Although I wouldn’t class myself as a political junkie I do love me some politics.
Yeah I mean it. I love it.
What I love about it is that it highlights what we do about issues of power, control, change and social movement. It still tickles me hearing people talk about how they hate politics without recognising just how political they are. It then tickles me even further for those who say they hate politics to then get precious about the importance of voting in elections.
It has been a desire of mine for years to put down in writing my views on the matter. A thorough consideration of the matter and why I do what I do on the matter. Yet other issues have taken priority so it remains on the to-do list. Even this post is not the desired comprehensive take on my view.
However.
I don’t vote. I have not voted since I’ve been eligible to vote. I don’t feel bad at all for not voting. I have not seen an outcome of an election that made me regret not voting. Likewise the outcome of this election tomorrow doesn’t cause me any concerns at all. Truly.
I say that and still believing that the outcome of this election could have a significant effect on the nature of the country for a generation at least. The election matters, the outcome matters, who rules matter – and that is not a motivator for me to vote.
As I said the desire and hope is that I’ll write more about why I do what I do in the fullness. It’s also worth noting here that the argument of ‘if you don’t vote, you can’t complain’ is not one I concur with at all.
Yet the issue as a follower of Jesus Christ is not about whether I vote or not. It’s about how I live my life between the voting season. How does my conduct help to impact the decision-makers? How aware am I of the issues to be able to prayerfully consider them and act as I need to act? Who is in positions of authority that require my prayer and other activities? What matters to God in the affairs of the world and what am I doing about them?
Those issues render the question of whether I vote or not relatively insignificant. It’s not to say I will never vote. It’s not to say it’s a die hard principle to never vote and something that I will profess to the day I die. It is to say a lot of rhetoric I’ve heard especially endeavouring to biblically justify the importance of voting I found has been lacking in substance. That has left the whole issue of why to vote to other areas of philosophy and persuasion. So whether you vote or not isn’t really based on direct commands from God established in His Word forever. It’s your choice.
As the results come in from Thursday night to the results on Friday morning I will be interested (I won’t stay awake through the night, I like sleep). Either way, God will be on the throne and in charge of matters. Whatever the outcome it will not stymie the Kingdom come, His will done on earth as it is in heaven.
After all, what’s more important than that?
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 
I consider myself to be a recovering voter who voted somewhat reluctantly in the last U.S. election and is pretty unlikely to vote this fall but I still love the arguing, the debates, the theater of politics but at least in ‘Murica there is not much that has caused more division in the church and more damage to our witness than our love of politics.