Godly voting

Sandy's 5 tips (not in order) to help Christian vote Christianly

1. The importance of character
The privacy of politicians should be respected. But the Bible says a leader’s character and beliefs, including religious beliefs, will effect how he or she acts. If a political leader breaks a promise to his wife, why would we expect him to keep a promise to the electorate? Ditto for drunkenness or the physically and verbally aggressive. And where will a defiant atheist get his or her values from? The public-private split cannot be total.

2. The importance of an attitude of glad tax-paying
See Romans 13; Luke 20:20-26 etc. Christians shouldn't just vote for whomever will reduce taxes most or otherwise give them the biggest electoral bribe. If we want good services (health, education, police, roads etc.) we should be willing to pay. Self-interest, though everywhere present, is a bad way to determine what is right and good and helpful for a nation.

3. The importance of the dignity of all human life

The Bible notes the crucial importance for a nation’s leaders to act with justice and compassion and especially to defend the defenceless (widows, orphans, the unborn, elderly, disabled, refugees, detainees, etc.)! This has implications for abortion and euthanasia debates, but also for foreign aid and immigration policies. I suspect that we must even defend the rights of those with whom we disagree or feel threatened by (e.g. terrorist suspects), if those same rights are to mean anything for ourselves in the long run.

4. The importance of Christian (& other religious) liberties

1 Timothy 2:1-6 urges our prayers for leaders, but also indicates the advantage of a society which is ordered so as to enable Christians to lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness, rather than in a climate of hostility or persecution. This part of the Bible seems to imply that there are consequent advantages in an orderly society for the spread of God’s life-giving gospel, which Christians believe will benefit society.

5. The importance of family friendly policies

This operates both at a morality level (e.g. Christians will not wish to see gay marriage or adoption; and prefer policies that make reconciliation in troubled marriages more likely than divorce). But it also operates at an economic level, e.g. by making it easier for mothers (or fathers) to stay home rather than having to work for a second income; also easier for single parents.

This is an extract from Sandy Grant's full Article "Why we must vote christianly..."

http://your.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/articles/why_we_must_vote_christianly_and_not_just_for_the_cdp/