I choose the wrong person? Here’s what I want to say to you: the outcome is not on your shoulders. You are voting with 150M other Americans. The decision for president is not up to you, it’s up to the adult voting population. So, rest assured, you didn’t elect a monster, or nazi, or fascist, or marxist, or baby-killer, or fearmonger, or whatever you might be worried about. America elected that person. You contributed, but you only contributed one one-hundred-and-fifty-millionth to the decision (give or take).

The Christian virtue—now, and in every moment—is to pray, study, plan, and act. Not acting is never the best thing when you have the ability to making things better in the world. Again, you might say, but what if I am undecided; then I say, decide even if the person you choose is imperfect. Today, you can do something that makes a difference in the world through a presidential election. After the election, that opportunity is over. Take the power that is given to you, and do something with it now.

Not voting might seem like a relief now, and you think, I’ll vote next time. But maybe it’ll be the same next time. Maybe it will be worse and even harder. Make your choice, as hard as it may be, and ask God to forgive any ignorance or thoughtlessness in your decision, and pray that God will work towards his good end. God will still be God, and the gospel is still good news, and Jesus is still Lord, no matter who wins the election. Nothing you do can ruin that. Don’t make too much of voting, and don’t make too little of it. Vote, keep calm, and carry on.

Voting is a virtue. It is a privilege that not everyone has, that has the capacity to bring goodness to the people around you, to improve their lives and prevent harm. Not voting, as a choice, is a decision of inaction, leaving it all up to other people. But the Bible never encourages us to leave decisions to other people in a moral quandary. If I have the Spirit of God, and the mind of Christ, there is all the more reason to practice this virtue, because I care deeply about bringing goodness to others, in any way I can, to everyone I can, as often as I can.

Don’t vote because you have to (“duty”). Vote because you feel the gospel’s burden to do good, even if the decision is hard for you.