“Is a Christian always a better candidate that a non-Christian one?”

So, So-and-So is a Christian and the other guy or gal is not. Soooo… he must be a lock to get my (Christian) vote! Right? Here are a few brief thoughts of mine on the matter, and I’d be stoked to hear some of yours.

1) For political points a lot of politicians (and all sorts of other spiritual posers) claim to be Christian.

And while we generally speaking can’t know for certain how genuine someone’s profession of faith is, Jesus did give us a rule of thumb: “By their fruit you shall know them.” And the best description of said “fruit” might well be in Galatians 5: “Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” While nobody has a full crop of all of these, it’s this fruit we should all be in the process of growing!

During medieval times a lot of so-called Christians murdered Muslims in the Crusades, not to mention in our own “land of the free” we had slave-owning abusers in the southern states, most of which went to church every Sunday and said their prayers. So anyone can hold up a Bible and strike a good Christian pose for Facebook or the six o’clock news. Doesn’t make ‘em true believers.

True Christianity requires a repentant and teachable heart. Not everybody has that, even if they say they do. So, use a little discernment about politicians’ profession of faith.

2) What about a person who truly believes in Jesus? Are they automatically qualified for office?

I’m sorry to say that a lot of Christians lack an irreducible minimum of spiritual maturity, let alone moral character required for public office. They may be “saved” as we say but they’re not very “sanctified.” Of course, no one’s perfect, but there are some fundamental minimums of Christian ethics required for public office, like a commitment to truth, compassion, and integrity. These are essential for any person, Christian or not. But for someone who is leading their community or state or country, integrity is key.

They may be a card-carrying member of your preferred party, but fail to possess even the tiniest evidence that they even know where to locate their conscience. To my mind, a person like that should find something else to do for a living besides government work.

Like it or not, governors, members of congress, and presidents hold positions of moral influence among their constituents. Again, it’s not perfection but the direction of their lives that matters.

3) Okay, so does that mean that if someone believes in and are mature in Christ, they are a superior choice over someone who doesn’t follow Christ?

Wellllll, not necessarily and I’ll tell you why.

Not all genuine believers in Christ hold a worldview that is representative of Jesus and his Bible. Their Christian ethic may include personal piety but somehow evades the social implications of the kingdom of God. They don’t “smoke or chew or kiss girls who do” but the line stops there. They don’t apply their faith to anything beyond their own day-to-day life. When it comes to applying the Scripture to justice for the common good: the poor, the oppressed, the planet…it’s like they have blinders on.

From where I sit, there are a lot of American Conservative Evangelicals who promote a white nationalistic brand of Christianity of which I’m not a fan.

I think they’re blind to the link between personal ethics and social justice, which makes them in my view a high-risk, low value candidate. And if, on the other hand, their non-believer opponent has a strong commitment to those values I have no problem giving my vote to them over the Christian candidate.

4) But what about a candidate that has a real-deal relationship with God, has good moral character, and a sound biblical worldview? Are they going to be an automatically better choice for office?

I have to say that while these are all good qualities, they still don’t necessarily qualify a person for public service – and I’ll tell you why.

While I totally agree with Daniel Webster who said, “Whatever makes people good Christians, makes them good citizens,” it doesn’t necessarily make them good statesmen or stateswomen.

There’s a certain amount of expertise about how government works and an irreducible gift for leadership that a person needs in order to be a viable candidate for office, and particularly for high office. Someone might know the Bible well, lead a good Christian life, and pray like the house is on fire, but none of that necessarily equates to being qualified and competent for public office. While a true Jesus-centered biblical worldview is an absolute plus, a candidate has to possess a whole list of other capabilities, not to mention a the necessary temperament to represent the common good in the best possible way.

Martin Luther said he’d rather have a competent Turk than an incompetent Christian in political office. Sorry to say, there are a lot of Christians who are absolutely incompetent to govern and who really should keep their day jobs!

… Well, I hope this helps you in the days to come as we choose the person to lead our country into the next four years. If you’ve read any of my posts for the last decade you know that I heartily endorse almost anyone over Donald Trump. But that’s up to you and your own conscience.