In the midst of a heatwave, India’s general elections are past the halfway mark. Nearly 1 billion Indians are registered as voters in the world’s largest democracy. On June 4, after the outcome of the election is clear, the winning party or coalition of parties will form a ruling government. They will enjoy the privilege of naming the next prime minister.
Politics comes out of the Greek word politika which means, “affairs of the city.” Why should Christians care about the affairs of the city? Most obviously because they are deeply intertwined with the desires of the heart. Politics is a powerful instrument to actualise the imaginations of man. Is it any wonder why people find it so captivating?
India’s history of politics is the history of empire building. In some ways, we are an ancient country that has seen many rulers. But in many ways, we are a young country with only 78 years of independence from foreign rule. The world’s largest democracy is still maturing as a democracy.
Christians are either prone to political idolatry or indifference—making too much or too little of its significance to their lives. But the appropriate way for Christians to engage with politics is neither passivity nor obsession but prayerful, active participation.
Before the Elections
In 2024, there is a push from everyone to encourage voters to turn up and turn in their votes in India’s elections. During an Indian Premier League cricket match, even legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar urged Indians to participate in “the biggest democratic exercise in the world.”
Christians have a better reason to participate in elections than the encouragement of celebrities. When Jesus told us to “give Caesar what is Caesar’s” he affirmed our active and responsible participation in the affairs of the city (Mark 12:17). Citizens of heaven are not exempt from the affairs of their cities on earth.
Politics is a powerful instrument to actualise the imaginations of man.
Christian submission to human authority is not passive but active and involved. Peter wrote to Christians to “be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Pet. 2:13). Democracy is a human institution that calls citizens to participate in it actively and responsibly. It is for the Lord’s sake that Christians answer this call, including the call to vote.
I know of Christians who have returned to their hometown just to cast their vote or applied for a change of address so they can participate in the elections. Churches in India are gathering online and in-person to pray for the elections. Such active engagement is pleasing to God and good for the nation. May we honour, encourage, and imitate these examples of faith.
During (And After) the Elections
Doctrine Matters
If God has already chosen who will lead our nations, why should we bother to vote? Sometimes the sovereignty of God is mistaken to mean that all outcomes are so pre-decided that any active human participation is futile or unnecessary. We may unconsciously think, “God appoints human leaders. He has the controlling vote. How can my single vote make a difference to God’s perfect plans?”
Yes and No.
The ruling authority of God does not undermine our responsibility to participate in India’s elections. It includes it.
In Acts 27:13-44, God told Paul that everyone on board their ship would survive the great storm they were facing. But he still insisted the sailors remain on board or they would not be saved. What a strange thing to say if the outcome was pre-decided. They even lightened the ship by throwing out the wheat into the sea. What a strange thing to do if the outcome was pre-decided.
God’s ruling authority did not weaken Paul’s decision making power. It sharpened it.
Posture Matters
In his ruling authority, God has given us citizenship in India. We do not vote simply because we belong to India but because God decided we belong to it. Far from making us indifferent, it compels us to live to make a difference.
God’s ruling authority gives us the responsibility to participate in deciding who rules our nation. If we are passive, indifferent, or irresponsible towards the vote, it does not mean we trust in God’s ruling authority. It may simply mean we are abdicating our responsibility.
The ruling authority of God does not undermine our responsibility to participate in India’s elections. It includes it.
Aside from voting, God calls Christians to keep our conduct among people honourable, so that if anyone accuses us of wrongdoing, they may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation (1 Pet. 2:12).
The absence of good deeds heightens the presence of suspicion and hostility. It weakens our testimony to the goodness of God if there is no visible goodness in our lives.
In every circumstance, under any government, God calls us to make a difference.
He wants Christians to work out their salvation so that they become blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom they shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the gospel, and declaring the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light (Phil. 2:15-16, Matt. 5:16, 1 Pet. 2:9, Acts 4:29).
After the Elections
What if the person whom we vote for loses India’s elections? Does it mean God has failed to answer our prayers? Has he abandoned us? Are we doomed? Such is the natural outcome of political idolatry, if we trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save (Ps. 146:3-5).
In ancient Israel, King Uzziah successfully brought the nation material prosperity and political stability. His death provoked national fears about the future.
But in the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne, and the train of his robe filled the temple (Isa. 6:1). It is an image of the unreachable heights of God’s power, the uncontested power of his rule, and the beauty and majesty of his glory.
All political thinking should begin with Isaiah’s vision of God enthroned in worship. It sends us into the world to be faithful ambassadors of Christ and keeps us from collapsing into the faithless patterns of the world (Rom. 12:1-2).
More than anything, it reminds us of whom God sent to the world, to rescue us and keep us from the corruption of the world, and to bring us into a new creation where we forever enjoy his enduring rule of peace, righteousness, and justice (John 3:16, Jude 1:24-25, Rev. 21:1-4).
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.
