With the
quickly approaching election there are still a number of folks who are
uncertain about who to vote for as President. The reason is because it can be
very confusing when you listen to all the speeches and the hype form the media.
To be honest with you some of the information which we receive comes from bias
sources. I do not know for sure that there is a truly non bias source of
information. So how can we make a good decision about how we vote? The answer
is quite simple. You gather the information, pray for guidance and cast your
vote with a clear conscience. What the candidate does after he goes into office
is another issue. But listen to me, if a candidate is a snake before being
elected he will be a snake after the election and probably more so. Once in the
office he will not be so concerned about being elected. Therefore it is
important that we cast an informed vote.
Let me
offer some suggestions for casting an informed vote. I am not writing this to
tell you how you are to vote. First I can’t do that. Secondly I would not do
that if I could because if I tell you how you must vote I have removed your
freedom that our forefathers fought for and the principle on which this nation
is governed.
1. Prayerfully
make a list of what you personally believe to be the important issues and then
prioritize them from most important to least important. The reason for this is
because no candidate will support all of the issues which we consider
personally to be important. But when deciding who to vote for we should vote
for the candidate that supports the more important issues. Before making your
list please pray and ask God for wisdom. (James 1:5)
Here is a
sample list: gas prices, cost of living, abortion, Biblical view of family or
marriage, Iran, the war on terrorism, the Bible, global warming, health care, etc.
Now
prioritize your list: 1. The Bible, 2. Biblical view of Family, 3. Gas Prices,
4. Health care, 5. Getting our soldiers home, 6. Global Warming, Etc.
2. Research
the candidates
There are
several ways to accomplish this.
- Listen to what they have to say but equally important listen to what they do not say. By this I mean what questions pertaining to certain important issues do they avoid giving a direct answer? A candidate may avoid answering a question by wanting to discuss something other issue. (Example: in an attempt to explain support for same sex marriages a person may say something like I believe every one ought to have equal benefits or to be treated equally.)
- Look at who supports the candidate. People do not endorse verbally nor do they financially support candidates that will oppose what they believe. I am not going to give money to Planned Parenthood if I oppose the act of abortion. I am not going give to the Gay and Lesbian Society if I am against homosexuality even if they have a plan to help abused women.
- Look at their track record. I know that people make mistakes and anyone can make a wrong decision, but when an individual’s record shows a pattern of decisions that are opposite your beliefs then stay clear.
- Consider the party that is endorsing the candidate and what does the party support? The parties are different. Neither one is going to support everything that you desire but again consider your priority of issues list. If a party has a history of being against an issue that you support then their candidate will probably take the same stance as the party.
- Look at the past actions of states that are led by individuals who are of the same party. What have they done? Example, Alabama has a recent history of being a Republican state. What has Alabama stood against and what has the state fought for?
Again I ask
you to be prayerful (2 Chronicles 7:14) and honest in prioritizing your list. Is what is important
to God important to you? Again I am not telling you who to vote for. My desire
is for you to be informed and for you to cast an informed vote for the best
candidate, one who will stand for what is important to God and then what is
important to you.
