Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you will no doubt be aware that we in the UK are heading into an election. I shall leave you to speculate on the specific reasons it has been called, but in six weeks time, we will have a new government. Electioneering has started in earnest and the parties are beginning to lay out their stalls. It has been quite the wild ride already and we are only a few days in!

Much can be said about the Christian approach to politics. Some prefer quietism, not wanting to concern themselves at all with the temporal things of the world when we ought to be focused on the eternal things of glory. Others, reckoning the world is just going to get worse until Jesus returns, variously suggest we should check out altogether as there’s nothing we can do about the inevitable downward spiral or else they insist we ought to be a bulwark against the nosedive. Some insist that, as Jesus has dominion over all things, we too ought to be meaningfully engaged and seeking to advocate for what we believe he would advocate for. Others still argue that we are citizens of two kingdoms and, as those currently in exile, should work for the good of the place we are in (whatever that looks like) whilst keeping our eyes on our heavenly home.

However you work those things out, one thing is clear: Christians will vote for every party and none across the political spectrum. None of us can say ‘this is the Christian vote’ because – and this cannot be stressed enough – all of us will be voting for parties and candidates that Jesus himself has never voted for nor given his seal of approval to. We may parse the issues, read the scriptures and land somewhere that we think is consistent with our Christian principles. But we have to recognise that other believers who vote differently to us will think the same. And Jesus has neither voted for nor endorsed any of them. If that is true, it is worthwhile considering the following things.

Anyone who claims theirs is the Christian vote is a liar

I have increasingly come to view with little regard those who insist theirs is the Christian vote. I am quite happy with Christians thinking about the issues and coming up with a position with which they are comfortable. I think it is legitimate even for Christians to say this is how I will vote and I find it a credible outworking of my beliefs. I think it is altogether illegitimate for anyone to say this is the Christian way to vote and all believers should vote like me if they are to be consistent. That is not a scriptural comment, it is not a fair comment and it is to claim a greater degree of authority for your political views than you should. I am very wary of those who claim there is a more or less consistent Christian vote and I think we should immediately reject the opinions of those who insist it is so because they make clear, by that very comment, they don’t understand the scriptures well (which say no such thing) and therefore cannot be counted upon to help us think Christianly about politics.

Kingdom must come before politics

However you vote in the polling booth, you will have to go to church and sit next to brothers and sisters on Sunday who have voted differently to you. However you vote, you will be sat with people who have voted Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem, Reform, Green, Independent and maybe a host of other options. You will be taking communion with those who voted differently to you, affirming your co-standing in the kingdom together. However you voted, your allegiance to Christ and his heavenly kingdom must overrule whatever political differences you may have concerning the United Kingdom. Kingdom must come before politics otherwise we are not worthy of the name brother or sister nor honouring the name of Christ who died for those who voted differently to us.

This vote will matter for 5 years, Christ’s kingdom will last forever

It doesn’t hurt to have a bit of perspective about what we’re doing here. However we vote, it has implications for the next five years (at most). After that, we will vote again and have the opportunity to undo or redo whatever happened. In the end, our vote is of temporary significance. That isn’t to say it is insignificant, it is just to say its significance is far more limited than many of us seem to think or give any sense that we understand. Jesus’ kingdom, by contrast, is of eternal significance. What we do in his name – and how we relate to those for whom he died (even if they vote differently to us) – matters considerably more, and for an awful lot longer, than wherever we cast our X. Having a bit of perspective may just help us not to blow the significance of what we are doing out of all proportion and to have the right and proper love and charity for our brothers and sisters who view things a little different to us in the political arena.

Whatever happens, God is still sovereign

Ultimately, whatever happens, we will get the government that Jesus has permitted to assume power. They are only there because he has put them there. This necessarily means two things.

First, as Romans 13 says quite clearly, those of us who throw up our hands in despair and speak ill of the government are actually speaking ill of Christ who put them there. We need to think very carefully about how we speak about the government he institutes, even those we find particularly objectionable, because they are there at his behest. If any of us care to argue that this government is particularly heinous, reckon with the fact that Paul (and Peter elsewhere) insisted this was the case under Nero, who was considerably worse from a Christian perspective than any government we’ve ever had in this country and certainly ever had in the post-war period.

Second, if Jesus has given power to this government, we can rest in the fact that he has the power needed to take it away. If nobody has power except it is given to them by God, we can rest in his sovereign goodness and trust that he knows best. He has the power to change matters and similarly is working even this result (whatever it is) for the good of his people. We may not like the way it will work for our good, we may wish he would work our good another way, but we can rest assured this result is, indeed, for our good and was instituted by our sovereign God who works all things for the good of those that love Christ.