KristyWes

On Voting (or not...as the case may be)

Confession: I didn't vote yesterday. It was not for lack of registration; registering to vote was one of the first things I did when I moved to New York, second only to getting my New York Public Library card. I could have gone down to the polls and cast a ballot, fulfilled my civic duty, exercised one of my great American rights and responsibilities. But I didn't. I didn't know who to vote for.

My natural inclination would have been to vote for all the Democrats. That's certainly how I was raised. I grew up in a household where the name "Ronald Reagan" was akin to a curse word. It wasn't until college that I discovered that some people (many people, in fact) think that Reagan was a pretty good President. This was actually completely shocking to me (though it did help explain why they chose to name an airport after him; that had been a real puzzler up until that point).

When I became a Christian in college, it didn't immediately occur to me that my political views may need to be brought under God's authority the same as other areas of my life. I voted for Gore in 2000 without much forethought and certainly without any prayer for discernment, simply because he was the Democrat on the ticket and I always voted for Democrats. (Having said that, however, I still have no regrets on my choice of candidate! :)

Over the last few years, though, I've struggled to be more non-partisan. Let's face it: neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a lock on Christian values (a loaded term these days). In first century Judaism, there were something like "political parties" as well: the Pharisees, Saducees, Zealots, etc. Jesus didn't exactly cast his lot with any of them; he went his own way and sought the will of God, not a party line. Similarly, I doubt he'd be a card-carrying member of either the Democrat or Republican party today.

It's important for me now to approach each election with an open mind and a lot of prayer, and ask God to help me pick whichever candidate would best accomplish God's will for our country, regardless of the candidate's political party. This approach does require some time and effort and homework - none of which I accomplished before yesterday, unfortunately, which is why I chose not to vote. Not exactly the move of a responsible citizen, but given the circumstances, I didn't feel voting without preparation was responsible either.

The good news is that in Heaven there will be no elections, no political parties, no America even. Our freedom to vote will be exchanged for freedom from all suffering. And oh, won't that be wonderful!? All of this will be a dim memory, we will sit side-by-side, Democrats and Republicans and all those in between, now joined as brothers and sisters, and we will gaze upon the One who has the power to unite us all forever. Amen.