I don’t think Christians see how much is at stake this election season. They’re so worried about abortion, immigrants, and their own rights that they’ve stopped thinking about their witness. They’re sacrificing any future victories to gain this one.

Christians are losing what credibility they have not because of who’s in office, but because of how they act. The world sees us praising Jesus as Lord, then acting like America is Lord, or the right president. They’re seeing us discard our values for political gain.

Yes, I said “us.” I am a Christian, grieved that Christians are knowingly promoting evil as if it were good, ignoring “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” (Matthew 23:23, ESV).

If we want to have any witness in this country anymore, we’ve got to clean up our act. That means we need to stop saying the following things–or more appropriately, stop believing them.

1. “Make America Great Again.”

Yeah, remember when you could pay women less and didn’t have to pay black people at all? When all them queer-mo-sexuals kept quiet about it and if they didn’t, you could just lynch ’em? When you could run your business without worrying about safety or health concerns? When everyone who didn’t believe like we did was kicked out or killed?

Mm, good times.

Now I’m sure many of you just said, “I didn’t mean it like that.” I believe you–honestly, I do. I think what you’re meaning to say is “Make America great period.”

We can’t recede to old models that only worked for white Christian males. We need God to push us forward to make America great for everybody. And this is a white Christian male saying that.

2. “Vote Republican!”

How about “Vote for whomever is best suited to fill this particular office regardless of their political affiliations”? Or are you implying you must be/vote Republican to be Christian? If that’s the case, you may want to reread Galatians to see what Paul has to say about “God plus.”

3. “I’m voting for Trump because he wants to kick out all the immigrants.”

Quote me one verse, ONE BIBLE VERSE that says wholesale eviction based on race is the Christian thing to do.

4. “Trump is Christian.”

Look at the man. He’s so corrupt his HAIR lies.

5. “Hillary is a liar.”

So is Trump. Is lying bad or is it not?

6. “A vote for a third party is a vote for Hillary.” (or Trump, but I’ve heard Hillary more often). 

Uh, no. It’s a vote for a third party. That’s how this works.

And actually, the more people who vote for third parties, the more credible they become, drawing out more people to put their confidence in them, which furthers their credibility even more, etc.

The less people believe this statement, the less true it becomes.

7. “I’m voting for the lesser of two evils.”

That just means you’re voting for evil.

Where in the Bible do Christians get the idea that it’s okay to stand by a candidate who’s 9/10 on the evil scale as long as they’re not a 10/10? Christians are told repeatedly not to have ANY part in sin.

You can write literally anybody’s name on the ballot box, so what’s this one-or-the-other business? Throw that sliding scale away and do what’s right!

8. “It’s a two-party system.”

What a defeatist statement. “Oh, well, the world is evil, guess we should just duck our heads and go with the flow.”

Jesus lived in a ONE-party system (Pharisees) and he openly defied it. He taught a new way: a way to do good, to do what’s right, to honor God even if it means no political power, no safety, and no freedom.

Have we learned nothing?

9. “Jesus would vote [enter political party here]”

First off, if Jesus is voting, I hope he has the foresight to vote for himself.

Second of all, Jesus is loyal to God’s kingdom, which is a theocracy, not a democracy. And he’s far more interested in doing good than fulfilling party agendas. Remember how many religious people he infuriated? It’s because he wasn’t interested in playing by anybody’s rules but his own.

10. “We need to win this election!”

How do you see that happening? If we vote for a tyrant, our witness as Christians is null and void. If we vote for a liar, our witness as Christians is null and void. If we vote for “the lesser or two evils,” our witness as Christians is null and void.

If we knowingly vote for evil, we lose far more than an election.

We were called to be salt and light to the earth. Translation: be different and be better. By playing the game, by putting all our hopes on a human being, we are not different and not better.

The only way Christians can “win” this election is to stand for God and God alone. We probably won’t get a Christian in the White House, but we can still win. We might not change the policies we hate, but we can still win.

After all, “What will it profit a man to gain the world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matthew 16:26a) God is the ultimate judge of right and wrong, not political victory.

Don’t be too concerned about winning an election. Think long-term underground revolution. Change by being, not just voting. That’s how the church rose up in the book of Acts. Witness and influence, two things we could easily lose if we continue on our current path.

Jesus said the two greatest commandments were “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27,  NIV).

Will your vote do those two things?