How will I vote?

 It’s all about worldviews. And that is a far more complex issue than can be fully discussed in this short format. My faith in Christ and His Word inform my worldview. I believe in a perfect world…we just don’t happen to live in it! The world is broken and so are the people in it. That includes me and you and Trump and Biden and any other candidate, and for that matter, any person on the planet. People are flawed, so cultures are flawed and governments are flawed, too. Governments and cultures cannot fix themselves because people cannot fix themselves. We need outside help! The problem is, we don’t want to admit that. We want to hold on to the power structures we have whether personal, political, social, economic, or whatever. Our founding fathers understood the nature of man all too well. That is why they fashioned a form of government with limited, decentralized powers and many, many checks and balances within and between levels of government.

As I have studied our Constitution and the principles in the Declaration of Independence upon which the Constitution was built, I cannot help but see a reflection of Biblical and Christian ideals inspiring our founding documents. It is those principles and ideals that I support and vote for. I could lay out many of those ideals for you, but not here. Let me unfold just one. The Declaration states:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”

I believe in truth and I believe truth is absolute. That is not a popular concept today. Self-evident truths are obvious, without need of defense or explanation. We are individually created and created equal with individual rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of our dreams. And, by voluntary consent, the sole purpose and design of government is to protect those rights. America is a republic of laws, not a democracy of whims. That is a fact, but not as recognized as it once was. (I am not and cannot be a pragmatist and I am not and cannot be a progressivist.)

When it comes to elections, the question for me is, “Which leader can best protect and defend these original American ideals?” That has nothing to do with party and not much to do with personality. Our choices are limited and imperfect, and our perspectives can be incomplete. But truth never changes and, to me, that is the only sure anchor and touchstone for life. Jesus declared Himself to be the Truth. I believe Him. I trust and believe Him more than all the broadcast and print news media out there, whether left, right, or center. Everyone has a worldview, including everyone involved in media outlets. Their worldviews at not “checked” at the studio door. Because of the growing media polarization today, one has to triangulate the polarized reports to get any sense of where the truth is. That takes work and that takes time. “We are what we eat” and that is true about what we feed your minds. We have to be careful. Your worldview, my worldview, everyone’s worldview shows us where we place our trust as well as how we see and interpret the world around us. This is my political, social, and moral frame of reference.

On Election Day, I do not “check” my values at the door of my polling place. I enter to execute a duty to my God, my family, my neighbors, and my country. It is a sacred responsibility for which I am held accountable, and so are you.

When you go to vote, may God be with you.

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