“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17
Undoubtedly, you’ve heard, use it or lose it. It is a very true statement indeed! You’ve got a voice, use it! If you don’t, you may lose it! Likewise, you have a vote, use it! Instead of simply wishing things would change, engage and help make the change. If you don’t vote, you’re as guilty as so much of the church in the day Hitler rose to power. Had the church spoke up, there is a real possibility that Hitler’s reign of terror would never have happened.
You get to choose, will you be a spectator or a participant. You are responsible before God for what you do. To be a spectator costs you nothing, at least up front. But to participate requires resolve and comes with a great cost. Just ask the founders of our nation, who laid down their lives, honor and wealth, that we’d have this nation and the freedom that came with our independence. They were not cowards! Please consider carefully what you do!
So when you vote, please don’t simply do as you always have done. Don’t just vote by a specific party. Or by what makes your life happier, more comfortable or better. Vote according to the word of God. Vote His priorities. If any candidate supports something that violates the word of God, then do not vote for them! To vote for them is to join in their sin!
For example, sadly, somehow even Christian’s have been duped into thinking abortion is acceptable, that the fetus is just tissue. Nevertheless, at conception a light flashes as the spirit of the person is woven into that tissue in the mother’s womb and a living human being begins to form. It is not about choice, it is about life and death. To vote for a candidate that supports murdering babies, is to be complicit in their sin! In fact, to not vote, is to support the evil. We’re told not just to not participate in a sin, we’re told to expose it as sin, to have nothing to do with it and to oppose it (Ephesians 5:11, James 4:17). To not use your voice, or your vote is to partner with evil!
Speak up, use your voice and make your vote count!!!
Consider carefully what is on the ballot. Check into each candidate. Ask God to show you the ones who are more in line with His will, ways and word. Obviously, you are not electing a pastor, so please do not expect them to be perfect or have a perfect record. But do consider the mistakes they may have made decades ago and who they are today, over those who continue to support ungodly ways (i.e. abortion). Pray and encourage others to do the same. Talk to others in your circle and church to pray and vote! Pray for your pastor not to be silent about these issues! May we not be like the church in Germany that quietly went along with Hitler and ultimately allowed him to rise in his destructive reign of terror!
Btw, we are having a night of worship and prayer for the elections on Sunday, November 6 from 5 to 7pm at St. James UMC (111 West Lake Drive, Athens, 30606). Please join us if you are able!
