When faced with a decision between bad and worse the world tells us that we must choose the lesser of two evils. That is how the world thinks. That is how Satan wants us to think. However, this is not what God tells us in His spoken, revealed Word, the Bible.
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Now, the passage from which this verse is taken is speaking of prevailing against temptation, but the principle is clear. We are not to compromise with the flesh. We are not to compromise with the devil. We are not to compromise with the world, over which the devil rules (c.f. John 8:44, et.al.).
The world (e.g. the popular media) would like us to think there will be only two viable candidates in the 2008 presidential election: whomever the Republican Party nominates and whomever the Democratic Party nominates. This is simply not true! The simple fact of the matter is that there are always many, many third-party and independent candidates who run for the office of the President. However, if you were to watch the popular media they do not even drop a hint in their coverage of the upcoming election that anyone besides potential candidates from the Republican and Democratic Parties may be running. God is sovereign. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Proverbs 21:1). If God turns the hearts of kings, then how much more so does He turn the hearts of common men! The passage does not say that a king’s heart may be in the hand of the LORD, or was, or will be. It says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD” (emphasis added). God is sovereign; He is in control of all things, most assuredly the day-to-day affairs of mere men. Jesus says in Matthew 10:27-31:
Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Shall we then tempt God calling Him a liar in our stubborn refusal to simply believe what He has revealed to us about Himself? God promises to take care of us, His Children, believers in Christ Jesus. Shall we mock God by attempting to second-guess what He as already fore-ordained? May it not be so! If the all-powerful, sovereign, living God fore-ordains the destiny of the souls of men and women to either an eternity with Him in glory or an eternity separated from Him in Hell (c.f. Romans 9:21), then how much more so has He fore-ordained the electoral ballots of men, mere scratches on a piece of paper?
God is God. God is One God. God will always be God. (c.f. Exodus 3:14; Malachi 3:6) We are men. We do not know the secret counsels of God (Deuteronomy 29:29), nor shall we ever be privy to such knowledge. God gives us the privilege of voting for our government officials: it is a gift. “The great God who formed everything Gives the fool his hire and the transgressor his wages” (Proverbs 26:10). Everything we have is a gift from God, even our very breath, especially our very breath (c.f. Isaiah 42:5). This includes our vote.
God commands us to use what He has given us wisely (c.f. Matthew 25:14-30). He commands us to spread the good news of the gospel message (c.f. Mark 16:15). In Matthew 22:36-40 a lawyer asked Jesus,
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Above all else we are to love and serve God. We are not to love our neighbor and then love God. We are not to worry about the future and then serve God. We are not to try to protect our stuff and then love God! We are to love God first, above all else! We are to love God first. We are to serve Him first before loving and serving anyone else, even ourselves or our families.
Then He [Jesus] said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”(Luke 9:59-62)
God comes before everything. Our service to Him is to take priority above all else. When we vote we are exercising a privilege that He has given to us that He expects us to use wisely. That is, He expects us to use the vote He has given to us to serve and glorify Him. He expects us to serve and glorify Him, and let Him worry about tomorrow, for we do not know what a day may bring forth (c.f. Matthew 6:25-34). When we use the vote God has given us to intentionally vote for the “lesser of two evils” we slap God in the face and do a grave injustice to our brethren in the faith. When we pick a candidate who seems not quite as bad as that other option we are helping no-one but the devil. The lesser of two evils is still evil. Remember that.
When a man who is ashamed, or unwilling, to claim Christ as both his Lord and Savior (c.f. Romans 10:9) he is not a person for whom a Christian can vote in good conscience. A man who pays homage to sanctuaries of devils (e.g. mosques) at best, at best, has not the resolve and strength of character to be an effective, godly leader and at worst blasphemes the holy Living God. A man who will not take a clear stand to defend and promote biblical morals is not a man for whom a Christian can vote.
We as Christians are called to be salt and light to this world (Matthew 5:13). If we do not stand up for God’s absolute truth as revealed in His Word, the Bible, God will (this is not a maybe, He will) remove His blessing from us as a nation. Read Revelation. The first three chapters are letters from the risen Jesus Christ to seven of the early churches. Over and over again He warns them that He is about to remove His blessing from them, if they do not repent from their worldly tendencies. Christ calls His elect out to be separate from the world. We dare not betray our loving Lord and Savior by using the vote He gives us to help build a fortress for the devil in the name of compromise. More often than not, compromise is of the devil.
If this leaves you without a godly candidate for whom you can vote, I strongly encourage you to start researching the various other third party and independent candidates that are running for office. Project Vote Smart is a good place to start. Or, if you are like me and don’t have time to research every candidate, the Constitution Party is a very good alternative. See them on YouTube.
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