One Voice for Public Policy - What Then Shall We Say?

It’s a difficult time to be a Christian in America - that much has been clear for some time. Recent legislative sessions here in Minnesota and this current election cycle seem to have clarified that it will be much more difficult to stay faithful in the coming days.

When Roe fell in 2022, there was a sigh of relief. Good and right had triumphed and our government fulfilled its job of restraining evil. However, abortion victories in red states coupled with extreme abortion laws in blue states quickly took the wind out of our sails. Now we are stuck in the middle of an election where both major parties are either deeply committed to expanding abortion and anti-family policies, or unwilling to take up the issues of life, marriage, and family for fear of losing. What are Christians to do? How do we respond to such a toxic political climate?

The easiest path might seem to be to throw up our hands, condemn both sides as irredeemable, and walk away from civic engagement or the culture. If Christians can’t win at the ballot box and our government won’t entertain our values, then we can simply operate without the government and the pagans can have their precious democracy. After all, we live in a supposedly free society and that includes our freedom to vote or not vote as we see fit. Even more so, we don’t want to participate in a process that legitimizes any party that deeply misrepresents our values and worldview.

This is a tempting approach because Christians know right from wrong and avoiding confrontation is comfortable. But following the path of non-participation abdicates our seat at the table of civic conversation. The resulting vacuum would almost certainly be filled with a viewpoint we do not agree with or one outright hostile towards us. As long as our government is not actively persecuting us, we have a duty to stay at the table and advocate for the Christian worldview.

Christians, after all, are good citizens. We honor the emperor even when he is evil. We obey every manmade authority for the Lord’s sake – unless that authority asks us to violate the Word of God. This means we continue to participate in civic life, especially elections, even when our views are not electorally or culturally popular.

And when our government is failing to do its job of restraining evil and promoting good? Then we appeal to them. We remind our elected officials that we are praying for them. We tell them how our conscience is bound by the Word of God and if they wish to govern us well, they should listen to us.

We also never fail to do good. We provide supplies for the local crisis pregnancy center. We cultivate an understanding of the sanctity of life at all stages and biblical sexuality in our churches, schools, and families. We attend the March for Life each year, to witness for those who cannot witness for themselves. We pray fervently that God would guide our leaders to political positions in accordance with His will.

Admittedly, this is hard work. It’s often thankless, tiresome, and met with ridicule. It will require time and resources. We may unfortunately lose more elections and referendums. But that doesn’t mean the work is wrong and it certainly doesn’t mean the work is not worth it. This is simply the work we are given to do.

This is how we respond to evil days, with faith in God and deep awareness of our Christian duty to participate.  Recent events have made it clear we have our work cut out for us, but no one is better positioned than us to be a light in the darkness.

In Christ,

Rev. Scot Missling
Pastor, Bethlehem Lutheran Church - St. Paul, MN
Public Policy Advocate, Minnesota South District, LCMS
pastorstpaullcms@gmail.com
651-776-4737