The 2016 presidential election has been a challenge for me
as a pastor. I have never endorsed a candidate for any office from the pulpit
or in any way that would be imposing my choice on others. Not only would that
be illegal, but it would be unfair and unwise. I minister to and with people
who take a variety of political stances. It’s important that they know I am a
pastor to all of them.
That being said, I would be surprised if there is a
single person in my congregation who doesn’t know how I’ll be voting in this
presidential election. It’s not a secret, and if they ask me, I’ll tell them.
Not many people have asked. I suspect it’s because either they already know the
answer, or they don’t want to hear me give an answer.
This is a contentious election. The bonfires of passion are
burning for all candidates, but particularly for the ones representing the two
major parties. Unfortunately, most of that passion seems to be fueled by an
almost irrational hatred toward the opposing candidate. It’s not so much a
passion FOR as AGAINST.
Every time I hear people say that we never have had such a
divisive time in our country, I don’t know if I want to scream or laugh. Such a
comment reflects a narrow view of history. If you look at the history of
politics in our country, it’s been one scandal after another, one challenge to
the constitution after another, one division after another. Not to mention that
little event we call the Civil War. So, this is nothing new. It doesn’t mean
that things have never been worse, it just means we’re not progressing, which
is just as troubling.
A number of people around me are lamenting the fact that on
election day they will be forced to vote for the lesser of two evils. Well,
when I think about all the times I’ve voted in presidential elections, and
there have been enough of those that I’ve lost count, more times than not, I felt
like I was voting for the lesser of two evils. In all those years, only once
did I drink the kool aid. Only once did I invest myself personally in a
presidential candidate. Only once did I contribute money and actively work in a
presidential campaign. (That one time was in 2008 and I am already grieving the
day Obama is no longer our president.) I’m usually not an enthusiastic voter in
presidential elections.
This time around I will be voting for Hillary Clinton. I don’t
always vote for a democrat, although lately it seems to go that way. At one
time I was a big Hillary supporter, and then when she ran in the primary
against Obama, she said things that I couldn’t fathom. I saw that she would do
anything to get elected and it made me sick. Ever since then, I have not been a
fan. I didn’t want her to run this time mainly because I know there are so many
people who detest her and she has so much baggage. I voted for Bernie in the
primary. But I’ve warmed to Hillary again and can say that I won’t feel nauseous
when I vote for her in November. That’s the best I can do.
I know there are people in my congregation who disagree with
me and that’s okay. It’s not my job to convince them that I’m right and they’re
wrong.
My job is to show them Jesus. That’s always my job. We say
we’re followers of Jesus, so we’d better be clear about what that means. Week
in and week out, that’s what I hope I’m doing—showing them who Jesus is and
what it means for us to follow him.
So here’s one of the things about following
Jesus that there’s no getting around. You can’t do it a little bit. It’s not
just one thing in a list of many things we’re striving to do in our lives. If
you’re following Jesus, you’re all in. That means that the Jesus Way determines
how you do your job, how you relate to your friends as well as your enemies, how you treat the poor and the marginalized, how
you spend your money, how you drive in traffic… everything. Including, how you
vote.
Some of the members of my congregation will not be voting as
I do in November. I will not be disappointed in them for that. But I will be
disappointed if they don’t vote as followers of Jesus.
