Recently I have been posting extensively on Facebook (bad idea, I know) about the Christian perspective on the current 2020 election. The basic thesis of my argument is that character matters with respect to the people for whom we choose to vote to lead the United States of America as president. I’m not the only one who takes this position; prominent evangelical pastor and theologian John Piper and Christian attorney, political commentator, and author David French, to name only two amongst many others, have made the same argument. And all of us have gotten a whole lot of pushback, blowback, and sheer animosity from the evangelical community. The typical responses range from the political (i.e. “I can’t vote for socialism”) to social (i.e. “I will vote to save unborn babies” or “One party is clearly more hostile to the church”) to the personal (i.e. “You are trying to send our country into a socialist nightmare” or “You are trying to bring persecution to the Church” or “Your mother is a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries“).
Now, I’m happy to discuss the political and social ramifications of a Trump presidency (I’m not so keen to discuss my parentage). But what I’m most interested in today is the biblical response. It usually goes something like this: “God uses flawed people to accomplish his purposes,” or “What about King David?” or “There is no perfect person, so there is no perfect candidate, and therefore we must vote for the lesser of 2 evils” (or something along those lines), or “We’re electing a president, not a pastor.”
Now before we go on, let’s stipulate to a few things:
First, I am writing only to Christians. If you’re not a Christian, then by all means you should have a totally different set of standards upon which to determine who you are going to vote for (I assume primarily political and/or social, or maybe economic). In fact, my real concern is that these days non-Christian standards are nearly indistinguishable from the standards of most Christians.
Second, there is no perfect person or political candidate, and God can and does use all sorts of people for His purposes. So stipulated. We will come back to this.
Now to the point: our second stipulation (there is no perfect candidate, and God can use anyone for His purposes) does not mean that God does not care who we vote for. I think most Christians would stipulate to this as well, until we begin to examine the implications, and then all sorts of things start to unravel like Aladdin’s magic carpet.
Let’s start with the question “What about King David?” This objection — usually without qualifier or explanation — is presumably intended to make the point that because David had some character flaws and fell into some serious sin (no question, he did!), and yet was a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), then we are free to vote for political candidates who are likewise sinful and afflicted with character flaws. But let’s back the truck up a generation, to 1 Samuel 8: 4-22.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
[snip]
19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. 22 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.”
Now I think any reasonable reader would admit that the Lord was not real happy with Israel’s request for a king. But the problem wasn’t that Israel wanted a king — a kingship to rule Israel had already been anticipated for hundreds of years. See, i.e., Genesis 49:10: (“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until tribute comes to him, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples”); Numbers 24: 7: (“Water shall flow from his [Israel’s] buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted”); and most relevantly Deuteronomy 17:14-20:
14 “When you [Israel] come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. . . . 18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
Clearly, even as far back as Jacob, the Lord intended for Israel to have a human king. So Israel’s demand for a king, as such, was not the problem. It was the kind of king Israel was demanding that the Lord found displeasing.
And this is where we really get to the crux of the problem. God gave the Israelites very clear criteria concerning who they should choose for their king, and it really had nothing to do with policy. (“I will bring the Philistines to their knees!” “I’ll negotiate the best trade deals with Ninevah and Tyre, it’s going to be beautiful!” “This whole ‘Shibboleth’ thing is discriminatory, and under my administration it’s going to stop!”) Now it’s not as if political policy hadn’t been invented yet, so the Lord didn’t feel the need to address it. It’s just that policy wasn’t what God looked for in a good ruler. God looked at . . . well, character! In fact, the only thing he wanted Israel to make sure their ruler did was copy God’s law. Everything else on the list had less to do with what the king did, and more to do with what kind of person the king was. God wanted them to “vote” for someone who was wholly dedicated to God’s law, revered it, studied it (v.18-19). He wanted them to choose someone who was humble (v.20). He wanted someone who was obedient to the Lord, and feared Him (v.19). So God actually gave the Israelites a short but detailed list of the characteristics they should consider when choosing a ruler. Kinda’ negates that whole “The Bible doesn’t tell us how we should vote” argument, doesn’t it.
But despite the Lord’s instruction, Israel wanted a king so they could be “like all the nations.” They didn’t want a king that followed God’s standards, they wanted a king that followed worldly standards for what they thought a king should be like. They were unhappy with God’s leadership, and wanted a king who would do things their way. You see, up to this point the Lord had judged them, and the Lord had gone before them into battle. But Israel wanted a man to lead them, not God. So God gave them what they asked for.
Now you can argue all you want that Israel wasn’t demanding a priest (or pastor), they were demanding a king. And you can make all the pragmatic, practical arguments about how this king would accomplish great things for Israel. But what you can’t argue is that the Lord was o.k. with this. He wasn’t. In fact, he saw it as a rejection of Him.
But because they insisted, He gave them Saul.
By all human standards, Saul was the perfect choice. He was tall and handsome, charismatic even. And he was a “fighter”! However, he did not follow after the Lord, and was consequently rejected by God. (He offered a sacrifice that was strictly and specifically forbidden, and he took plunder from a battlefield that was likewise strictly and specifically forbidden, and then lied about it.) As a result, he was tormented by an evil spirit, became jealous and fearful of the Lord’s chosen king David, and even tried to kill him. He also slaughtered the priests of the Lord. In short, even though he was a brave and brilliant military commander, Saul did what he wanted to do, not what the Lord wanted him to do. He was proud, not humble. He was rebellious, not obedient. He did not fear God. Did the Lord use Saul for His purposes? Absolutely. Was the Lord happy with Israel’s demand for Saul to be their king? Nope.
Likewise, the Lord used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, for the protection of the Jews in exile. Old King Nezzar was nevertheless a tyrannical, vain, ungodly man who threw people under the bus (or into a furnace!) when they failed to please him. Sure, God can use anyone. But nobody would have voted for this guy!
Which brings us to the question: Why do we, as the Lord’s people, think that just because the Lord can use an ungodly man — even a man that has gifts and talents we admire — He is o.k. with us desiring to be led by such a man? Why do we think that just because God is gracious, we are justified in voting for unrighteousness? Why do we think that the Lord doesn’t care about the character of the man we actively support to lead us? And if we think the Lord does care, shouldn’t we care too?
So where does that leave us with David? He, too, had shortcomings, and he certainly committed grievous sins. How do we reconcile this “man after God’s own heart” with his sin?
If we apply the Deuteronomy test, David passes with flying colors. He expressly revered God’s law, to the point that he actually wrote some of it (see about half of the Psalms). “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119: 105. Also Psalm 19:7-11.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Sounds like a guy who’s really committed to the Law, right? And David was humble. After his sin with Bathsheba, he mourned in sackcloth and ashes for seven days, and wrote Psalm 51.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
David was acutely aware of his sin, and his need for God’s mercy and forgiveness. But despite his sin, David feared God, and was generally faithful and obedient to Him. (See, pretty much every other Psalm of David.) Basically, David had the character God looked for in a leader.
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7
The Lord chooses rulers based on their heart — on character. And he wanted Samuel – and us – to choose the same way. Which brings me to John.
The apostle John (he’d been promoted from disciple) spends nearly the entire letter of 1 John contrasting those who “walk in darkness” (1:6) with those who “walk in the Light” (1:7); those who admit and confess their sins (1:9) with those who say they have no sin (1:8, 10); those who keep His commandments (2:3, 6; 3:6-7, 9, 24; 6:18) with those who do not keep His commandments (2:4; 3:4, 8, 10); those who love (2:10) with those who hate (2:11; 3:10, 15).
Now John wasn’t an idiot. He, too, knew that no man was perfect. That’s why he wrote to his flock that if (when) they do sin, Jesus Christ “is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us us from all unrighteousness.” (1:7, 9; 2:1-2). Clearly John wasn’t expecting perfection from anyone — even his congregation. So what gives?
John obviously recognizes that all men sin. But in 1 John he is contrasting those who habitually live a life that is characterized by darkness, error, moral evil, and sin, with those who habitually live a life characterized by light, truth, and righteousness. John is talking about character. The continual practice of a person’s life, how a person generally lives in every sphere of life, what choices he typically makes, how he usually conducts himself. There may be momentary failings, but a person’s customary practice reveals his character.
By applying this idea to Saul and David, we see a clear contrast, and consequently an explanation why Saul was rejected by the Lord, but David was a man after God’s own heart. Saul habitually made bad decisions and lived for himself. He was habitually rebellious and self-serving. He rarely recognized his sin (even lied about it) until confronted with the irrefutable proof of it. David, on the other hand, repented of his sin, and sought righteousness and God’s will above his own. My critics are absolutely right to hold David up as an example. They’re just right for the wrong reasons.
So God does care how we vote. He cares about the character of our leaders. Are we voting for a president who fears the LORD, does righteousness, and who is humble as dictated by the Lord in Deuteronomy 17? Or are we demanding a king “like other nations”?
I can already hear the objection: “What do I do if neither candidate on the ballot meets God’s standard?” That’s a great, totally legitimate question. And one which we might discuss down the road.
I just wish more Christians were wrestling with it.
