Commentary: The stewardship of voting in every election

A poll worker hands a voter a sticker on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A poll worker hands a voter a sticker on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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As we think about all elections, we need to remember that it is imperative that Christians vote and be engaged in this process. It’s one of the most basic rights that we have as Americans and one of the great responsibilities we have as followers of Christ.

God says, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people.” So, if “we [will be] the people” as the U.S. Constitution says we are, we as Christians can make an exponential difference from a stewardship perspective. Since we are a part of the Government, God expects us to be responsible citizens.

Then, there’s a gospel perspective that we have. Because we’ve been changed by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ our very nature brings light and salt to the process. And so, it’s important for us to be involved just for those two reasons alone.

But additionally, there’s the generational perspective. We talk these days a lot about “next gen” and how to reach and impact the next generation in student ministries. But we need to understand that elections have a way of creating the environment that our children and grandchildren are going to be living in one day.

We need to know that God has given us a stewardship responsibility to impact that next generation by the way we vote. We want to elect people that are the most educated on the policy issues and are Biblically knowledgeable about what is going on in our day and time.

In I Chronicles 12:32, it tells us that the Sons of Issachar understood the times and knew what to do. We must do the same.

Our country is not helped by candidates who give us a lot of empty rhetoric. We need men and women who have insightful ideas about how to work on the issues that we’re concerned about.

We need to be engaged in the political process because God knows that in our day, we need statesmen more than we need politicians! We must realize that a politician is someone who “knows the truth, but tells you what you want to hear.” A statesman, however, is someone who “knows what you want to hear, but tells you the truth anyway!”

We need people running for political offices who are motivated by truth and are more interested in the next generation than in just winning the next election!

Friends, now is definitely not the time to stand on the sidelines! We need to be reminded of Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” If we don’t get involved and stay involved God is going to hold us responsible and we are going to have a lot of “mourning” on the way.

I want to thank so many of you who have already voted this year! But as you know, there is a U.S. Senate runoff election on December 6th. Please go to this link to get a snapshot of where these two Senate candidates stand on some of the issues facing our nation: https://gabaptist.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-Runoff-Guides.pdf.

Let’s choose to make a difference in this year’s 2022 election and continue to vote according to Biblical convictions.

Remember, we can do all things through Christ!

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Mike Griffin is the Public Affairs Representative of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.