As Election Day 2026 approaches, here’s something to think about. On election day, everyone that steps into a voting booth is doing something – whether you believe it or not. Some people try to assert that they are voting for issues or an agenda. But, look at your ballot. You have no choice but to vote for a person (actually two people in a presidential contest). It would be nice to be able to vote for this or that issue and impose that on whomever is elected, assuming that that issue or set of issues received the most votes; there are certain constitutional or bond issues on which you and I do get to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. But, the reality for human candidates is that I have to fill in an oval next to a name, so like it or not, I am voting for that person and everything they stand for – including perhaps some things I like, and some others I do not like. And, most importantly, I am voting for that person. That means I am voting, whether I want to or not, for that person’s character, his/her strengths and flaws. Voting with this realization makes me adopt a more practical attitude when I vote. If I am able to assess the person’s character, including his/her experiences, mental and emotional attitudes – including such things as conciliatory/humble attitude (or not), demonstrated ability to work with others (or not), any dishonesty issues, or even presence of criminality or other ethics issues that might emerge in the campaign that can be verified – then I can be relatively certain that I am getting what I voted for, compared to an attempt to vote for an agenda.
If someone thinks they can vote for issues or an agenda, think about that and how many other elected officials or judges or other circumstances would have to proceed in just the right way for you to achieve your objective/s of getting agenda/issues implemented. How many other congressman, senators, or judges would be involved to pass legislation or get judicial decisions completed? That’s a lot of different permutations. Include all the horse-trading or flip-flop of positions of these various people. Bottom line: You are going to get a person’s character when you vote – 100% of that person, his/her ethics, morals, and experience -- whether you like it or not. On the other hand, whether or not you get the agenda items accomplished that you favor is not so certain. Rubel Shelly points out (Written in Stone: Ethics for the Heart, p. 201) that ‘It’s character, stupid! That’s the real issue in this world!’ (He writes this in a discussion of Bill Clinton’s campaign posters promoting ‘It’s the economy, stupid!’.)
The abortion issue, because it is such a passionate one for evangelical Christians particularly, is a good case in point. Christians rightly oppose ending the life of the unborn, but how effective has it proven to use a ballot to make a difference in that issue culturally? I just read something from the counselling organization that I support (Care Net) that says abortions have actually risen in America in the last few years, since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. (See this link: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states). So, ask yourself, has the ballot choice I made really been effective? Has the candidate who won the 2016 and 2024 presidential elections been able to stop or even reduce abortions? On the other hand, do you approve of the other items that were on his agenda, about which you may have had some misgivings? And, has his character been reigned in, in any way, if you disapprove of his character?
Aim to choose the 100% reliability method – that’s been this writer’s motto for voting. If I can assess him or her – especially character, as Rubel Shelly has pointed out – I can make a more rational choice, versus trying to pick a particular earthbound issue and focus my ballot rights there. There’s only one person who’s ever campaigned to be my leader whom I trust with 100% reliability, that he has good character and will accomplish without fail all of the agenda items he has pledged to implement. You know His name – Jesus Christ. He might have looked, to the casual observer, like He had failed when He was judged guilty in a human court and sentenced to death by Pilate (see the picture of that here… Ecce homo! Antonio Ciseri's 1871 depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting Jesus to the public).
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He certainly did not appear to achieve the agenda items His followers valued. And yet, what about His character? He is known as Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11), and consider how the Apostles were ultimately willing to suffer because of His character, because of who He is. Is anyone willing to do that for today’s earthly leader, or any other earthly leaders? Character matters. God gives each of us that, from Himself, as His image-bearers. He expects us to use it, and to look for it in others. So, let’s not park that on the side of the road when we enter the voting booth in a few weeks.
See information on the picture here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecce_homo_by_Antonio_Ciseri_(1).jpg … The author died in 1891, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. …found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
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