We recently passed the first round of political “confrontations.” And I sometimes heard that Christians were not supposed to “vote their religion.” This makes absolutely no sense, as every person votes according to what he or she believes to be right and true. So why would those who believe in God be told they are the only ones who cannot vote according to what they believe to be true and right?
As a believer in what the Bible says, we are to live by those principles. Religion is an important part of every person’s life. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.” James tell us that we are to do more than what we hear—we are to do what scripture tells us (James 1:22). Of course, Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28) and again, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt. 7:24). Jesus told Satan, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4).
Many have misused the term “religion” making it into a “bad” word. But this is far from the meaning of “religion.” The dictionary defines it as “belief in and worship of a superhuman power.” But this is not really the correct definition. It has nothing to do with a false or feigned practice—it is far from that!
James tells us that “Pure and undefiled religion” is based on our love for other people and taking care of them (James 1:27). Jesus himself said that a believer would be known by love (John 13:34-35). So “religion” is living (and voting) what you believe to be true and right.
A famous theologian of the previous generation, Paul Tillich, defined religion as “the ground of our being.” What he meant was that religion was what was most important to a person. Therefore, when someone says that he or she is not “religious,” they may be saying that they don’t believe in a specific philosophical view of deity, or they may simply be saying that they don’t practice a specific form of worship and beliefs. But according to Tillich, each person has a deeply held set of ideas of right, wrong and what is important, so ...
