Voting for Christians is no light decision

Beyond moral issues ===================

There is no doubt that Christians are increasingly keen to influence Australian politics today. This is especially so among evangelical and Pentecostal Christians. Within my own small circle of friends, I have met three Christians running for seats in the Victoria State Election in November. Their courage and passion are commendable and demand our prayers.

The recent enthusiasm to influence government policies has prompted me to reflect on how Christians should vote in the present political environment. In the following I will argue that the motivation of voting for Christian political candidates must go beyond making a stand on certain moral issues. Christians in politics find themselves in a position to bear witness to the character of God and the values of his kingdom. In our voting we need to prayerfully select those whose lives and policies truly reflect God’s justice and mercy.

Political-religious leaders in Jesus’ days =====================================

Let us first take a look at the religious leaders at the time of Jesus. Religion and politics were inseparable in those days. Religious leaders were often influential in politics.

Indeed Jesus was born into a highly politically charged environment. The Jews’ national sentiment was high. They were ruled and oppressed by the Romans. And they eagerly expected the coming of the anointed king (the Messiah) to drive out “the sinful Romans”.

N. T. Wright, a well-known Christian scholar, argues convincingly that the Pharisees were a religious-political pressure-group [1]. They were concerned with the maintenance of religious and ethnic purity, because it was believed that holiness was essential to the coming of God’s kingdom and hence political freedom from the “Gentile sinners”.

Many Scribes were Pharisees, and it is likely that these “teachers of the law” shared the same nationalistic sentiment as the Pharisees.

On the other hand, the high-priestly family, the aristocrats and the Sadducees preferred to work with the Romans to maintain some form of political stability, although probably they were motivated by self-interest – that is, the maintenance of their status and power.

Obviously the least we want is Christian politicians like the chief priests and the Sadducees, who are more concerned about political expedience and personal gain than God’s agenda.

But it is equally damaging to have Christians in politics who are only concerned about moral issues as if they are the only things that can represent the values of God’s kingdom. And one must be careful about politicians who are overly keen to promote national interests, for the early church in the New Testament saw no national or cultural boundaries in kingdom of God.

The weightier matters of the law ==============================

Jesus never compromises God’s moral ideals. Issues like abortion and embryonic stem cell research have to be debated and carefully examined. The breaking down of families is obviously a grave concern for Australia. But surely God’s value system goes beyond these moral issues. Perhaps Jesus’ warning in Matthew 23:23 is most telling.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” (TNIV)

Tithing and holiness as prescribed by the Mosaic law are important, but the weightier matters of the law are justice, mercy and faithfulness. Let us pray that we will have Christian politicians who seek to faithfully do justice and show mercy.

Justice and mercy =================

But what do justice and mercy mean?

First, justice in the Bible should not be understood as a modern judicial term. Justice, righteousness and God’s unfailing love are closely interrelated concepts in the Scriptures. Justice is about the Creator God doing what is right for his beloved creation, not least his image-bearers. Because of God’s love, faithfulness and righteousness, he sent his Son to die for us so that through him our relationship with God can be restored and that the whole creation will be renewed.

Second, mercy is not merely about charity. Charity is an act of love and compassion, but justice seasoned with God’s mercy is about honouring the dignity and the rights of the image-bearers of God, especially the marginalized and oppressed.

The best way to understand these “weightier matters of the law” is to turn to Jesus’ own teaching. In the interest of space we will only look at two well-known parables in the gospel.

Who is my neighbour ? ====================

When a teacher of the law inquired Jesus about eternal life, the Lord asked him to love his neighbours. This prompted the law expert to ask, “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

The surprising thing in the parable is of course the fact that the Samaritan extended his compassion to someone who was anyone but his neighbour.

As is often pointed out, the Jews and Samaritans did not see eye to eye with each other. There were huge racial, cultural, political and religious barriers between the two ethnic groups.

The startling and radical nature of the parable would probably be immediately clear to people living in apartheid South Africa in the past. It would also be clear to those who lived in the Crusade years, whether they were Christian or Muslim.

The parable of the Good Samaritan invites us to see justice and mercy from God’s perspective. For us, cultural and religious differences lead to exclusion and rejection. For Jesus, he saw no difference between the Jews and Samaritans, for they were all God’s image-bearers. The teacher of the law had to understand that his neighbour included his adversaries. He had to embrace every neighbour – even the Samaritans! – because this was what was just and right in God’s eyes.

Of course embrace does not mean doctrinal compromise. (Jesus says in John 4:22 that the Samaritans worship what they do not know.) But it is an expression of God’s love for every human being. The love of Christ on the cross is the ultimate expression of this embrace.

For many, eternal life (the issue that the law expert raised with Jesus) is about “a ticket to heaven”. But for Jesus, it is about us living out the gospel through embrace, love and compassion.

Jesus’ teaching here has obvious implication to policies and issues surrounding our multicultural society, asylum seekers, refugee intake, criteria for citizenship, reconciliation with indigenous people, Australia’s foreign aid level, and indeed how aid money should be spent.

But it also has implication to issues like industrial relations regulations and telecommunication accessibility in rural areas, where certain groups of people are in an advantageous position to exclude others.

As Christians determine who to vote for, Jesus’ teaching here should be taken seriously. If we are to vote for a Christian, let us find one who knows God’s heartbeat and understands “who is my neighbour”.

Longing for sinners to come home ================================

On another occasion, the Pharisees and teachers of the law complained that Jesus welcomed the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus responded with three parables: the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son (Luke 15).

The three parables have a similar message. All say that one should celebrate at the repentance of sinners. But the message of the last parable has an extra and important dimension. It ends with a reference to the unwillingness of the older son to accept his brother.

Obviously this points to the attitude of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, and Jesus invites them to hear God’s heartbeat, who always longs for sinners to come home.

Nothing here suggests that God’s moral ideals can be compromised, but the parable challenges every Christian to love sinners unconditionally and eagerly desire their reunion with the Father.

More specifically, the parable challenges every Christian politician to centre their thinking on God’s grace and mercy. As they seek to advocate for Christian values, they need to bear in mind that the value system of God’s kingdom is nothing like that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Jesus did not come to drive out the “sinful Gentiles”, as the religious-political leaders expected. He came to seek and save the lost.

The righteousness of God, when understood correctly, is about restoration. It is about deliverance from sin and death. It is about grace and mercy. And it is about rescuing God’s image-bearers from the devastating effects of the fall.

The challenge for Christian politicians in dealing with moral issues is to boldly stand up for God’s standard, and to do so with his restorative justice being the underlying principle. They have the unenviable task to engage in moral-political debates and at the same time demonstrate – in both their life and words – a genuine love for sinners.

Conclusion ===========

It should now be clear why voting for Christian political candidates is no light decision. It is not simply about having some professed Christians in politics so that a moral voice can be heard.

Christian politicians need much prayer. Their failure to know the heartbeat of God and understand the “weightier matters of the law” can have insurmountable damaging effects. It is because such a failure bears witness not to the gospel, but the attitudes of the Pharisees and the Scribes.

For this reason our voting decision needs to be made with no less prayer and biblical reflection.

Written by Siu Fung Wu, October 2006

Notes:

[1] N. T. Wright, The New Testament and the People of God (London: SPCK, 1992), 201.