This Day of Christian Citizenship

What to Do with the 2024 Presidential Race

The Christian’s highest aim in the public square is to show and tell the glorious riches of Jesus. He is King of kings, Savior to sinners, and Sovereign over all.

Jesus is King of kings, Savior to sinners, and Sovereign over all.

And for the Christian citizen, there is no higher calling or greater good than promoting a free and fair society where every neighbor has every opportunity to hear and respond to the Gospel, and to experience the goodness and grace of God. 

Integral to that aim is Christian public engagement that shapes, advocates, and contends for righteous public policy and legislation at every level of government. Laws not only directly impact citizens and provide protections for the most vulnerable among us, but they also teach ethics, morality, and how to advance the common good.

The Limits of Politics

Political engagement, however, has natural limitations. In a Constitutional Republic, for example, we are governed by the people. Based on our personal values, we elect our representatives who then govern to both represent and serve their constituents.

So in an increasingly secular and pluralistic society, how do we influence our neighbors toward more righteous personal values?

For example, should we create tax policy that is fair and encourages the value of hard work and personal responsibility? Yes. Should we pass legislation that protects the unborn and elderly? Yes. Should we establish laws that create fairness and access to opportunities for minorities and others who have been marginalized? Yes. Should we contend for a biological approach to gender and sexuality, and create an environment where monogamous, heterosexual, life-long marriage is promoted as the building block of a healthy society? Without question! Should we promote religious freedom for all of our citizens? Yes we should.

Should we return the Bible back to the public school libraries? Absolutely. Should Christian legislators write resolutions that encourage prayer and repentance? Yes! Should we place the Ten Commandments in public places as a tutor for citizens and lawmakers? Yes we should. 

Taking every just opportunity to remember and reinforce our nation’s founding principles and loyalties that built this exceptional experiment called the United States of America not only honors the Lord and serves us well, but it illuminates a better path forward for this generation and the next. 

These measures are a part of the solution, and I commend and support public Christians who take this responsibility seriously. 

But public policy is not the whole solution. It’s not even the weightiest part of the solution, yet particularly in an election season, it gets the weightiest of attention. These things provoke us. We’re angry because we’ve lost something, and we’re afraid because of what else we may lose.

And then we respond.

We put so much weight on the political realities swirling around that we disparage candidates, making fun of them. We use flagrant or slanderous speech, ruin relationships, and lose our Gospel influence with our unbelieving neighbors because we elevate the importance of political engagement beyond its capacity to actually affect the change we want to see. 

We lose our Gospel influence with our unbelieving neighbors when we elevate the importance of political engagement beyond its capacity to actually affect the change we want to see. 

A Sad Smudge

The first Presidential debate of 2024 was a sad smudge on American exceptionalism. The nature of civics means every voter must vote for a fallen, very-human candidate. 

What we saw last night was not just two very determined men seeking the highest office. We witnessed the product of eighty years of declining Christian witness and evangelism in the United States. We saw the result of a declining church that’s lost its first love and as a result, lost its savor in the public square. We saw a church that has traded Jesus’ command to make disciples for a church that has depended on public power to legislate righteousness.

In last night’s debate, we saw a church that has traded Jesus’ command to make disciples for a church that has depended on public power to legislate righteousness.

We’ve been trying to “elect the right people” for a long time, but the right people in the right office need more than our vote. They need a church living on mission with Jesus everyday in every corner of our communities.

People do vote their values, and our two candidates represent the values of a nation that tastes far too little salt and sees far too little light from the people of God.

The Most Urgent Matter

Rather than giving a vision for a better future, rather than offering hope and a clear path forward, both presidential candidates spent their debate blaming, comparing, accusing, and self-glorying. In the last eight years, we elected both of these men—men whose language is foul, moral character wanting, and personal principles untethered.

I say that not with glee, but with grief and with a resolve to continue praying for those in authority, whoever they may be. If actuarial tables hold true, both of these men are very close to eternity, and their relationship with God should be an urgent matter to us all.

Civics 101 and Our Souls

Again, Civics 101 tells us this is no Sunday School teacher election and we need to vote for one of them. And we shall. 

In my opinion, one is a better selection than the other, but when thoughtful Christians slam dunk on one of these candidates over the other, when we tie our good name to one of these men over the other, when we somehow convince ourselves that righteousness will be advanced with one rather than the other, you know we have jumped the shark.

May it be true that today, Christians grieve, pray, and repent. May this election season be the moment we turn away from our ambitions to gain the whole world, and instead return to the Lord that our souls and the soul of our nation we do not lose. 

EVERYONE’S WILSON | THE EVERYONE’S WELCOME NETWORK

I’m the Executive Director of Everyone’s Wilson and The Everyone’s Welcome Network—a platform for Gospel transformation. Our mission is to unite the Church to engage the community, so everyone thrives. Very simply, we’re passionate about helping Jesus-loving people live like missionaries in their local community through prayer, service, evangelism, and collaboration.

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