We’re often told to vote based on our values. Which is probably good advice. The difficulty is that our values are many, and no one candidate or party shares those values in the same way. So we have to prioritize which values to promote above the others.
But as I head out to vote today, another possibility came to me: What if we voted based on our sins? What if we voted as repentance?
Follow me here.
Whatever is meant by “sin” matters and greatly influences what is meant by “repent.” I’m going with these definitions:
“Sin” is to miss the mark (the classical, Greek definition). As in you see a target and—dang—you missed it. Close enough doesn’t count. You missed.
“Repent,” then, is to recalibrate. To re-aim. To adjust your angle and trajectory more squarely at the target, and to take another shot.
So here are the questions I’m asking myself today as I head out to vote: What sins does our nation need to repent of? What is the target, and how have we missed it? How can my vote count as one tiny fraction of a degree of recalibration? The difficulty is that our sins are many, and no one candidate or party offers the opportunity to fully repent of them all. So I’ll make priorities. And I’ll pray.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
