I’ve had a lot of people telling me that they may not vote in this election because they don’t much like either of the candidates. One woman at church very eloquently explained how she saw both of the candidates for president supporting the 700 billion dollar bailout of Wall Street, and how wrong that bailout was, and how she could not in good conscience vote for either candidate since she didn’t agree with their positions on the bailout and on immigration. Someone else who watched the debate said she didn’t trust either McCain or Obama and didn’t agree with them in several areas where they agreed with each other. So she was thinking about “protesting” by not voting.

I must say to these women, and to others of you who may be considering NOT voting in this election, that I believe that abstaining from voting in this election is a betrayal of trust, dereliction of duty, and just plain wrong. Because we live in a democracy, we, the people, rule this country. The system works imperfectly, and none of the candidates is me. So I can’t agree wholeheartedly with any one candidate. In fact, I’ll admit that I’ve never been very fond of Senator McCain, and Senator Obama doesn’t seem to me to be ready to run my local elementary school, much less the nation. Both men are flawed, and the vice-presidential candidates, both of them, as much as I like and admire Sarah Palin, have their problems, too. Mr. Biden comes across as a political hack, and as a mom, I’m frankly worried about Ms. Palin’s daughter and her need for mothering at a critical time in her young adult life. I could readily find reasons not to vote for any of them.

So, why am I saying that voting is a trust and a duty anyway? We live in an imperfect world. There are no perfect or perfectly righteous or completely wise candidates for any office, ever, as much as we may wish there were. So we choose the better of two (or more) imperfect candidates. We choose knowing that we may be mistaken, knowing that our candidate, if elected, will do things that we disagree with and will imperfectly implement even the policies with which we agree, if he can implement them at all. We vote on the basis of both issues and the character of the candidates themselves, knowing that our knowledge of both issues and character is also imperfect and incomplete. But to remain silent and nonvoting is also a choice. It’s a choice which says that I refuse to act in this world until I can be sure that my actions will not be misinterpreted, my plans will not go awry, and everyone else in the world will act in perfect integrity just as I do always. We don’t live in that world and won’t for some time to come.

God is in control, but he’s not running for president. When Esther was called upon to help rescue her people from the wicked designs of Haman, she had legitimate reasons to refuse to act. To go before the king might cost her life. And the king of Persia was a pagan, not a believer in the one true God. So did she have any business being in his palace in the first place? But Mordecai, her uncle, told her:

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

God does not need your vote or mine to steer this country in whatever direction He pleases. But He gives us the privilege and the duty of participating in the great decisions that confront our nation. And we must choose the best we can with the wisdom that God has given to each of us. If you have not registered to vote, please do so today. And if you are considering the idea of sitting at home and not voting this November, please join me instead in committing your vote to the Lord and making the best decision you can, in His care, about the men and women who should lead this country. Who knows whether you have not been given your vote for such a time as this?