Christians must vote for their faith

Phil Williams
| Contributor

In one of those moments when it seems too strange to be true, but it is, Kamala Harris spoke out about Christians everywhere. At one of her recent meetings, a young man shouted, “Jesus is Lord,” causing her to adopt a mocking look and reply, “Oh, I think you came to the wrong meeting.”

Buoyed by the mocking laughter of her supporters, she followed with, “I think you wanted to go to the smaller meeting down the street.” The audience cried and laughed. She looked so proud.

Reality set in when the story went viral. In one fell swoop, Harris told Christian voters that their faith-based political views were not welcome in her camp. Wrong interpretation? You decide. I have.

Christians everywhere should take note of how their faith is revered or reviled in politics.

When I served in the Alabama Senate, I regularly sponsored pro-life bills. More than once I was accused of the cowardly crime of mixing my faith with my politics. “Say it ain’t so, Phil! You didn’t really behave like a Christian politically, did you?!” Well, I hope I did!

I was not chosen to be less than who I am. I walked as a conservative, a patriot, and an unapologetic believer in Christ. If my faith makes me who and what I am, I would be a hypocrite if I left it at home.

Dr. Ben Carson recently headlined the Alabama Policy Institute’s annual dinner and discussed his own thoughts on faith in the public arena. “They say there are two things we should never talk about in public: politics and religion,” Carson said. “But those are the two things we need to talk about because that’s where we’re under attack.” I would add that we absolutely need to talk about this together unequivocally: faith AND politics.

Truth and common sense come together when we say that we must mix our faith with our politics. Vote for our faith. Vote with faith. Pray for our candidates. Pray for our government.

Christians everywhere should unapologetically mix their faith-based values, traditions and principles with their politics. In the absence of Christian voices in the public arena, the vacuum will be filled by those who believe the exact opposite, even those who would mock and take away our ability to live out our Christian worldview.

Christians should be concerned about who makes and enforces the laws that govern our country. It is very simple: either we as Christians will speak out about our faith, or those who do not believe will speak out about our faith. I’d rather it be us than them.

Despite the freedom to speak about faith, a recent survey by pollster George Barna found that 32 million self-identified church-going Christians are inexplicably expected to sit out this election. For some reason they don’t make it to the ballot box.

More than 68% of them said this is due to “a lack of interest in politics and elections.” It’s just not their bag… it just doesn’t get their attention… it just doesn’t go in.

Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries, recently opined that voting is not about knowing all the candidates or all the issues. He laid out a very concise set of principles for Christians to consider, including “constitutional principles” such as “life, liberty (and) property,” because those are “the three things that the Constitution requires to be developed to provide.”

He explained this by saying that when a Christian struggles to know everything, he can at least lean on the question: “Which candidate for any office is most likely to reduce the evils that arise around life, liberty, and property. ” ? … That will help inform my decision.”

Myers is right. It’s not about knowing everything about politics. It’s about being a good steward of this land.

We have been entrusted with a nation that gives us great freedom, including the freedom of worship. If we as believers abdicate our role as stewards by suspending our right to vote for a faith-based worldview, we are no better than the unfaithful servant in Matthew 25, who used the resources given to him by his master. took and buried them in the ground instead of investing in them. them wisely. He just sat on it. He did nothing to advance the cause.

Stewardship of what is entrusted to us is not only sought, it is expected. What are we going to do with this land that has been given to us? Will Christians take bold action to grow and nurture it? Will people of faith be good stewards of America? Or will we just sit on our haunches and wait to see what happens?

I don’t want to be the one to realize that I have wasted an opportunity to advance our nation’s capabilities, increase our strength, and protect life, liberty, and property.

The Christian faith is not based on works. I believe that. Salvation is secured through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet there are two aspects to being a Christian: making him Savior and making him Lord of our lives.

Salvation is assured, but dominion is our witness. In James 2:18 (NASB) we are told that faith and works go together as the visual reminder to the world that we believe. “But someone might well say, ‘You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Voting works. Sometimes Christians have to get busy being Christians in real and practical ways.

Faith and politics go together like a hand in a glove. Rise up, Christians. Get started, go to the polls and vote for your faith. Vote as if your faith depends on it. Your ability to openly practice your faith without fear of loss of life, liberty, and property actually does just that.

Phil Williams is a former state senator from District 10 (which includes Etowah County), a retired Army colonel and combat veteran, and a practicing attorney. He previously served in the leadership of the Alabama Policy Institute in Birmingham. He currently hosts the conservative news/talk show Rightside Radio on multiple channels in north Alabama. The opinions expressed are his own.