B) How a Christian ought to vote

1. Vote for others

Firstly and most importantly, a Christian vote is a vote for others, not oneself. It is fundamental to the Christian outlook that life be devoted to the good of others before oneself:

	Honour one another above yourselves (Rom 12:10). In humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4).

In the political realm Christians should use whatever influence they have to contribute to others, to ‘consider others better’ than themselves. This is a foreign concept for many. Typically, the small business operator decides to vote for the party that promises to do more for small business. Union members vote for the party guaranteeing more power to the Unions. Corporations with staffing issues tend to support the party offering the most flexible industrial relations policy. Aspirational voters favour the party they think will best help them climb the ‘ladder of opportunity’. Such voting considerations may not be wrong but they are inadequate for the Christian. Those who follow the One who gave himself up for us all will endeavour to put their private interests aside and seek instead to serve the wider community.

a Christian vote is a vote for others, not oneself

In short, in thinking through the policies of the Government, the Opposition and the minor parties, the Christian should not be thinking of him or herself—my family, my industry, my way of life. He or she will instead consider the wider public good. In their vote Christians must ‘consider others better than yourselves.’

2. Vote for the moral health of the community

Secondly, the moral health of our community provides another motivation for the Christian’s vote. Personally, I think the church has no right to seek to impose a Christian way of life on a largely secular society (‘What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?,’ said Paul in 1 Cor 5:12). Having said that, as citizens who believe that a society’s health depends (in part) on living as the Creator designed, Christians will want to ponder: which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator, the values of justice, harmony (nationally and internationally), sexual responsibility, honesty, family and mercy. In this regard, we will want to think through such issues as abortion, stem-cell research, treatment of asylum seekers, care for the elderly and so on, and then factor our conclusions into our voting patterns. For the Christian, moral health far exceeds economic prosperity as an honorable goal for society. As the book of Proverbs says:

which party and/or policies will promote the values applauded by the Creator

	Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people (Proverbs 14:34).

This moral concern of the Christian will invite the description (by some) - ‘right-wing’ or ‘conservative’. The tag is partly accurate, though in other respects the Christian stance will appear ‘left-wing’ and ‘liberal’. One of the blind spots of our modern public discourse is the inability to recognize nuance. We do not have categories such as ‘right-wing liberal’ or a ‘left-wing conservative’—Jesus, of course, was both and more.

3. Vote for the poor and weak

Thirdly, in voting for the ‘other’ the Christian will principally have in mind the poor and powerless. The mandate for this throughout Scripture is overwhelming:

	Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4). He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God (Proverbs 14:31). Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27).

Voting for the underprivileged in Australian society has traditionally been seen as a vote for the Labor Party—this is certainly how that party has historically understood itself. Others, however, argue that the most effective way to help the poor and weak is to increase prosperity at the ‘top’ of society so that wealth can trickle down to those who need it most. This has traditionally been an argument put by the conservative side of Australian politics. I do not want to make a judgment about either model. I simply want to insist, in the strongest terms, that a Christian vote is one sincerely motivated by a concern to see the disadvantaged cared for—whether they be the elderly, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, the unemployed, the homeless or drought-affected farmers. Whatever socio-economic model Christians believe in, they ought to vote for those who need their vote more than they do.

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