Quotes About Voting

Greetings All,

     Today is election day in Pennsylvania, and in our particular town they use our church as the voting site. It went as it does every election day (national or local).  As I walked from my car to the building to come to "work," I was stopped in the parking lot 4 times by different smiling individuals telling me the pro's of their candidate and trying to sway my vote before I got to the polling both.

     "Sorry," I said with a smile in return, "I'm just coming to work."  Once I said that I realized their enthusiastic interest in me was very short-lived!  It didn't offend me.  It's understandable. After all, there were other people walking in at the same time and they didn't want to miss the chance to sway them before they got to the voting booths too.

         Why the push?  Because we know life is about choices, and those choices lead to change (be it good or bad).  People know it. The Bible teaches that -- through the providence of a sovereign God our choices are used by Him to mold and form the future as He chooses to guide and direct it. That's why much time, and effort, and money goes into seeking to sway people's beliefs and opinions.

      Some persuasive methods are more overt and some are more subtle, but we are all constantly being "persuaded" to think or believe in one way as opposed to another.  Be it through politics, education, Hollywood, or religion -- through movies, commercials, editorials in the newspapers, billboards, Twitter, Facebook posts, the way news-worthy events are reported (with approving or non-approving glances), or what's actually considered important enough to report as opposed to what's left out -- there are very few people who don't seek to sway the opinions of others in some way. It's not wrong, it's just part of life!

           So for today I thought I would offer you some quotes that have to do with voting.  I am not sure if each person quoted lived up to the values they set forth, but I did think each quote was itself worth considering.  I prefer to keep politics out of the church, and have sought to keep it out of the pulpit. But as a reality of life in this country, and other countries, Christian's do need guidance on how to carry out their involvement. I hope these quotes give you some food for thought as you vote in accord with what your God-guided conscience allows.  Enjoy.

“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

John Wesley, 1703-1791  (Founder of the Methodist Denomination) 

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote… he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country." 

Samuel Adams, 1722-1803

"Providence has given our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as privilege and interest of a Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers." 

John Jay, 1745-1829 (First Chief Justice of the U.S. 

Supreme Court)

"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, “just men who will rule in the fear of God.”  The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty."

Noah Webster, 1758-1843 (Author of Webster’s Dictionary)

"Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature."

James Garfield, 1831-1881 (20th President of the United States)

"When the righteous rule, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan." 

William Paterson, 1745-1806  (Signer of the Constitution, and Supreme Court Justice quoting, Proverbs 29:2)

"Voting at elections is one of the most important rights of the subject." 

Alexander Hamilton, 1757-1804  (Author of The Federalist Papers, Secretary of the Treasury)

"It will be conceded that a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them … If Christians would vote their duty to God at the polls, they would carry every election, and do it with ease …  If the Christians of America could be persuaded to vote God and a clean ticket, it would bring about a moral revolution that would be incalculably beneficent. It would save the country."

Mark Twain, 1835-1910 (Colliers magazine, September 2, 1904)

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves—and the only way they could do this is by not voting." 

Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945 (32nd President of the United States)

"[S]ecularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before entering into the public square. Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, William Jennings Bryan, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King—indeed, the majority of great reformers in American history—were not only motivated by faith, but repeatedly used religious language to argue for their cause.  So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in Judeo-Christian tradition." 

Barack Obama (44th President of the United States,  "Call to Renewal Keynote Address," Call to Renewal Conference on Building a Covenant for a New America, June 28, 2006)

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.”

Partial quote of Leviticus 25:10 inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

I Timothy 2:1-2

“He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.”

II Samuel 23:3

“Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”

Deuteronomy 1:13

As I said, food for thought.   In His Service, Pastor Jeff