Christian Worldview and the Voting Booth

A worldview is “The Christian’s ability to think Christianly about every topic, every question, every decision requires that he or she develop a generally correct knowledge of reality” (Edward M. Curtis, Transformed Thinking, 5).
 
Included would be anything about which it is possible to have a belief; for instance: God, human life, gender, freedom, the meaning of suffering, marriage, family relationships, morality, and even politics, etc.. So, a worldview is the basic perspective we use to understand the world around us and our experience of it.
 
It is important to have a worldview that is consistent and aligned with the Creator of this world and of mankind.  The reason is found in Psalm 100:3: “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (ESV).
 
A biblical worldview is the only avenue to understand our true beginning, purpose, and future.

"A worldview has been compared to a pair of glasses through which we see the world. Without these glasses, the world would appear as an unfocused, meaningless blob. The glasses not only allow us to see, but to make sense out of what we see. Everything we perceive must come through these glasses. If such glasses have “Christian” lenses, then everything we observe will be “tinted” Christian. We will explain the universe and life’s events from a Christian perspective. The same is true for those who wear Atheist glasses or Buddhist glasses. They will “see” the same world, but it will be understood differently. Their “glasses” (worldview) do not shape reality nor do they ensure a correct perception, but they do determine a person’s explanation and interpretation of life and the world.a perspective that sees everything through the “glasses” of Scripture. Rather than allowing culture or experience to determine a worldview, it allows the Bible to make that determination" (Phillips, W. G., Brown, W. E., & Stonestreet, J. (2008). Making sense of your world: A biblical worldview (2nd ed.). Salem, WI: Sheffield, 4, 16).

We are in a spiritual and cultural warfare where life, marriage, and America’s biblical foundations are under attack. Daniel Webster, in 1820, commented: “Lastly; our ancestors established their system of government on morality and religious sentiment. Moral habits, they believed, cannot safely be trusted on any other foundation than religious principle, nor any government be secure which is not supported by moral habits” (America’s God and Country, 669).
 
The role of Government is cited in the Bible (Romans 13:1‐7; 1 Peter 2:13‐14; 1 Timothy 2:1‐4). Civil governments are established by God to bring many benefits to human societies. The civil government should not govern “the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).
 
The tide has been turning for a long time.  Albert Mohler warned back in 2012 of the seriousness and far-reaching implications of rejecting biblical principles and foundations in the moral fabric of our society:
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"We are not looking at minor matters of political difference. We are staring into the abyss of comprehensive moral conflict. Christian voters can escape neither the consequences of their vote, nor the fact that our most basic convictions will be revealed in the voting booth come November. Christians cannot face these questions without the knowledge that God is the Giver of life, who made every human life in his image. We cannot consider this election without the knowledge that our Creator has given us the covenant of marriage as the union of one man and one woman as the demonstration of his glory and the promise of human flourishing" (https://albertmohler.com/2012/09/06/the-great-american-worldview-exercise-the-2012-election).

As we enter the voting booth in elections, our commitment should be to God first, not party, social status, race, economic standing, or gender. 
 
There is wisdom in the following regarding our individual role in being a responsible citizen as well as living our lives in faithful Christianity:

"Do nations turn around, once they have started a slide toward moral chaos? Tragically, they almost never do. Not even the great nation of Israel could be salvaged by the persuasion of the prophets. It took an Assyrian conquest and a Babylonian captivity (of seventy years) to bring the Hebrews to their knees. Even then a terminal judgment finally came in the form of the Roman destruction of Judaism in A.D. 70 (cf. Mt. 22:7). I am certainly no prophet. I do not know what lies in America’s future. I can, however, follow the flow of human history as such is revealed in the Scriptures. And what I see in that does not make me comfortable about our nation’s prospects. I know this: Each Christian, consistent with his/her abilities, has a three‐fold responsibility. 1. We must commit to lives of personal goodness as a savoring influence among our peers. 2. We must teach forcefully the positive truths of moral conduct. 3. We must oppose the teachings of the immoral vermin who would destroy this nation" (Jackson, Wayne. "America--A Nation Out of Control." ChristianCourier.com. Access date: October 20, 2020. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/90-america-a-nation-out-of-control).
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Our focus should major on policies and the implications of their plans and platforms. Some become blinded and fail to grasp that it is the issues that are of utmost importance in voting.  We must remember that our vote for an individual on the ballot does not mean we think they are faithful in all things or the greatest human being. It may mean that they are better than the opposing candidate. Our goal should be to vote for the best stance on the policies that we deem important to us and the welfare of our great country.  We would do well to consider questions like, “what does the team stand for?” and “are they equipped to lead in the best interest of the people?” Several issues come to the forefront in this election: Abortion vs murdering the innocent in the womb; law and order vs defunding the police; freedom of religion vs repressing freedom of religion; second amendment rights defending my life and family vs gun control and the outlawing and confiscating of firearms of citizens; appointment of conservative judges (who respect and uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights) vs liberal judges, etc., al. 
 
Let each of us prayerfully consider the various issues, policies and platforms and vote in a way that we believe will best reflect His will. Remember, elections have consequences. 
 
Steve Miller