Please Vote on 30th October

If you’re a Christian who has given up on politics this year and decided not to vote on the 30^th October, do that which is honourable. Go to Joppa and find a ship bound for Tarshish.  There is no reason for you to be a citizen of this country if you perform neither civic nor scared duties.

Jonah refused to go to Nineveh because he wanted the city to be destroyed.  Nineveh was a wicked city whose leaders and people hated and oppressed the Hebrews. There was no way Jonah, a Hebrew, would go to his enemies and preach repentance when he knew that if they repented God would show them His compassion and not destroy them.

A major reason Christians have decided not to vote is because of a lack of confidence and trust in the candidates. They see the candidates as selfish and greedy people who have no concern for the justice and well-being of the nation. Most Christians we have spoken to believe that the candidates underlying purposes are to improve their personal and extended family’s economic security. Africa’s political history supports this allegation. People often get into politics more because of what they can benefit rather than their love for serving people. Remember Mr. Munkombwe’s statement, “I am in politics because I want to benefit.”

But staying home because you don’t like the candidates is not an option. Voting is required of every Christian because God demands of us to seek the peace and prosperity of our country as well as any other nation we may be living in at any particular time. If God told the Israelites who where in exile in Babylon, “To build houses …seek the peace and prosperity … Pray to the Lord for it”, what more should we do for the nation that God has given us?

As Christians we may not see a candidate who meets the highest standard of competence, integrity and justice that is revealed in the Bible. Yet even if that is the case, we must pray for wisdom from God to help us choose a candidate who meets the minimum requirement of Biblical leadership. We then must not stop at only casting our vote. Like the prophet Nathan we too must engage with our David’s and plead for justice for our Uriah’s – the poor, uneducated, physically handicapped, widows, and the street children.

If we are to enjoy the physical blessing of our nation, we must assume the obligations of citizenship by doing our civic duty gladly out of obedience to God and love of neighbour. Jonah’s example helps us to put the coming election into perspective. If we don’t vote and we don’t preach repentance to our politicians, we show that we don’t love our country or care for justice, peace and godly prosperity.

Lawrence Temfwe