I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I believe that voting is a part of my witness to this world, especially to this nation we live in. It is also my responsibility to use my vote to encourage, build up, and edify my brothers and sisters in Christ, the Church.

I am the eldest son, brother, nephew, cousin, and uncle to my family back home. I owe them my all as those I cherish the most on this earth. Although they can all vote, I have a responsibility to vote for them as well as myself.

I am an American citizen. I was born here. My parents were born here. My grandparents were born here and their parents as well. I bleed red, white, and blue. This nation has given me so much even in the worst of times. I owe it to my fellow Americans as brothers and sisters to vote not only for me, but for them.

As dramatic as that sounds, that is why I vote and in that order. No smoke or fancy words.

My considerations:

No matter what anyone says, everyone has issues that were/are more important to them than others. That’s an undeniable fact. That’s part of being unique individuals. Our passions are going to be different and the political process is one arena that will always bear that out. Because of that, I can no more expect people to vote one way or another than I do. That has to be understood up front and I think people forget.

  • I believe that my vote is bigger than one issue
  • I believe that my vote is bigger than the race of the candidates
  • I believe my vote should transcend political parties
  • Voting for a particular candidate is not a blanket endorsement of everything they say or believe, no more than having a friend say things you know they ought not to is a blanket endorsement of what they say merely by association.
  • I believe my allegiance ultimately is to the Office of the President of the United States, not the person in the chair. And that person in the chair is as flawed as I am.

My God is Sovereign, and He is Sovereign absolutely. (Colossians 1:16-17 is one place that reminds me of this) Everyone purporting “doom and gloom” because of Obama or “the same old REP crap with no end” for McCain do a disservice to the fact that God is always and has always been in control. He has us in His hands and His will shall be done. (I think Romans 8:28 also applies here)

Specific to this election:

I know as a matter of fact that both dominant candidates did not completely embody my views on every issue that is important to me, be it my faith, conscience, or common sense issues. I firmly believe that our nation can both gain something and lose something regardless of who took office.

I was not supremely impressed with either candidate’s campaigns and thought that both did not do a good enough job of laying out detailed steps that were concrete and could not be misinterpreted as to how to solve the major issues they were addressing.

I believe that the division among believers and in the Church that is magnified via the political process is saddening and hurts my heart. It is distracting from our purpose as believers and is yet another way Satan comes against us. I believe my Pastor says it best when he quotes this phrase: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials, liberty, and in all things charity.”

That being said, I voted for Barack Obama. He has shown me that he has the ability to lead (or govern if you will) this nation; which matters because not everyone in this nation bases their vote on Christ or even on relevant issues. He inspires others to come out of their holes and have a voice. He did a better job of telling us exactly what he is going to do, and has been very consistent as to what he supported and what he did not, which I can respect, even if I disagree. The same goes for McCain and he would have been a great choice too, but as I said, Obama did more so than he. Ultimately, I believe in the might of God the Father to exact His will, the saving grace of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit to pierce the heart of man. We as believers need to fervently attack the issues that we believe are wrong no matter who is in office and be unanimous in our support of each other and this nation as a whole.

 

 

Preston Coleman is a Systems Specialist in the Development & Alumni Relations at The George Washington University. He is also a Graduate Student in Forensic Science.