In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus was approached by the Pharisees, and they asked him what the greatest commandment was. Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend on all the Law and the Prophets.” What’s interesting is that when one loves God with all their heart and with all their mind, they fulfill the first four of the ten commandments, which have to do with God. When one loves their neighbor, they fulfill the remaining six commandments (See Exodus 21:2-17). As Christians, loving God is the basis and the foundation for everything we do. So, then we must ask, what does it look like to fulfill the second greatest commandment to love your neighbor?
First, bad policies affect our neighbors. Since the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973, millions of babies have been aborted. Babies who would have been a neighbor to someone. Thankfully, Roe v. Wade was overturned; however, the abortion issue is now left up to the states, and the fight is far from over. New Mexico is one of a few late-term abortion states, meaning, abortion can be performed at any time during the nine months of pregnancy. The policies we vote for here in New Mexico, directly affect our unborn neighbors.
Second, morality must be at the forefront of our choices. We should not confuse political issues with moral issues. Abortion is a moral issue. Transgenderism is a moral issue. For example, the mutilation of one’s body is a direct attack on the Imago Dei; meaning, humans are created in the image of God with intentionality and purpose. This means that humans have value, dignity, and worth that stem from God Himself. He created human’s male and female (see Genesis 1:26-27). Transgender ideologies attack the Imago Dei and directly affect our most vulnerable neighbors, our youth.
Third, we live in a country that allows freedom of religion. This means that Christians can vote according to biblical morals and step into the public sphere to influence society for the better. Without freedom of religion, Christians would not be able to spread the gospel. The laws that are passed can directly affect that opportunity. Government was created by God (see Romans 13:1-7) and its job should be to promote that which is good and stop evil. New Mexico is no exception.
So why should Christians vote? Because if we love God, we ought to love our neighbors who reflect His image. We are called to be salt and light in this dark world and voting for policies that do that is paramount. If Christians do not step into the voting booth, bad ideologies will continue to permeate New Mexico. And bad ideologies hurt people. Christians must protect those who cannot speak for themselves, that is what biblical justice looks like. There are three principles Christians can keep in mind when heading to the voting booth: Policy over party; Morals over money; Life over death. For more resources on this, check out the book Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it legal? Is it Possible? by Frank Turek and Norman L. Geisler.
Damara is the co-host of The Hitched Apologists podcast and is currently working towards her degrees in philosophy and Christian Apologetics.
