By Ron Sinclair
Several friends have commented since Sunday that they were told by their pastors to “vote with biblical values.”
I try to honor each person’s faith and faith tradition. Lord knows, in Christianity there are enough denominations and sects to confuse anyone trying to understand just what Christianity is. We split and divide over “biblical principals” as often as night turns into day. So I am always curious as to what “biblical values” are supposed to guide our vote.
The prevailing voices in the “biblical values” argument are against anything having to do with LGBTQ+ folks. Evidently, they believe that elections can be won by convincing everyone that transgender athletes are running rampant in women’s sports, children are being transformed into a different sex in public schools, and that gay people are luring children into having sex. Theirs are the loudest voices. In our little community, they have succeeded in banning over 125 books from the libraries of our public schools, and they control our school board and county commission. THEIR “biblical values” based upon fear of these “biblical issues” are driving our governance.
Abortion is the other hot topic. Of course it has been since Ronald Reagan realized after Roe v Wade, that abortion could be used to drive conservative voters to the polls. It’s a driving force for a lot of conservatives that seems to be a “black or white question,” despite the medical community’s reminder that it is anything but. And in some faiths, including the Jewish faith, abortion is considered what Roe v Wade recognized it to be, a decision best left to a woman, her doctor, and God.
As I look at the top “biblical values” being addressed on my social media feed every day, these are the ones most mentioned. And they all have one thing in common: they are about someone else. It’s pretty easy to condemn someone else for violating what we view as biblical.
But we can be pretty selective when we consider our “biblical values.” We eat pork, we wear clothes of different fibers, we seem to not believe that divorce is a worldly sin. If our brother dies, we do not marry his widow. And why don’t we practice the forgiveness of all debt every 7 years, or even better, don’t charge interest (usury) since scriptures clearly tell us that lending money is supposed to be an act of mercy instead of an act that generates profit. The list of ways that each of us acts with other than “biblical values” is a long one indeed.
And what about the other “biblical values?” You know, the ones Jesus taught. Welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe those who need clothing, visit the sick and those in prison, love your neighbor as yourself, forgive 70 times 7?
When you get right down to it, “biblical values” are pretty much the antithesis of the capitalistic system which drives modern society. I believe those advocating for “biblical values” would be really unhappy if we followed a set of “biblical values” that affected themselves. It would change everything about how our social and governmental system works, and put most of us in a bind.
Want to put the 10 Commandments on plaques in public places? Put the Beatitudes alongside them! The Beatitudes as preached by Jesus would truly shake things up, wouldn’t they? (If you aren’t familiar with the Beatitudes, they are part of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount,” and can be found in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 1-12. It’s pretty transformative stuff, straight from the mouth of the Jesus we claim to follow.)
See, Jesus preached and taught us to be transformed. Transformation requires us to look inward, to open our hearts and to live differently. Jesus taught us that following him was not about forcing others to believe as we do. The Great Commission is a hollow order until we live the Greatest Commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul mind and strength; and another like it: to love your neighbor as yourself.”
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye,and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)
We all want to remove the speck from our brother’s eye before removing the plank from our own. It’s so much easier to condemn others. Let those without sin cast the first stone…
We are ALL broken, imperfect vessels.
© 2026 Ron Sinclair; Logo design by Bobby Ward for Crossflame tour, 2017
