By Chima Christian
Modern understanding of the right to vote leads us to treat that “right” as a personal possession. We call it a “franchise” — a civic commodity that belongs to us, to be spent however we please, based on our feelings, our logic, what we stand to gain, our tribal or political alignments, or what we catch on the morning news.
The truth is that no genuine christian has the right to vote as he so wishes. Because your vote was never actually yours, and will never be yours. If you give me a minute, I’ll walk you through to that conclusion from no other authority than the Holy Scriptures.
Let us examine, for a moment, how the God of the Bible progressively instituted governance on the earth.
In the beginning, God had a direct rule over man. In the Garden of Eden, God was the immediate authority over Adam. He exercised His Executive function in creating man, putting him in the garden and providing for all his needs. As the Legislator, He gave laws governing life in Eden. As the Judge, He swiftly pronounced judgment on errant behaviour. God was essentially in charge of what we now call the three arms of a democratic government.
As history moved forward, He transitioned this direct oversight into ruling through the patriarchs. In Genesis 18:19, God said: [19] For I have known him (Abraham), in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” So, God commands the man, and the man in turn commands his household and all that is under his sphere of influence.
Eventually, when God built a distinct model civilization for the world through Israel, He ruled them through the Judges, from Moses all the way to Samuel.
Under this original template, the concept of human rulership, let alone “franchise,” did not exist. No one voted for Moses. No one held a primary election for Joshua. The power to lead was entirely derived from God as the sole issuing authority.
Even the powers to govern were considered Divine — where God exercised absolute control through the human vessels He appointed. Those vessels never saw or carried themselves as kings — they were rather mere stewards of a Divine administration.
This order was overthrown by a deep-seated human desire from this model nation to look like everyone else. So instead of discipling the nations as intended, Israel submitted itself to be discipled by nations. The elders of Israel approached Samuel with a populist demand: “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” They wanted to model their society after secular systems rather than remaining God’s model for the rest of the world.
God respected their agency and allowed them to make that choice, but He did not hand over the system entirely. In this first stage of rebellion, God allowed them to choose the structure of government (a monarchy), but He retained the sole responsibility of appointing the leaders.
God personally appointed Saul as the first king of Israel. When Saul failed, He appointed David. He did same with Solomon. Jeroboam, the first king of the divided kingdom, was appointed by God. And so on.
Even in their rebellion, the power to appoint a ruler remained at the absolute discretion of the Divine.
Eventually, humanity rebelled again. Generations grew tired of walking under the constraints of the leaders God appointed, and they began appointing kings for themselves based on their own parameters and political logic.
Faced with this persistent stiffness of heart, God stepped further aside. Under His permissive will, He allowed men to take over both the choice of the structure of government and the protocols for the appointment of the leaders of such governments.
This is the historical lineage that birthed modern democracy.
If you trace the genealogy of today’s political power all the way back to its root, you find that the authority to choose leaders is fundamentally a godly power.
It is not an invention of philosophers or secular political science. It is an attribute of sovereignty that God, in His permissive will, has allowed us to share and steward.
If this is true, it will then mean that the Christian doesn’t have a personal franchise. There is no genuine way to look that the vote of the Christian can become his personal franchise. It is God’s franchise that He has permitted us to exercise on His behalf.
Because that power is a borrowed piece of divine authority, it cannot be used recklessly:
»» You cannot sell it: Exchanging your ballot for money or temporary favours is the exact spiritual equivalent of a prophet trafficking and selling the anointing for cash. It is egregious to trade a token of divine ordination for pocket change. God will not hold guiltless those who do this.»»
»» You cannot spend it on tribal sentiments: Casting a ballot purely because a candidate belongs to your clan, speaks your language, or is in some other way affiliated with you elevates your emotional comfort above the wisdom of God.»»
»» You cannot guide it by media noise: If your political alignment is formed strictly by radio/television talking heads, viral social media trends, or neighborhood gossip, it is a manifestation of spiritual deafness and immaturity. Every time man has chosen by the five senses, regret has always been the outcome.»»
»» The Responsibility of the Steward: Realizing that the power to vote is a derived power also means you cannot walk away from it. Boycotting an election out of apathy while praying for a transformed society is like Moses refusing to drop his staff before Pharaoh or refusing to stretch it over the Red Sea. It is an act of civic and spiritual recklessness—refusing to deploy the tool God has graciously permitted you to steward.
Elections come and go. The next time you hold a ballot, drop the illusion that you are exercising a personal right. You are executing a priesthood on behalf of your Maker. Maturity demands that you step away from yourself and ask the only question that matters: “What is the will of the Lord concerning this territory?”
Your ballot isn’t a commodity to be spent as you so desire. It is an altar where you align earth with heaven. May God grant you the wisdom and grace to represent Him well in the coming and future elections.
Weeping may endure for the night, but Africa’s morning is at hand.
—
Chima Christian is the Lead Facilitator of Boqer School of Governance — a platform dedicated to the teaching of scriptural truth as it applies to contemporary societal and governance issues.
