This is part three of this series of posts by some friends answering this question: In what ways does your faith in Christ impact how you think about and engage with the upcoming presidential election? See the introduction for more info. Also check out part one and part two.

It is telling to me that there are not a multitude of passages discussing how we should relate to our government as Christians. Instead, we find verse after verse exhorting us how we should live our full lives in the kingdom of God. The verses that do describe how we are to act towards our government generally involve prayer and/or submission (Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-7).

On a side note, I don’t think either of those things is necessarily passive. However, it is important for me to explain how we are told to live our full lives in the kingdom of God.  As one would expect from the God of the exodus, the God who sent His Son to atone for the world, it is clear in Scripture that He is interested in a love of justice, mercy, kindness, love, and humility. To me, these are action words, not sentiments; they exist in our physical/spiritual world.

So when I think about the election, I wonder and I am concerned about the different parties’ commitments to all of these issues. I want to look past the rhetoric at the lives and choices of the candidates, what they have traditionally stood for or against. So what does this really mean? It means I do not and will not align myself with any political party. It means prayerful consideration before voting. Nothing is simple.

Jeremy Hawbaker is a linguist/feed specialist, alternately residing in Bartlett, IL and Grand Forks, ND.