Allegiance to Jesus in an Election Cycle

Don't be deceived by those who claim loyalty to God yet contradict it through unloving actions or false truth-claims.

It is a difficult time in American history. Just today I read another headline warning of “bedlam” in this election cycle. I can’t be the only one longing for a truly wise, humble, moral leader to appear on the world stage. 

Thousands of years ago, the port city of Ephesus was in a similar dilemma. This land that straddles Asia and Europe was a cauldron of contempt, immorality and religious conflict. 

The Apostle Paul, concerned about a young Christian leader named Timothy, wrote letters to help steer him toward Christ-centered responses. Paul’s purpose in the letter we now call 2 Timothy was to help Timothy remain faithful through difficult times. Over the ensuing millennia, Paul’s letter has been an encouragement to those who experience heartache and soul-trouble during trying circumstances. 

 Paul, describing what he believed to be happening around Timothy, wrote:

Mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

In this passage, Paul names disordered loves. This is because human desire—the affections of the heart—always precipitates sin. Paul describes people who are not lovers of the good, but who are rather lovers of pleasure. He says people with disordered loves have a form of godliness but deny its power. Denying its power means not letting their religion truly influence their heart, direct the affairs of their life, and change the way they live.

Thinking of the thousands of hateful, condemning, dehumanizing political ads we will see and hear in the next 10 months, I note that Timothy is told to not be persuaded by, or have anything to do with, those who claim loyalty to God yet contradict it through unloving actions or false truth-claims. 

My key takeaway is:

In terrible times, double down on following Jesus.

Doubling down on the attitudes, teachings and deeds of Jesus will protect us from the manipulative marketing schemes of campaign strategists. This, in turn, will keep us from being among those who, often inadvertently, reject God in favor of political preferences.

Allegiance to Jesus Alone

To be a good citizen, I will vote in November, but no politician will have my heart, influence my soul, or live in my mind. Those spaces are dedicated to Jesus. My vote will be based on maintaining my allegiance to Jesus, the world’s one true Lord, to his wise, loving renewal of all creation—which means all people: all races and ethnicities, people on the left and right, young and old, rich and poor. Any politician seeking to get me to hate a human being will not gain my support, and I will encourage others not to join in hate-fueled public discourse. I follow Someone whose vision and agenda is to love, desire and dedicate work toward the good of all, including our enemies. 

I am not pointing the finger at others. I am reminding myself that in 2024, just like every other year, I am going to have to seek true godliness above all other things. Nothing this world has to offer means more to me than accepting Jesus’ invitation to follow him, to be his apprentice in kingdom living, discerning how he would live my life if he were in my place in this fraught election year in America. 

A part of my life—and yours too—that requires Christ-centered discernment is the electoral processes of our secular, pluralistic society. No candidate we know of thus far stands out as a follower of Jesus. A candidate who truly embodies Jesus and his kingdom-platform would likely not win. The real historical Jesus could not have won an election—the entrenched political, economic and religious powers would have assured his defeat.

No candidate is going to be kingdom-perfect—and we are not kingdom-perfect voters. We will have to make a judgment call. The basis by which we make that call, and the state of our heart in that moment, is more important than the bubble we fill in or the button we push on a screen. 

At core, we want to make sure our loves are well-ordered, our loyalties secure, and that we are centered in Jesus and the kingdom of God.  This will keep us from being deceived and will provide the basis for loving those who disagree with us and for serving those for whom the status quo does not work, who are left in poverty or continue as victims of racial injustice. 

The issues are important—and that fact will be the basis for much hype and hate. Politicians and policies will be described in extreme terms, as existential threats to a political party, to America, to “your way of life,” etc.

Step outside those exaggerations and stand here: God is not nervous about the outcome of his creation. His kingdom, being the extension of his person, is never at risk, never to be doubted. This vision of reality allows us to have confidence that this election is a drop of water in the ocean of God’s intention to renew creation. Living in the kingdom as apprentices of Jesus, we conduct life on the Rock, not on the shifting sands of election cycles. The security of the Rock allows us to be those who strive for justice, are steady seekers of the good, and act as agents of repair—in the conduct of our lives and with our votes.