Casting a Vote for Biblical Womanhood
I have a confession to make: I’m not voting in this year’s presidential election.
Now, before you give up on me, let me also reveal that I do love my country, I do follow politics, and I am actually a Christian. I’m a Christian woman who believes she can do the most good and influence the most people by choosing to support my husband’s vote and declining to vote myself.
There are a number of reasons behind this decision. Let me try to take a minute to briefly explain some of them.
1. God made men and women differently. They have different roles and different strengths to address different needs. Scripturally, the husband is to lead and love his wife, and wife is to respect her husband. Now, the Bible of course doesn’t say anything about whether or not women should vote, but Scripture does speak of the responsibilities of men in their decision-making “in the gates.” (“Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land” Proverbs 31:23). It seems to me that the civic duties of casting a vote for the next leaders of the country is an “in-the-gate” kind of a job—a job he’s cut out for.
2. The woman’s suffrage movement pushed a feminist agenda that took ladies far beyond gaining the right to vote. Susan B. Anthony, one of the main players on the suffrage stage, advocated for the woman’s right to vote as well as for more liberal divorce laws and against the church’s position on women’s issues and abortion. Merely voting does not give a woman a mark of distinction. Her honored position of being crafted by God, taken from the man’s side, and being brought to him as a helper fit for a great task was settled long before Susan B. Anthony was born.
3. I don’t believe it’s wrong for women to vote, but I don’t think it’s ideal, either. (And certainly, if a woman does vote, it should be according to conscience. That is, she should be convinced that she is doing the right thing by supporting the candidate, not just choosing between the lesser of two evils.) Sure, follow politics if you want to. Just don’t treat doing so like it’s God-ordained. (God HAS ordained many responsibilities that relate to leaders that He places over us, but I don’t think that voting for certain candidates or voting at all are necessarily part of that package.) And choosing not to vote doesn’t have to mean checking out of the political scene. If you decline to vote yourself, be informed about your husband’s decision. Weigh what the candidates have done, look at your options, be involved in this great task. Then cheer him on as he casts the vote for your household.
4. The future of this country is not all about the vote. Obama isn’t the antichrist, and McCain isn’t God’s representative. They are two men who are vying with each other to be head of an empire that has begun to show signs of decline. (This is the way of all empires, sooner or later.) Their political views (especially on the role of government) may not be as different as you think.
5. We need the Gospel, not a certain presidental nominee. Perhaps someday, someone will be called on to run (and win) who isn’t in love with power. That really hasn’t happened since George Washington, though, so don’t hold your breath. (Hmmm, I must also add Ron Paul to the “noble, humble statesman” catagory as well.) And while the campaign promises are made and mud-slinging intensifies, don’t forget that our country needs the Gospel far more than it needs your vote. If you proclaim the Gospel like you proclaim your presidential pick, than we’re closer to “America being back on track” than before.
This year, my husband will be voting according to his conscience. And I’ll be voting according to mine. We’ll both be doing what we can each do best for love of country, sake of conscience, and the glory of God.
