It is because of my faith that I cast a vote for a viable candidate, not in place of my faith.

When Christians are silent, one voice is left speaking. In a republic our vote is one of the ordinary means God has given us to restrain evil and protect the freedom to do His will. Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30) teaches stewardship. The servant who buried what he had been given was called wicked and lazy, and what he held was taken away. The point is not that voting is a sacrament. The point is that opportunities entrusted to us are not to be hidden out of fear or indifference.

I was asked, “Shall we stand before the Lord and say, ‘Yes, I sided with evil and gave it my vote, but at least I did something’?” No. Those who vote can in substance say: “Lord, there were no perfect people on the ballot. I used the voice You allowed me in this country and supported the platform that most nearly let Your people keep doing Your will and speaking the gospel freely.”

Christ said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). If Christians do not vote, they leave the field to those who do not share our mission. How does allowing non-believers to take over the field help us reach the lost with the message of Christ?

The Bible is our standard for right and wrong. We are to lead and teach with discernment, not hide the light under a basket because evil is present (Matthew 5:14–16). Evangelism is not limited to a pulpit. It includes the choices we make wherever we can still act.

My hope is not pinned on politics or on men. Jesus gave us a purpose, and we are obligated to pursue it with the means He provides. In this nation the vote is a means we have been provided to help us protect our right to freely share Christ rather than watch that freedom narrowed or removed.

Today the differences on the ballot are not small. One set of policies treats the intentional killing of the unborn—including children late in pregnancy—as a right to be protected and even celebrated. Scripture calls the shedding of innocent blood an abomination (Proverbs 6:16–17; Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13–16). Another set of policies promotes the medical alteration of children’s healthy bodies in the name of gender identity, sometimes against the wishes of parents, and places males in female sports and private spaces. Jesus affirmed that God made them male and female from the beginning (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4). Schools are also being used to present these confusions to children as normal. These are not minor policy disagreements; they contradict the Word of God. Isaiah warns, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).

At the same time, a vote can defend concrete goods: the life of the child in the womb, the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their own children, the privacy and fairness of women’s spaces and sports, the freedom of churches and believers to speak biblical truth without penalty, and the ordered liberty that lets the gospel be proclaimed.

We are not electing saviors. We are using one ordinary means God has given in this republic to restrain what God Himself calls evil and to protect the freedom to do what He calls good.

Political correctness often functions as a harness on truth. If we keep restraining truth, we will eventually fail to recognize it.

If Christians stop sowing, we should not be surprised when Satan’s seed fills the field. Our vote is a tool for standing against evil and for Christ. It is like the well-known picture of the man in a flood who refuses every boat and helicopter, insisting God will save him, and then drowns. God often works through the ordinary help He sends. Refusing the means is not faith.

“If I never make a difference, it won’t be because I didn’t try.” ~Wayne R Johnson

See also: Genesis 1:27; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13–16; Proverbs 6:16–17; Isaiah 5:20; Jeremiah 1:5; Matthew 5:13–16; Matthew 19:4–6; Matthew 25:14–30; Luke 19:10; Ephesians 6:4; Romans 13:1–7; 1 Peter 2:13–17.

God First!