By the time you read this, we will undoubtedly be in the middle of a hotly contested Federal campaign. So it is timely, but making statements about politics is often fraught with danger. It is hard to please everyone when speaking politically—you’re either too hard or too soft; too naïve or too trusting; too extreme or too moderate.

Indeed, many here and abroad are cynical about politics and politicians. The famous political theorist, Groucho Marx, is reported to have said, ‘Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.’ Yet politics matters to society because it is ultimately about how we organise our common life for the benefit of all. God is concerned about it because he has a vital stake in every aspect of human life. We can see that in the active ‘political’ lives of Old Testament characters like Esther, Daniel, and Joseph. Thus, it is worth asking whether our faith in God has any implications for how we are to vote.

So let me tell you how to vote. NOT who you are to vote for—that is up to you before God. But rather, what kind of facts, principles, and values should we consider before we vote? It won’t be comprehensive, but my hope is that it will at least provoke us to explore some key biblical perspectives.

First, being a Christian should make a difference to how we vote, but often it doesn’t. Too many Christians’ votes echo where we live, where we grew up, or how our parents voted. Paul tells us that ‘if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come’ (2 Cor 5:17). We are new people in Christ, with transformed loyalties. We have put off our old self, put on our new identity, and been renewed in our thinking (Eph 4:22-24). Why, then, has our new identity made so little difference to our political views? Why do Christians in Toorak typically vote Liberal and those in Truganina so often vote the other way? I am not saying there is only one way to vote as a Christian, but often we have not reflected on our views on politics as Christians. Christians who vote Liberal often do so because of personal ethical values (e.g. attitudes to abortion, euthanasia, religious liberty, sexuality), but those who vote Labor are often attracted to their social ethical policies (e.g. care for the poor and needy). But both are important areas and no one party has a monopoly on biblical values, and no single issue can be the litmus test for how we vote. Like so many other areas of our life, we need to humbly re-think our attitudes to politics now that we follow Christ.

Second, Christians must resist the push to put our own interests first. Paul writes, ‘in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others’ (Phil 2:3-4). It is common after the major parties have released their policies for our media to ask different people whether they will be financially better under Labor or Liberal, as if that ought to be the sole determiner of how to vote. Instead, as Christians, we should be concerned more for the common good, and especially those without voices or resources because they are on the margins of society. In Old Testament times, this involved obligations to the poor widows, orphans, and foreigners (e.g. Deut 10:17-18) who had no access to the means for creating wealth. More broadly, it is not about what is best for me, but what is best for us. After all, God is the owner of all (Ps 24:1), and has given us the ability to produce wealth (Deut 8:18) for the sake of the community as a whole. In practice, this means that we will have to consider future generations as well as our own, and those outside our nation (some of whom have become refugees within our country). The important issue of climate change touches on both of these groups, but so do many other issues. Short-term and long-term consequences must be taken into account. Clearly, then, we cannot simply base our vote on what will leave us in the best short-term financial position.

Third, it is not the main task of government to impose Christian moral values on society, but to govern fairly, justly, and competently. We are entitled, of course, to argue that biblical values will be of great value to the whole community, but governments are primarily established by God to bring justice and order to society (Rom 13:1-7). We are to pray for our political leaders that they order the society so ‘that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all holiness and godliness’ (1 Tim 2:1-2), and Paul hints that this well-managed society will help us pursue our Christian mission (1 Tim 2:3-4). When God appears to Solomon, the king rightly asks for ‘a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong’ (1 Kgs 3:9). We are meant to evaluate any policies by their likelihood of promoting a peaceful, orderly society. Several aspects of this are important. We should expect to see policies that are fair to all parts of the community, not just the loudest or most powerful. Fairness must include both the city and rural areas, various ethnic groups, and our indigenous peoples. We need to evaluate how competent and trustworthy the parties are, for without the ability to achieve their goals, their promises are of little value. Competency is an important factor in assessing both politicians and their parties. The biblical book of Proverbs has much to say about the kind of daily living that will both honour God and build up the community. It’s worth reading.

Fourth, so far I have been focusing on how to evaluate the competing policies. However, the Bible consistently argues that character is a neglected dimension in ethical thinking. We need to evaluate the integrity of people as well as the platforms of the parties. As Christians, we need to have our character shaped (e.g. Col 3:1-17; Gal 5:22-26) because who we are will inevitably affect what we do. This does not mean that we should only vote for Christians, but we certainly should be looking for people of integrity who are committed to serving the community. Given the party structure of federal politics, we ought to assess both the local representatives we directly vote for and the leaders of the parties who will often determine the policies. We need to look for character as well as competence.

There is very little about voting in the Bible. They even cast lots for a successor to Judas among the apostles. Yet there are many key biblical principles that need to affect the way we vote. Has our thinking about politics been transformed by our Christian faith? What will be best for the community—present and future; at home and abroad—rather than what will be in our short-term interests? Which party is best placed to govern fairly, justly, and competently? Are the candidates and their party leaders people of integrity and character?

These may not be all the questions we need to ask, but they will be a good place to start.

by Lindsay Wilson

Lindsay Wilson lectured in Old Testament and Ethics at Ridley College, Melbourne. This article originally appeared in The Melbourne Anglican before the Australian Federal election in 2022