On election day, the people are sovereign. That is, they exercise the one element of the sovereign power they retained—the power to direct the course of the state. This power of direction is funneled through the choice of representatives who administer the state and shape its laws. While the citizen retains some ability to influence policies after the election, most of his power is delegated. The election is about picking from the limited candidate pool who should or should not exercise those delegated powers.
Elections have another effect as through the exercise of the vote, legitimacy is conferred from the general body politic to the specific persons chosen to govern. Thus, winning an election provides not only a validation of the candidate but of the candidate’s platform. While candidates often lie and have lied since at least Athens experimented with democracy, the act of voting confers on the chosen representative the power to act and the expectation to act in accordance with what he told the people.
For the Christian who is a citizen, this gives him great responsibility both to his country and God. The country is obvious because the citizen has a responsibility to do what is right for his fellow citizens. For his fellow citizens are his children, his parents, his friends and his neighbors; however, you might ask, Why God? That is because God repeatedly tells us, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). Thus, the Christian will have to answer, like any servant trusted with responsibility, how he performed his duties.
The Christian Duty to Vote
There are some Christians who say that there is no Christian duty to vote. This is false. While there is no commandment saying, Thou shall vote, there is the overwhelming number of Christian teachings that explain that “God holds us responsible for how we use the powers, privileges, and opportunities He grants us, not just in our personal lives but also in the public square, where the echoes of our choices resonate in the halls of justice and the corridors of community life.”
The argument for the Christian duty to vote is as follows.
- Politics inherently involves moral decisions that shape the welfare of society, and these decisions are influenced by the collective voice and vote of the citizens.
- Christians, as part of their civic engagement, possess the unique opportunity to express and implement their moral values through political participation.
- Christian doctrine emphasizes stewardship and responsibility; the parable of the talents, for instance, teaches that we are accountable for the resources and opportunities entrusted to us (Luke 19:12-28).
- Voting is a tangible expression of this stewardship, where Christians can contribute to the moral direction of governance.
- Therefore, it is not only a right but a duty for Christians to vote, aligning their actions with their faith and fulfilling their role as responsible stewards in society.
It seems important to note in the Parable of the Talents that the wicked servant desired to preserve rather than risk anything. As the Word commentary notes, “Burying has always been a favored method in the preservation of wealth.”[1] Augustine said of this evil servant, “The fault of that servant who was reproved and severely punished was this and only this: that he would not put to use what he had received. He preserved it intact, but his master was looking for a profit from it.”[2]
For the Christian who refuses to vote because everyone is bad, he is alike to this wicked servant who attempts to preserve rather than to risk. In other words, the Christian who does not vote prefers to virtue signal rather than act as moral creatures challenged by living in a world of sin. The Bible is filled with examples of virtue signalers. Spoiler: They are the Pharisees. They are the villains in the story too.
There is another issue to not voting. It is that not voting is to become politically silent. This is against nature, since as Aristotle explained man is separated by speech from the rest of the world of animals and that man is a political animal. Thus, to become politically silent is to war against what God created. Further, silence carries with it its own moral statement.
Silence implies consent. And not voting is to become politically silent. That is unless the not voting is accompanied by a strong showing that one has withdrawn their consent from the political order. However, if one is not in open political disobedience and is instead enjoying the benefits of civil society, then it is impossible for that person to have truly withdrawn their political consent. Thus, we can say that failure to vote is a consent to whatever outcome happens—it is the same as saying no preference. Thus, moral responsibility is attached to the action despite the person’s wishes.
The law since antiquity has held that silence implies consent: “Qui tacet consentire videtur.” This maxim teaches that silence can and typically is legally interpreted as tacit approval or acceptance, especially in situations where one is expected to speak out if they dissent. In the context of Christian duty and political participation, this means that abstaining from voicing one’s opinion or refraining from voting is an endorsement of the status quo or the decisions made by others.
Conclusion: Voting is a civil and spiritual duty
The Christian duty to vote is not merely a civic responsibility, but a spiritual one. It is an act of stewardship, a manifestation of our moral values, and a tangible way to influence the welfare of society.
The act of voting is a powerful tool given to us. As Christians, we are called to use this tool wisely and responsibly. To abstain from voting is not a neutral act; it is a tacit endorsement of the status quo and a relinquishment of our God-given duty to be active participants in our society. As Christians, we are called to be the salt and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-14), and one of the ways we can fulfill this calling is by participating in the political process.
Would you hide that light? Not voting is doing just that. It is to abandon what God has given us in preference to acting better than those around us. Such hypocrisy will have its reward.
[1] John Nolland, Luke 18:35–24:53, vol. 35C, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), 915.
[2] Arthur A. Just, ed., Luke, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 295.