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By Bob Orleck
The midterm elections are close at hand and sad as it seems to be, Christians fail to turn out to vote in these elections. Each may have their reason, but honestly, none are adequate considering what is at stake. For Christians, voting should never be viewed as a casual habit, a symbolic gesture, or an act of party loyalty alone. It is one way we exercise stewardship over the freedoms, influence, and responsibilities God has entrusted to us. Our hope is not in politicians, parties, or government, but in Jesus Christ. Yet faithfulness does not require withdrawal from public life. In a constitutional republic, refusing to participate can surrender influence to those whose values may conflict with principles Christians hold dear.
Christians should keep their loyalties in proper order: God first, family second, and country third. God first means evaluating public policy through the lenses of truth, justice, righteousness, human dignity, and moral responsibility rather than personalities or partisan slogans. Family second means considering the nation future generations will inherit. Country third means valuing and protecting the freedoms that allow religious liberty, free speech, conscience, family life, and self-government to flourish.
These priorities are especially important during midterm elections. Many Christians vote in presidential years but stay home during midterms, despite the enormous impact these elections have on Congress, state governments, courts, budgets, and public policy. Midterms help determine the direction of laws affecting families, churches, schools, businesses, public safety, and religious liberty.
Congress remains a powerful institution. It controls legislation, spending, oversight, and investigations, and it influences whether a president’s agenda advances or is restrained. Choosing not to vote does not remove a person from politics; it simply allows others to make those decisions.
Christians should therefore pray, become informed, examine records, and vote thoughtfully from top to bottom of the ballot. No candidate is perfect, and no political party can save a nation. Nevertheless, policies have real consequences. They affect issues such as life, parental rights, education, economic opportunity, national security, free speech, energy policy, border security, and religious liberty.
While Scripture does not address modern elections directly, it teaches principles that apply to civic participation. Believers are called to pursue justice, care for the vulnerable, love their neighbors, steward their influence, and promote the common good. Voting is one practical way to carry out those responsibilities.
Churches need not become partisan organizations, nor should the Gospel be replaced by politics. Yet churches can encourage believers to think biblically, pray for wisdom, discuss public issues honestly, and consider how policies affect life, family, liberty, justice, and human dignity.
Many conservatives argue that recent conservative policies have strengthened border security, promoted domestic energy production, encouraged economic growth, supported constitutionalist judges, and expanded protections for religious liberty. They believe voters should evaluate policies primarily by their results rather than by affection or dislike for individual personalities.
Christians should look beyond style and ask substantive questions. Will leaders protect life, safeguard liberty, support families, uphold law and order, secure the border, defend the vulnerable, manage public resources responsibly, and protect national interests? Character matters, but policies and outcomes matter as well.
America faces continuing challenges involving national security, border enforcement, economic stability, and cultural division. Voters should approach these issues prayerfully rather than emotionally. Anger, resentment, and political tribalism should never replace thoughtful judgment.
America came through four years (2020-2024) in which policies from the Democrat national leadership undermined matters such as sanctity of life, religious liberty, parental authority, moral clarity, gender identity, secure borders, law and order, and freedom of conscience. For believers who seek to think biblically about these matters in public life, the lesson is clear: elections have consequences, and silence or apathy can allow policies hostile to a Biblical worldview to advance unchecked.
With the new Republican administration, Christians have been given a renewed opportunity to support leadership that aligns more closely with their biblical worldview. The survival of President Trump after the attempt on his life in Butler, PA, and the direction he has taken on issues such as religious liberty, conscience, family, life, border security, and national strength, should cause Christians to reflect soberly on God’s Providence and the responsibility placed before them. If we believe God spared his life and gave him a task for this time, then we should also recognize that he needs a Congress willing to help complete that work. We must not go back to the policies of the recent past. Pray. Study the candidates. Vote in every election, especially the midterms. Encourage others to do the same. Christians should give the president the tools necessary to finish the job by keeping control of Congress in Republican hands.
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Categories: Opinion
Mr. Orleck states: “Christians should keep their loyalties in proper order: God first, family second, and country third. God first means evaluating public policy through the lenses of truth, justice, righteousness, human dignity, and moral responsibility rather than personalities or partisan slogans. Family second means considering the nation future generations will inherit. Country third means valuing and protecting the freedoms that allow religious liberty, free speech, conscience, family life, and self-government to flourish.”
As a practicing Catholic, I agree 100% with the above. I am sure many resolute Republicans would agree also. However, the policies instituted by our Bible toting president are totally inconsistent with the principles of Jesus Christ. So… I guess I will have to pass on Mr. Orleck’s suggestion.
Please elaborate……
John means that there is nothing more that MAGA Christians hate than actual Christianity
Guess you are a mind reader……who said the President was ever a faith leader? How often have you heard him talk about the Holy Spirit? Jesus Christ? Those are pretty basic topics of discussion for any Christian. For the most part, Christians don’t talk about the Holy Spirit, and we are in the church age, lead by the Holy Spirit…..so…..
What policies should we adopt, DSA? Bernie Sanders with his revolution? revolution to what????
Should we adopt cultural maxism? Democracy?
Should we be a colony of the United Nations?
Open borders?
No justice for people being robbed blind in Vermont?
Drug dealers running rampant? Huge business that doesn’t need a permit?
Vote for Phil Scott?
What choices do we have?
Ask 50 people in Vermont what government we are supposed to have and I bet 48 of them get it wrong. That should tell you something right there.
Or should we believe the narrative, that the world is going to end in 8 years for the 5th time in a row, covering the last 40 years?
I was prepared to let the comments on my opinion piece in the Vermont Country Journal pass without reply. At first, I thought perhaps I should simply consider the source and move on. But in this case, that is difficult to do, because John does not appear willing to give his full name. Why not? I cannot really know the source.
What I do know is this: I did not write my article casually, impulsively, or off the top of my head. I wrote it because I believe I was led by the Holy Spirit to do so. The concern was laid on my heart again and again.
As Christians, we should understand that the Lord does not use perfect vessels to accomplish His purposes on this earth, because perfect vessels do not exist. He uses imperfect people, and He has always done so.
For that reason, I believe we have to look honestly at the fruit. We should consider the lives that have been protected by the closing of the border, including children and women who were being victimized. We should consider the reduction in crime in many parts of the nation. We should consider the appointment of Supreme Court justices whose decisions ultimately helped overturn Roe v. Wade. We should also consider the broader help that has been given to many people through the policies and actions of this administration.
I would also encourage critics to go back and listen carefully to what Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat, has said about Donald Trump and about the larger political moment we are in. Listen as well to what others, including Jordan Peterson of Canada, have observed. You may disagree with them, but their views are serious enough to deserve thoughtful consideration rather than dismissal.
My concern is not merely political. It is moral and spiritual. If your comments discourage Christians or conservatives from voting Republican in November, then you may be helping place decision-makers in office who will support policies that harm the unborn, harm women, weaken the security of our communities, and advance practices many of us believe are deeply wrong, including sex change operations for children. These are not small matters. They carry real consequences for real people.
I delayed responding because I hoped it would be better simply to let the matter pass. But when I saw another comment appearing to support the same position, I felt I needed to answer. Scripture warns us that doing things under the appearance of righteousness does not necessarily mean we are known by the Lord. Matthew 7:23 is a sobering verse: “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” That verse should cause every one of us to take stock.
I am not claiming to know John’s heart. I do not know who he is, and I am not pretending to judge his soul. But I do believe he needs to take a serious look at what he has written and the possible effect it may have on others. The comment was not, in my view, well thought out. It judged political choices without giving proper weight to the moral outcomes at stake.
Show me one Christian leader, one public servant, or one person used by God who was perfect. You cannot. The question is not whether Donald Trump, or any other public figure, is flawless. The question is whether the fruit of certain decisions has protected life, defended families, strengthened the nation, and restrained greater harm.
My appeal is simple: before urging people away from a vote that may protect unborn children, defend women, restore order at the border, reduce crime, and oppose sex change operations for children, stop and consider the fruit. Then consider the warning of Matthew 7:23. This is not only about politics. It is about responsibility, discernment, and whether our public words help or harm the causes we claim to care about.
John, your comment that “the policies instituted by our Bible-toting president are totally inconsistent with the principles of Jesus Christ” deserves a direct response. I would ask you to explain how a secure border that protects American communities, while also reducing the exploitation of vulnerable people who are victimized during illegal crossings, is inconsistent with the principles of Jesus. I would ask the same about efforts to support law enforcement, target violent crime, fight fentanyl trafficking, confront drug cartels, strengthen the economy, expand private-sector opportunity, promote energy independence, reduce taxes and regulatory burdens, support veterans and military families, protect national defense, and defend religious liberty.
How can appointing judges who helped return the question of abortion law to the people through the overturning of Roe v. Wade, protecting women’s privacy in sports and private spaces, opposing horrific irreversible medical interventions for children, fighting government waste, fraud, and abuse, and keeping hostile regimes such as Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons be dismissed as wholly inconsistent with Christian principles? These are serious matters that affect unborn children, families, communities, national security, and the vulnerable. They should not be reduced to slogans or partisan assumptions.
A Republican Congress is also essential if these good works are to continue. If Democrats regain control of Congress, the result will be gridlock and the stymying of the president’s efforts to protect life, strengthen the nation, secure the border, uphold law and order, defend religious liberty, and preserve the principles on which this Republic was founded. Lives may be lost, and the nation may find itself fighting even harder to keep its Republic. There are forces in this country that are serious about reshaping America into something it was never meant to be—whether Islamic, socialistic, communistic, or openly hostile to the freedoms and faith that have sustained us. Many hate what America has stood for, and that is why the vote of the people for what is right is urgently needed. Those who care about the unborn, families, freedom, faith, and the future of this nation should go to the polls and vote Republican.
HI Bob!
This spiritual warfare has been going on since time began, man is just a bit part player in the grand scheme of things. Thankfully the battle has already been won. That however doesn’t mean we can’t vote, or that we shouldn’t. We are to be model citizens if anything.
Much of malaise is caused because we as a people have strayed, and has nothing to do with the politics, in some ways the politics are following culture. The issue is much deeper than just voting republican or voting democrate….cause in many instance they are the same, more so in Vermont.
We are being subverted from many different angles and areas. People are uneducated and even the smartest, wealthiest man in the world is missing in on some important grand schemes. Musk, in order to save humanity is reaching to colonize the planet mars, well here’s the issue. If you don’t have a change of heart, and you go to mars, all your problems have come with you from planet earth! We have a serious heart issue.
The bigger issue? Who is leading your heart? Your mind? Where do you get your wisdom from? Vermont being the least “churched” state is completely ignorant, not even able to have an intelligent conversation, let alone discern right from wrong, love and hate, envy and gratefulness, Love and lust.
Our schools are teaching ENVY for God’s sake!
They are teaching lust is love!
And sadly, because NOBODY is reading the bible (or know history) they think, they have come up with some new cutting-edge issues that have never been addressed before! They think they are the ones to break new ground with sexuality and sex………this shows how little and ignorant we have become and it’s on purpose, by design, from those who wish us harm.
The best education and really only hope for Vermont to change; is for us to change our minds and hearts. Without that we are going to become more of a hot mess than we currently are…history is repeating itself and few even realize it.
The most important thing any Vermonter could do in their lifetime is to sit down with a NLT, Red Letter, Life application bible and read it cover to cover, with all the explanations. How many. Most will say it’s not relevant book. The fact they dismiss what is at the very least, one of the greatest pieces of literature….shows how uneducated we are, I was.
Understanding that this is unlikely to happen immediately, the next best thing would be for them to read the Book of John, Then Book of Acts…..with these two short books they will be ahead of most Christians, and they will have a small understanding of what changed the world 2,000 years ago and why we keep time, based upon…Jesus Christ. But still, none will do it, Vermont society will shun the idea.
Mars isn’t going to change a thing.
Karl Marx isn’t either.
Donald Trump isn’t either.
Nor was/did Biden
We are looking in the wrong places.
There is a reason all despots and theocracies will not all a bible in their country!
Truth
Love
It’s what made /makes America great. A countries greatness is tied directly to Jesus Christ, his teachings, his followers……prove me wrong. 🙂
We, and many other countries are standing on the shoulders of our forefathers who sent us in the right direction…we only need to change our direction, the old timers had a name for it, repent! :)….. or just keep doing what you’re doing, wondering why you/we are in the hot mess we are. Lol…
TGBTG
Here is one of my favorite videos, because it explains what is going on perfectly from 40 years ago…..he’s not a prophet, he was just in charge of doing what has been done to Vermont and other countries. It’s really worth a watch, look at all the comments below the video from people who have watched it. And….and….when you watch the entire thing he gives the answer to our problem. TGBTG
It would help if Republicans would have given us someone to vote for in the primaries. The only one that I remember, and I voted for was Gerald Malloy (who I voted for) and recently met in person. He is a very humble man and wants change for the better in this state and country. Unlike Becca Balint who only cares about herself and the demorats and progressives. Unlike her Gerald will fight for us, care about us and serve us in Congress as a positive representive for VT in Congress. Republicans didn’t have a dog in the fight in the primaries until after, then they put this guy in who I have never heard of to run for States Attorney against Sarah George and if he wins, he will resign before he even gets started and let the governor pick a new SA. Who is to say that he won’t pick Sarah George again. Yes I agree there is a lot of crap going on in this state and it won’t get any better until Jesus Christ comes back and then true Christians won’t have to deal with the aftermath because we will be gone. I can’t wait until the rapture. The song “Come Jesus Come” is becoming more and more real to me every day. Then there is Trump, who God spared 3 times from death, and he claims to be a Christian, I don’t know if he is or isn’t, I am not the judge, jury or executioner. I voted for him to but right now I am having trouble supporting some of his recent actions. These tariffs are one, especially on Canada. That move is hurting us as Vermonters because of the fair trade that we have with them, we depend on them to come down and help us financially (for lack of a better word) also this renaming of Lake Ontario, that sure as heck didn’t help our relations with Canada. The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico. The destroying on the east wing of the White House. I am sure that if Kamala won things would be 10 times worse. But this is so frustrating. So not only Christians need to get out and vote, but everyone should also get out to vote, we need to be provided with someone who wants change in Vermont and in this country then vote for Gerald Malloy.