Reflecting On Political Priorities in 2024

 

Christians understand that what has gone wrong with the world can’t be fixed with political activism or culture war victories. I have a lot of sympathy for the expression 'politics is downstream from culture.' That is mostly true. But a more complete truth is that culture is downstream from theology and anthropology and ontology. Politics and culture are both effects, not causes. Politics and culture influence each other, sometimes in helpful ways and sometimes in unhelpful ways. (Source: The Political Illusion by Warren Cole Smith – MinistryWatch)

At the risk of being controversial in this highly polarized political age, I would like to share some wisdom I learned as a Christian political activist.

I tried to stay above the political fray during my time as an organizer for Christian Coalition and as a pro-life activist in our community. While it was assumed that I would support Republican candidates, I did not mindlessly support them because the Democrats were big bad wolves. I weighed each candidate the best I could by their voting records and their pro-life stance. And as controversial as it was at the time,  I would give a nod of approval to the Democratic candidate if he were more prolife than the Republican. 

Thankfully, at the time I had friends who also felt the same way and they were a great encouragment to not only me, but also others who prioritized voting pro-life. We also had a conservative editor of one of the local newspapers who covered our meetings and candidate forums. I am so grateful to God for the people He assembled to confront unrighteousness and stand tall for the preborn.

So, while it's heartbreaking that both of our major party presidential candidates are lacking in pro-life integrity*, the reader should know this is not a new problem. The time period I was most politically active was during the Clinton administration. 

Friends, you are going to have to hold the Republicans feet to the fire on their pro-life promises and lack of following through on them. You cannot keep silent and hope for the best. You have to make your views known and, sadly, sometimes a candidate has to lose an election in order to find out the hard way that there are citizens who are serious about protecting preborn human beings. We cannot compromise on something as sacred as human life and politicians need to know it.

My advice for voters is to be a Christian first and put your party loyalty beneath your loyalty to Christ. May God bless you as you pray and seek His will in how to vote this election. Above all, keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and vote your conscience. Amen.

*For additional information on Donald Trump's and Kamala Harris' pro-life stance, please read these news articles archived at Christian Life News:

• Donald Trump and the GOP 
• Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party 

Please also see these helpful resources:

• Behaving as Christians in an Election Year | Mortification of Spin (podbean.com)
• Resources On Christian Nationalism | The Heidelblog