In the fifth entry of my "NOT Voting" series I want to make a point that, to many, will likely seem obvious once stated.
Here it is: Point #5: Voting can cause you to compromise your deepest held beliefs.
This point is not unrelated to the first point, which was choosing the lesser of evils is still choosing evil. On the one hand, I am not at all surprised that so many people are so quick to turn a blind eye to what they espouse as their deepest beliefs and convictions in the name of a political party, after all, putting Christianity on pause to pursue self-interests is quite common these days. On the other hand, however, I would hope that many who identify themselves as Christians realize that the one thing nobody can ever take from them is their faith/beliefs; the truth is, only you can choose to let go of them. Every four years when the presidential election rolls around, people get behind one party or another and in the process, sort of sideline their convictions, or put differently and more bluntly, sacrifice them on the altar of American politics (more about that in a later post).
Let me come at this topic from the angle of logic. In the field of logic there is a rule known as the "Law of Non-Contradiction." This is a logical law that all of us should be aware of. The "Law of Non-Contradiction" says this: "Something cannot be both true and false/not true at the same time (in the same context)." In other words, in the context of a police officer asking you, "Did you help rob the bank." your response cannot be both "yes" and "no" for that would be a contradiction; your answer must be either "yes" or "no." Or, if someone asks, "Do you believe Jesus is the Messiah." you cannot answer in the affirmative and in the negative at the same time; it must be one or the other. The attempt to give both a "yes" and "no" answer puts you in a state of contradiction. A contradiction, of course, is a logical fallacy. My question is: When it comes to the presidential election, why are so many so-called Christians willing to put aside their deepest held beliefs and convictions in the name of politics? Stated differently, how can persons vote for someone they don't agree with or for something they don't truly believe in? Further, is voting against one's conscience and theological convictions an action that honors God or is it an action that falls prey to American peer-pressure and guilt-trips to vote?
Several days ago, at a fundraiser event, President Obama told the audience that the only way his party would win was if, over the next 30 days, his advocates were obsessive about the election. Of course, Romney wants the same thing from you. In short, they both want your allegiance and they want you to be obsessed with their politics. Not only is this request unhealthy for Christians, as I said in the previous post in this series, it is a request that has the potential to divide the church in general and possibly to divide you in particular from the church. This is even more the case if you're caving in and voting for things that you do not agree with, things that your conscience rails against, things that transgress your morals, and things that you do not believe honor God. If you do this, you are living in a state of contradiction. If you vote for someone/something that you believe stands against God, then do you not believe that this upsets God? Or, do you believe, like so many so-called Christians that, after you sacrifice God on that altar of politics right along with your beliefs, you can come back and play the "forgiveness card" and all will simply be well? I've got news for you, that theology of cheap grace does not bode well with God and it is something that Paul addressed when he said in Romans 6:1-2: "What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning thinking that we can just keep using God for his wonderful grace? God forbid! We have died to sin! So, how can we (who claim to be Christians) live in it any longer?" And yes, that "any longer" can certainly include the few moments you might spend in the voting both sidelining God and your beliefs, and not to mention, contradicting your own conscience.
(Please NOTE: I am currently taking a break from Facebook and will NOT be commenting on responses to this post made there.)
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