Election 2012: Keeping First Things First

Election 2012: Keeping First Things First by David Barton

As the November general election approaches, the Bible offers clear guidance to biblical voters to help them evaluate the candidates.

Maintain a national, not a personal perspective. Since the Scripture declares that “Righteousness exalts a nation” (Proverbs 14:34, NKJV), then advancing issues that directly impact national righteousness must be a primary consideration. According to the Bible (c.f., Deuteronomy 28; 1 Chronicles 21; 1 Kings 18), a nation’s righteousness is determined by its public policies and how well those policies conform to God’s standards.

So how does a nation ensure that it will have God-honoring policies? Proverbs 29:2 answers that question: “When the righteous increase [rule], the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (ESV). Very simply, if a nation wants God-honoring policies, it must have leaders like Daniel, Nehemiah, or David rather than leaders like Ahab, Manasseh, or Jeroboam. In America, the only way there will be God-honoring leaders is if God-honoring citizens elect them; so the first and foremost consideration in any election is whether the candidate will advance policies that promote biblical standards of righteousness.

Prioritize the issue. In past elections, the millions of biblical voters who sought to advance issues of righteousness through their vote were dubbed “value voters.” Those whose agenda did not benefit from these voters are now trying to win their support by making their own particular issue seem biblical or moral. Therefore, the Rev. Robert Edgar (the former general secretary of the very liberal National Council of Churches) asserts, “You can’t read the Old Testament without knowing God was concerned about the environment, war and peace, and poverty. God doesn’t want 45 million Americans without health care.” Supporters of homosexual marriage now assert that it is “moral” to extend partnership rights to homosexuals who have “committed” themselves to each other, and pro-abortion advocates similarly claim that it is “moral” for a poor mother to have an abortion rather than give birth to a child she might not want.

But this is not to say that the Rev. Edgar is wrong in claiming that the Bible addresses helping the poor, war and peace, the environment, and health care. It does—and it also speaks about numerous issues he did not mention, including immigration, treaties, taxation, property rights, and national sovereignty.

Each of these is addressed in the comprehensive system of 613 laws delivered through Moses in the Old Testament. But God also made it abundantly clear that not all issues were equal, for within that expansive system He issued His “Top Ten” (the Ten Commandments), thus creating a prioritization of what was most important to Him.

Protecting innocent life did make God’s Top Ten (#6), as did protecting the sanctity of marriage (#7), but the issues of poverty, environment, health care, immigration, taxation, etc., did not make His Top Ten. This is not to say that the other issues are not important, but rather that citizens should always keep the most important things at the top of the list. Listed below are some of the issues facing the nation today.

Abortion and inalienable rights. Defending the unborn must continue to remain a priority for biblical voters. The right to life is the first of the three specifically enumerated inalienable rights set forth in our founding documents and American government was established on the thesis that certain rights come from God and that government must protect those rights inviolable. Significantly, if a leader does not protect the inalienable right to life, then all other inalienable rights are likewise in jeopardy.

Modern history demonstrates that when a leader is wrong on the inalienable right to life, then he will almost certainly be wrong on the protection of private property (as guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution), the biblical right of self defense (the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed in the Second Amendment), the right of religious expression (guaranteed in the First Amendment), the sanctity of the home (guaranteed in the Third Amendment), etc. Therefore, where a candidate stands on the issue of abortion is of paramount importance, not only for the sake of the unborn but also for the preservation of our other inalienable rights.

Homosexuality and the moral law. If a candidate is willing to accept, empower, and advance homosexuality, it is a clear indication that he or she does not embrace the moral absolutes of the Bible. Today, some have rejected the biblically-established rights and wrongs in favor of their own personal preferences—a situation thrice denounced in the Scriptures as “every man doing that which is right in his own eyes” (see Deuteronomy 12:8, Judges 17:6 and 21:25).

Previous generations understood that obeying God’s moral laws always benefited a society (Deuteronomy 6:24). In fact, a popular 1814 legal commentary documented the adverse effect on a society from rejecting God’s moral law regarding homosexuality:

 If it [sodomy] once begins to prevail, not only will boys be easily corrupted by adults but also by other boys; nor will it ever cease—more especially as it must thus soon lose all its shamefulness and infamy and become fashionable and the national taste; and then . . . national weakness (for which all remedies are ineffectual) must inevitably follow; not perhaps in the very first generation, but certainly in the course of the third or fourth . . . .  Whoever, therefore, wishes to ruin a nation has only to get this vice introduced, for it is extremely difficult to extirpate [remove] it where it has once taken root because it can be propagated with much more secrecy . . . and when we perceive that it has once got a footing in any country, however powerful and flourishing, we may venture as politicians to predict that the foundation of its future decline is laid and that after some hundred years it will no longer be the same . . . powerful country it is at present.”

While there are many areas specifically addressed by God’s moral law (e.g., adultery, pre-marital sex, etc.), only homosexuality is currently the focus of favorable political action. Therefore, where a candidate stands on that issue is one of the best indicators of whether he recognizes and embraces God’s moral absolutes.

Public religious acknowledgments. The Ten Commandments begin with the pronouncement, “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2, NIV). Christians often attach this declaration as a crucial prologue to the Ten Commandments, but Jews consider that forceful declaration to be the First Commandment. They properly believe that acknowledging God is the highest priority and that the commands listed after that affirmation have force only because God is recognized for who He is and is acknowledged as the Source behind those commands. Therefore, acknowledging and honoring God is a priority in His Top Ten.

Today, secularists have convinced many Americans to accept a compartmentalization of their faith, telling them that it is appropriate to acknowledge God at church, home, or in other private settings, but not in public venues. If a candidate holds this position, it means he is willing to disconnect God from what he does, and the entire nation is put at risk by leaders who compartmentalize faith.

Biblical voters should select leaders who will seek to protect and expand, rather than restrict or weaken, the opportunity for the public acknowledgment of God and the inclusion of His principles in public venues.

Cast a vote. It is your responsibility as a voter to research each candidate. Once you have examined where a candidate stands on the non-negotiable issues, only then should you extend your consideration to include other issues (e.g., economics, foreign policy, taxes, military, health care, energy, etc.).

No candidate will ever be the perfect candidate and support all the things that you do, but that must never be the sole measuring stick for selecting a candidate. After all, if that were true, then today’s faith voters likely would not have supported most of the biblical heroes had they run for office today, for David—although a man commended by God and recommended as our example in numerous areas—was guilty of adultery (and more); Noah had trouble with drunkenness; Samuel, Eli, and Gideon did not control their children; Lot committed incest; Moses was guilty of murder; etc. God regularly used very imperfect individuals—even individuals with major flaws—to accomplish great and positive things in the life of a nation. We should therefore always support the candidate most in line with the non-negotiables, not the superficially “perfect” candidate.

Biblical voters must develop an attitude of unswerving duty coupled with a resolute steadfastness, and must vote in every election. In Luke 19:13 Jesus commands, “Occupy till I come,” and for the sake of this generation, as well as future ones, we must be active citizens. The responsibilities facing God-fearing citizens in this election are somber, and the potential repercussions from our actions (or lack thereof) are both far-reaching and long-lasting.