The political silly season is upon us. And that means it’s time to vote. But don’t buy into the mindset that voting just means choosing between “the lesser of two evils.” Of course, it does. As long as you are voting for fallible human beings, that will always be the case. (I mean, have you seen the candidates?) But politics is about more than voting for individuals. It’s about advocating for competing worldviews. And that means it’s about promoting good and limiting evil. When you see it that way, it’s much easier to decide how to cast your ballot. As Christians, we have an obligation to adhere to the politics of limiting evil.

The Neutrality Myth

Recently, it’s become fashionable among high-profile Christians to make the case that Christians should minimize their involvement in politics. “Preach the Gospel,” they say, “Our goal is to change hearts, not defend political parties or politicians.” After all, Jesus wasn’t involved in politics. So, we shouldn’t be either. To get involved is to damage your witness. Neutrality is the moral high-ground. It all sounds very virtuous and spiritual.

But it’s hogwash. And here’s why.

First, Jesus was involved in politics. At least the Pharisees who condemned him to death certainly thought so. As the leaders of a Jewish theocracy, their position was both religious and political. The tythes they collected at the Temple were the equivalent of taxes. And their decisions set policy for the Jewish community they led. Jesus challenged their authority on both. That’s why they had him killed.

Second, neutrality is hardly a morally superior position to take when doing so allows evil to flourish. Remember, it was the pious, “religious” leaders who passed by the man left for dead on the road to Jericho. But we all know about the Good Samaritan for one reason. He did something about it.

Who’s Allowing Evil To Flourish?

So, when it comes to voting in an election as big as the one we face right now, it’s important to ask yourself a question. “Who’s allowing evil to flourish?” The answer to that question tells you everything you need to know about how to vote. As a Christian, you are compelled to do something to limit evil. And there is a stark contrast in our culture right now about which party is the most obvious promoter of evil. As I once heard John Stonestreet put it, “this ain’t rocket surgery.”

There are plenty of examples to offer. But when it comes to the value of human life, the essence of human nature, upholding the rule of law, and the prospect of religious liberty, contrasting views couldn’t be more evident.

The Value of Human Life

No single issue demonstrates what I’m saying more clearly than abortion. One side believes all life is valuable and needs to be protected simply for what it is. The other side approves of the wholesale slaughter of an entire class of human beings for any reason at all — right up to the moment of birth. And they want to use federal tax dollars to pay for it. In fact, some who hold that position have voted against saving the lives of babies who survive botched abortions.

This has nothing to do with “choice,” or women’s health, or reproductive “rights.” It’s not even just bad politics. It’s Molech-level barbarity. That’s about as evil as it gets. No moral society can allow such a practice to go on.

If you want to see a full treatment of this argument, check out the video at the bottom of this post featuring the staff of the Life Training Institute. It’s the best I’ve ever seen.

The Essence of Human Nature

Men and women are made to complement one another. That’s a transparently obvious fact of nature. And it’s the foundation for creating and perpetuating human civilization. Yet, over the last several years, claiming this simple truth about human nature has become controversial. One side of the political aisle (mostly) defends the so-called “traditional” view that has worked just fine for several thousand years. But that’s not because it’s a tradition; it’s because it accurately reflects reality. Yet, the other side is happy to impose criminal penalties on those who hold that view.

The repercussions of this warped take on reality are incredible to behold. It has only been five years since the Obergefell-vs-Hodges Supreme Court decision upheld same-sex “marriage.” Yet, in that short time, the slippery slope some warned about has become a reality. Today, anyone who dares to claim there are differences between males and females will be bludgeoned by the Left as “bigots.” Most recently, one candidate for president defended the idea that an eight-year-old is qualified to make decisions about whether he/she is “transgendered.”

That’s child abuse. And child abuse is evil.

The Rule of Law

Since May of this year, our cities have erupted in protests. I don’t know anyone who argues that those protests weren’t warranted. But there’s a big difference between protesting injustice and engaging in destructive violence. The former is a Constitutional right. The latter undermines the rule of law. And allowing that to happen is a dangerous precedent to set.

Here’s the thing. We can all support the good cops who truly protect and serve us. The fact is that they are in the vast majority. Yes, there are exceptions. There always have been. We can support the protestors and marchers who stand for justice and in defense of those who have been oppressed by the bad cops who abuse and murder people. We can reject the cultural biases that have allowed people like that to gain an insidious advantage they use to mistreat others. But we must also reject the rioters, looters, and arsonists who destroy hard-earned businesses, steal property, and thereby harm their own neighbors.

One side of the political aisle refuses to acknowledge that we can hold both these positions logically and consistently. In fact, several leaders on that side of the aisle not only stood by and allowed the violence to take place, in some cases, they actually encouraged it. Refusing to enforce the law is not just a bad idea. It puts every citizen’s life, and the security of an ordered society, in danger. To knowingly allow such a thing is the definition of evil.

Religious Liberty

As a Christian who is also a citizen of this country, voting to limit these kinds of evils should not constitute a morally complex decision. This is especially true if you pay attention to the statements of those who defend them. As an example, the presidential candidate of one party recently vowed that he would make the enactment of the “Equality Act” a top priority during his first 100 days as president. What is the Equality Act, you ask?

The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That law currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, and national origin. It was a law that took far too long to be passed. But the new amendment would add “sexual identity” and “gender identity” to the list of prohibitions. Sounds harmless until you think through the repercussions.

What it really means is that if you dare defend the idea that there are differences between males and females, you will be punished by the federal government. This will lead to same-sex and transgender propaganda in your school’s curricula. It will require medical professionals to perform transgender surgeries and administer related hormone treatments whether they believe it would be harmful or not. It will affect foster care and adoption. And, most importantly, if your church doesn’t play along, it will be subject to the wrath of the federal government.

The Founders

Please understand. The politics of limiting evil is not some lame call to return America to its former status as a “Christian nation.” Frankly, I give the Founders more credit than that. Almost all of them were Christians. But they didn’t try to establish a Christian nation. What they did was something far greater and wiser. They established a nation based on the Judeo-Christian ideals that ground reality. A place where all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

They recognized that no matter their religion, every human is a rational being made in the image of God. And that means we each have free will and a moral conscience. It means everyone is given the opportunity to flourish economically. It encourages us all to live in communities of mutual respect that acknowledge the way reality is structured — and act accordingly. And that means measuring our success by objective standards of good and evil that make the world better for everyone, whether they’re religious or not.

The Foundation of All Rights

There is no religious test in America. And there shouldn’t be. But what America offers is the freest, most affluent, open, tolerant society in human history. It’s Western Civilization’s crown jewel. And at the ideological foundation of that civilization is Christianity.

It was Christians who:

• • Brought women to equal status with men in the early church and in direct opposition to their oppression in the Roman Empire.
  • Nursed and cared for suffering people during some of history’s most horrific plagues.
  • Rescued women from the horrors of physical abuse, genital mutilation, and chattel status in Sharia-dominated Islamic cultures.
  • Ended the slave trade and slavery itself in the western world.
  • Were at the forefront of the civil rights movement in America.
  • Rejected racism because they believed every human being was equally valuable in the eyes of God.
  • Created the concept of individual human rights held by persons. And created a place where those rights are not dependent on any government.

In other words, Christian thinking was the basis for a Constitution that guarantees our God-given human rights. Like a fish in water, we all operate inside that society seemingly unaware of our surroundings. Even the secularists and Leftists who promote the nonsense mentioned above enjoy the fruits of that thinking. They just forget (or never knew) where the fruit came from.

Our Civic Duty

Please don’t accept the pious sounding call to avoid politics because you’re a Christian. Politics is where the rubber of your worldview meets the road. It’s a battle of ideas that have real-world consequences. Some of those ideas are downright evil. Saying so may make you unpopular. That’s OK.

“Everyone who does evil hates the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ~ John 3:20”

None of us have to engage in the kind of toxic political rhetoric we see in the news. But that doesn’t relieve us of our civic and God-given right to take sides.

Get out and vote. Stand for life, liberty, and the truth … or you may lose the option to enjoy any of them at all. Whatever you do, don’t sit back and let evil flourish in pursuit of some misguided notion that doing so is a signal of how virtuous you are.

When you understand the politics of limiting evil, neutrality is not an option.

 

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