Would God want a Christian to vote for a "Loser"?

This might be considered a WWGW (What would God want?) kind of Question...

Many times, it's not what "we" want... because, (unlike God) we are not "all-knowing"

The only way to really know (WWGW) is to listen to the real voice of truth, God's Holy Spirit. It requires shutting up all the other voices calling out to us.. focusing on the only one that matters... "The Voice of Truth." I believe that a lot of prayer and meditation will be required in the coming months before any believer can in good conscience make a spiritually honest voting decision that does not sacrifice one's spiritual self. It means no compromises. This brings us to the narrow gate.

Matthew 7:13

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.

As believers, God does not want us to make compromises that may benefit us yet at the same time dishonor Him. In 2008, IF the world is still spinning and we are still standing many Christians will chose to vote for a new president, while others will remain home thinking that "no vote" and a neutral stand somehow has no long ranging spiritual outcome (for them personally).

In a "secular society", nobody expects to vote for what appears to be a clear loser, or extreme long shot. What would the point of that be, except to make some kind of principled stand that has no real effects? That's absolutely true from a secular point of view, but it is not from a spiritual one. God does not expect compromise from believers, and the Beatitudes reveal the earthly and spiritual consequences of the believer who truly follows after Him... We will be blessed from a spiritual standpoint, but not necessarily an earthly one. The Beatitudes are much more complex then they may appear to someone with little or no true spiritual understanding. A secular view of a peacemaker, and a spiritual one are not necessarily the same... as "our peace" is one with God, and our enmity and war is with the devil. To create that kind of spiritual peace is to share the truth of the Gospel so that others can be brought back into relationship with Him (God) and have the peace that surpasses all understanding from (God's Holy Spirit)...

In these days of rising persecution, many Christians in Islamic and also some Communist countries are making a choice between remaining faithful to their religious beliefs, or abandoning them in order to save their "earthly lives." Those who suffer or die for retaining their witness (remaining faithful) are what the Bible calls... Martyrs. God honors this, but those honors are eternal ones, not earthly ones. They are entering in through the narrow gate... having chosen God, not compromise.

As American Christians we must make our own "narrow gate decisions" in chosing our next president, and ultimately these will have spiritual outcomes that will effect us personally and eternally. This is the bitter pill most Christians are doing their best not to take, instead they are allowing "other voices" to convince them that they have no other choice but to make a compromise. The love of many believers is already running cold. That "love" is the love of God which must come BEFORE love of self.

The Bible speaks about these last days...

Matthew 24

5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,[b] and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

I believe that this 2008 presidential election, may be the last God given opportunity to give Christians a clear chance to make a choice to stand for Him, or against Him. But to do that may require setting aside not only one's ego and desire for fleshly comforts but also ones inherent and natural desire for societal self-preservation. Non-believers are blinded to the devil's strategies which have been working for decades to undermine and destroy this nation - morally, spiritually and physically. A true follower of Christ has no excuses.

It would "seem" there is no perfect political choice for Christians, so "some form of compromise" must be made... at least that's what many "Christian leaders" and some of the media are trying to tell us... But what do we consider to be a perfect choice in the first place? I have to be honest my desire not to see my nation or it's people brought down to the state of a third world country by poor policy decisions is a factor in my choice of candidate, but there is no exact scriptural basis for that. It's the natural sense of "self-preservation" for myself, my family and my country that is rising up in me and in many other Americans.

But my focus should be on Christ, not me... and my trust should be that whatever circumstances God allows in my life and that of others in this nation that are according to His plan and necessary in order for prophecy to be ultimately fufilled. God promises the Christian trials and tribulations, for those of us who still believe that the beatitudes are a very accurate expression of the Christian "earthly" life.

Yet, who wants to see the selfish ambitions of a few seeking gain in money, votes, cheap labor, power... etc destroy the fabric of society, it's systems and drive multitudes of legitimate citizens into poverty and the burdens of government control of a good part of their lives? We are supposed to help the widow and the poor, not increase their numbers and add to their burdens. That's sounds like a strategy of satan, not God... And how can we support a candidate who supports these kind of strategies... are they completely blind, short-sided, devoid of the holy spirit, or just ignoring Him because of the other voice competing with Him?

There are some things that can help our decision process, going back to God's original commandments and see if the (personal) worldview, voting record and policy making history of the candidate matches the God-view of what is good, and pure and acceptable in His eyes...
But, the type of political fruit and the duration of it are of equal importance... AND if any of that fruit was a result of personal moral or spiritual compromise, where "secular politics" triumphed over personal beliefs and convictions... then it's most likely contrived and rotten. Any time the red flag of discernment is raised, God is trying to alert us that "something" is out of sync.

A Ten Commandments refresher…

Exodus 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8 “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 “ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”

The (gray areas) are much harder to discern and this is where our reason and intellect will have clashes with the spiritual, simply because it is just not "clearly" wrong, or right... This is where prayer and meditation will be key, the one-on-one with God, walking through it with Him until we reach peace and clarity and understanding. The hardest part will be remaining firm and uncompromised to the end because this is the time where satan will be working hardest to redirect us.

Only God can show us what man or woman is one after His own heart, so that we can vote with a clear conscience, because as imperfect human beings we simply can not know for sure. And if there is no one on the ballot that God would consider righteous enough to hold the honorable position of leader of this nation? There's always the write-in option.

WWGW?

It may take weeks or even months of prayer before that question gets answered. Because He gave us free will, God won't "order us" to vote for any specific candidate. It will ultimately get down to... "You know the candidates (as much as will be revealed to you), you know Me, hopefully you should know My will by now, I leave the choice entirely up to you. Take the narrow gate, or not.

Philippians 1:21

21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.