“The Buck Stops Here.” “I Like Ike.” “It’s Morning Again in America.” “Change We Can Believe In.” “Make America Great Again.” Every four years, we see presidential campaign slogans on yard signs, t-shirts, TV ads and bumper stickers. Usually, these pithy, but memorable statements have a way of summing up the message of the political candidate in a few words.
Presidential hopefuls
spend millions of dollars each election cycle carefully devising and disseminating
these mottos. As one political analyst explained, “Political slogans are often
derided — but if you want to be President of the United States, you'd better
have a good one.
An effective slogan will sum up a candidate's pitch to the country in a few words, and be powerful enough to cut through the endless onslaught of information in people's lives. They cast the candidate as someone who understands the country's woes, and can guide America through them.”[1]
The originator of the memorable saying was King Solomon. The Bible says that Solomon’s God-given wisdom was unparalleled in the ancient world. Rulers and dignitaries from around the world traveled to Solomon’s courts to receive his sage council. In total, Solomon spoke 3,000 timeless truths (1 Kings 4:32), many of which are recorded in the book of Proverbs.
Because Solomon was a king, he dispensed much wisdom on wise leadership and government. You might say, Solomon was a genius at writing political slogans to live by. As God’s people head to the polls to cast ballots, their convictions should be based on the Word of God and not the artfully crafted slogans of politicians. Our responsibility is to vote for the candidate which best represents Biblical principles and is going to stand for what is right.
With that being said, I skimmed through the book of Proverbs and mined out these 6 gems that every voter should know as they choose a candidate.
1) Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Righteousness and liberty are directly connected. When a nation steps away from the moral precepts of God, they place their hands in the fetters of sin and become the Devil’s slaves. Simply put, sin is bondage. If we vote the ungodly in office, the result is that we get more sin, and more sin leads to less freedom and more bondage.
2) Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” Just as an ancient farmer directed the course of an irrigation stream into his fields, so God directs the affairs of rulers. Man proposes, but God disposes. God is sovereign over the rise and fall of presidents and princes. Just look at all the kings in the Bible—Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Ahab, Herod, Caesar—whose plans were overruled by the King of Kings. No matter what happens in the election, God is still in control and His plans have not been changed one iota.
3) Proverbs 29:14, “If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.” A nation’s rulers reveal much about their hearts by the way they treat the poor and weak. Solomon is not thinking of a Robin Hood mentality – robbing the rich to give to the poor. Nor is he talking of the distinctions between capitalism and socialism. Rather he is talking about a ruler who deals with the poor justly, mercifully and honestly. Rulers should not oppress the poor, nor have their decisions swayed by the rich and powerful to keep the elites in power. A godly ruler helps the poor with a hand-up and not a hand-out. He desires to see his fellow citizens have greater opportunity to make a living. The ruler that does this will have his reward—a legacy that is blessed by God and long remembered favorably by the nation.
4) Proverbs 29:2, “When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” Think of history’s notorious leaders—Nero, Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Hussein. Under these ungodly rulers the people suffered tremendously; many were responsible for some of the worst atrocities against humanity. Sadly, many American seats of power have been filled with wicked leaders who have called evil “good” and passed policies that have increased poverty, promoted sexual immorality, restricted religious liberty, empowered the corrupt and permitted the genocide of the unborn. But the opposite is also true—when moral, righteous rulers are in power, then the society as a whole benefits: prosperity, peace, opportunity, equality and freedom flourishes.
5) Proverbs 31:4-5, “It is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” The opportunity to indulge and socialize with the rich and powerful is ever present for those in government. Cocktail parties and tinkling wine glasses may be the place where “under the table” negotiations are made, but rulers have such a high level of responsibility that they should avoid the snare of alcohol. A wise leader cannot afford to have their judgment or faculties impaired. This sin led to the downfall of Belshazzar in Daniel 5 and it has made a fool of many in Washington DC (see also Pro. 20:1). As the saying goes, “First a man takes a drink. Then the drink takes a drink. Then the drink takes the man.”
6) Proverbs 29:4, “The king establishes the land by justice, but he who receives bribes overthrows it.” The underlying principle of this saying is that a king ought to have basic integrity. Our leaders ought to speak the truth (Pro. 17:7), keep their promises, and not be bought or manipulated by the rich and powerful to rig the system for their benefit. Founding Father Noah Webster wrote, “In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate–look to his character… It is alleged by men of loose principals that religion and morality are not important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, men of truth, hating covetousness…When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor, he betrays the interest of his country.”[2]
This year America is faced with perhaps one of the most important elections ever. We are in danger of losing our nation and our freedoms to those who hate truth, justice, God and the Constitution. If that should happen, our opportunity to help fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) through the US and the world could be severely restricted. “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” America is one of the last strongholds of freedom and opportunity on Earth. It is the responsibility of God’s people to be the preserving “salt and light” in this country and select the best candidate for the White House.
I will leave you with the
words of Mark Twain, “If Christians should vote their duty to God at the polls,
they would carry every election, and do it with ease. It would bring about a
moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the
country.”[3]
[1]
Tom Porter, “The winning slogan from every US presidential campaign since 1948,”
Business Insider, 15 May 2019 <https://www.businessinsider.com/every-winning-slogan-from-us-presidential-campaigns-1948-2016-2019-5>
[2]
Noah Webster quoted by Bill & Brad Bright, 7 Duties as a Christian
Citizen (Orlando, FL: Bright Media, 2016), 4.
[3] Mark
Twain quoted by Ibid., 7-8
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