The Christian vote

Editor: St Vincent and the Grenadines is generally considered to be a Christian country. It is therefore reasonable to expect that political agendas, manifestos and campaigns should to some degree reflect this reality. Without ignoring the prayer at the beginning of meetings and the convenient use of Scripture, one must admit that choice of artistes for political meetings, the times of meetings and the things cited as the key issues show very little difference, if any, to a country which is secular.{{more}}

Christians are called upon to live in this world, while not being of it. No, I am not saying that we should distance ourselves from the political process. I am saying that our agenda, our concerns as Christians must be set by God and not a political party or the economic realities. The economy is important, but if we, as people of God, are dependent on a political party for our economic sustenance and growth, then there is something substantially wrong with our faith and our understanding of His Word. Additionally, as Christians, we understand that irrespective of the party in Government, the final state of the economy is not determined by them.

An issue which should be at the forefront of the church’s agenda and therefore, the political agenda, is that of homosexuality and same sex marriage. This has been sidelined, but make no mistake, this has more implications for the church and the preaching of the gospel than any other issue on the political agenda. The harsh reality is that the Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay & Transgender (LBGT) agenda/interest and religious freedom – more specifically Biblical Christian – freedom CANNOT coexist. The removal of the Christian God as Supreme, the Bible as His infallible Word and the freedom not only to speak, but to live what the Bible teaches must be challenged and trampled wherever the LBGT agenda is encouraged. A look at any country where the LBGT agenda has been allowed to flourish shows that persecution of Christians, Christian businesses, teachers, counsellors and anyone upholding God’s Word and the sacredness of marriage always follows.

Some say that we should at least have discussion on the issue, but think about this. Discussion is only needed where: 1) No previous decision or position has been taken or 2) There is uncertainty or consideration that the existing position needs to be changed. St Vincent and the Grenadines, as a majority, has a position on this matter; therefore, to request or invite discussion is to indicate a willingness, if not desire to change this position.

Our flawed political system demands that we have both a Government and an Opposition, so there must be differences in who we vote for. As a result, as Christians, we must earnestly seek God’s face on this decision and not be swayed by things in the temporal. Let us not be fooled by what we see around us; this election, as everything else, is about the souls of our nation. Let not our votes be cheaply bought by temporal things which we must one day leave behind. Let us demand that our politicians make firm commitments on key issues, including the LBGT agenda which have damning implications for our life as we know it. We understand that they are men, prone to breaking even the commitments which they intended to keep, but we cannot use that as an excuse not to request a commitment.

Be not fooled; the prevalence of the homosexual agenda is already in neighbouring countries. We cannot stop it indefinitely, but every year we delay, it is one year more in which we can preach the gospel freely.

Paul Morris