It’s election season again in the USA, and while anything can happen, it certainly appears it will be Trump v. Biden, round 2.
If you bump around on the internet, it’s easy to find blogs by well-meaning Christians telling Christians why they must vote, many even quoting Scripture, as if Moses came down from Mount Sinai with ballots instead of tablets.
But what do you do if you can’t stomach Donald Trump’s narcissism, name-calling, or have a general objection to your Commander in Chief bragging about grabbing women “by the p****y”? But on the other hand you cannot in good conscience vote for Joe Biden, who continues to support a woman’s right to kill her unborn baby or a man’s right to use the same restroom as your wife or daughter? What do you do?
Some people will tell you that sometimes you have to choose between the lesser of two evils. If someone tells you that, ask them for a Bible verse. I don’t know when the Bible ever says we must choose evil. In fact, the Bible says just the opposite, promising the Lord will provide you “a way out” so you do not have to choose evil. I Corinthians 10:13.
The way out of this dilemma imposed on us by a electoral process that has (or shortly will) offer these two as America’s champions, is not to vote. That is right; you do not have to vote.
Moreover, if voting for either candidate would violate your conscience, you should not vote:
. . . hold on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.
I Timothy 1:19.
Violating your conscience is not a trivial matter. Violating your conscience is like suffering a concussion to the soul. You can subject yourself to the concussion protocol, and sit out a game, but eventually you may cross the line and end up with CTE, and you won’t know it until it’s too late.
So, if your conscience is telling you it will be offended if you vote for either candidate, write in a candidate, or stay at home. Vote with your seat. Your conscience is more important than your vote.
And if someday you are sharing the gospel with someone, and they say, “I don’t know how anyone who calls themself a Christian could vote for a person like [Trump or Biden]”, you can say, “I agree with you” with a straight face and clear conscience. GS