by Avery Dunlap
Plainsman Online
As a Christian, there has always been an assumption about who I’m voting for.
Our country is overflowing with citizens who stand boldly behind the presidential candidate they deem most fit to run our country. When talking to a conservative, a large argument that is often made behind their decisions is because they are a Christian.
I would consider myself to be very firm in my faith. I’m heavily involved in a college ministry, I read my Bible, and I am almost always listening to worship music. I am not stating this to validate my holiness, but instead to give some insight into my background.
Before coming to college, I was not afraid to voice my Democratic opinions to anyone who was willing to listen. I loved talking about anything that had to do with politics. But this quickly changed once I started my freshman year at Texas Tech University.
Around this time, I was becoming more and more involved within my church, and I had felt like I needed to be completely conservative. I became judgmental about my own opinions that I had previously had, and I was even more judgmental of those around me. This was not a reflection of my church, but of me being raised in a generally Republican household.
I did not understand free will, and I didn’t realize that a Christian’s political views should purely be made from what the Bible says is true and the conviction that God has given you.
In fact, in the Bible, it clearly states that those who claim Jesus as their Lord must follow Him and Him alone. As a Christian, how can I do that if I am treating Donald Trump as a god? That is the mindset that I feel so many people fall into.
In Acts Chapter 5, the high priest (it is probable that this was Caiaphas), questioned the apostles when they left the prison to teach in the temple. They were questioned about why they left when they were specifically told to stop teaching and were arrested. Peter and the apostles responded in verse 29, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Like the apostles, Christians should follow what Jesus says is true. We are not God, even if many people act like we are. Ultimately, we believe that we were put here to represent God’s character and fight for the world to come to true salvation. How are we representing Him rightly when we spend hours upon hours at political rallies and debates when we could be learning and spending time in prayer?
Stop telling me that if I’m Christian then I need to vote for Donald Trump because of his stance on abortion laws, homosexuality, etc… Additionally, please stop telling me that I need to vote for Joe Biden because of his views on immigration, health insurance, etc…
There is a huge problem with pushing personal political beliefs on vulnerable youth and young adults. We should be giving them the unbiased truth of what the Bible says, and letting them come to their beliefs by themselves. That is the free will that God gave us.
The God I know is true is loving. He is accepting, forgiving, and selfless. Jesus, the Son of God, never turned anyone away. In the gospels, there are numerous examples of how Jesus loved anyone who came to Him. He didn’t discriminate, and He didn’t deny himself to anyone because their skin was a different color.
I have seen so many people use the Bible to insult and belittle those who are not exactly like them. I love hearing everyone’s opinions, and it is beautiful that we are able to reflect what the Bible says in so many ways. I thank God every day that I get to have my own view on life, and that I can believe what I feel is right.
Yet, I am not afraid to tell someone who calls himself or herself a Christian that their interpretation or hateful view is so far from what I know what God says.
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37-40
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