When I was little, my mom used to take me with her into the voting booth. I remember crowding around her legs as she stood in front of the voting machine to cast her ballot. The process seemed solemn and mysterious. Politics didn’t seem to be discussed much when I was a child. While people had access to newspapers and television, the coverage was limited to an hour here and there (I kind of miss not having news every second of our day), and life felt much more insulated from every political event happening around the world. Of course, politics affected our lives, but I never felt like it was something we focused on.
However, with 24-hour news cycles and video content continuously shoved in our faces (let’s be honest, we often willingly seek out and consume the content), politics are more front and center in our culture than ever before. While we can (and sometimes should) shield our children from some of what is going on out there, we can’t protect them from all the political news or propaganda. And they will be much better served if we teach them how we navigate tough issues biblically. Our last political blog, “Navigating the American Political Landscape,” walked you through how to navigate the rocky political landscape as Christians and voters, but here we want to give you some ways to do so as a parent, guiding your children to know how our faith should govern our choices whether they be in our daily actions or voting in elections.
Personal character speaks volumes.I am old enough to remember when the character of a candidate at least appeared to matter. I remember when exposed extra-marital affairs could end a politician’s career. Sadly, that isn’t the case anymore. It’s not only no longer shocking but expected that politicians are sinful and corrupt. Yet, there are still some good people in politics and the character of the candidates should matter.
As Christians, we should look for people who practice what they preach, candidates who have a track record of honesty and integrity.
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Read Ruth, Esther, or the stories of David and Saul from 1 Samuel. Ask your children to identify positive and negative traits or actions of the biblical figures. Have the kids name the traits or deeds and explain why they were good or bad. Reinforce the concept that what is good or bad comes from God.
Encourage them to look for these traits in the candidates. If there ever is a truly good candidate again, they hopefully will be able to recognize him or her and be able to use discernment to examine their decisions and policies in light of God’s truths.
How can we explain who to support when neither candidate is honest nor decent?This seems to be the question everyone is asking this year. What do we do when don’t like either candidate? (Hillary’s husband, John, wrote about that in a blog called “What If I Don’t Like Either Candidate?” that might be helpful. Read it here.) First, we start with looking at the platform that each candidate endorses. Consider the impact of their policies on our freedoms, rights, economy, etc.
Measure their views against the Bible. How do their policies protect the innocent? How do their policies affect the widow and the orphan? Do their policies align with what the Bible says is true about mankind and how we are to behave? (If you’d like to read each party’s platforms for yourself, here is the Democratic platform and here is the Republican.)
This is a wonderful opportunity to teach your children age-appropriate ways to compare what God’s Word says with various messages and ideas. Here are a couple of examples.
Pro-Life – We value human life because it is a gift from God. No child is conceived on accident, and every human life is made in the image of God. Read Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139:15-16 with your children. Both passages demonstrate that God knit each of us together in our mother’s womb. Ask your children if they can think of any other examples of verses that talk about preborn life (hint: John the Baptist in the womb Luke 1:41-4). Then ask them what these passages tell us about preborn infants? How does God think about babies? Then show them how those truths inform how we vote and what policies we support. We cannot vote for any platform, policy, or person who ignores these most basic of truths. Human beings have the right to life from conception to natural death. When neither candidate is staunchly pro-life, we must choose the platform that protects life the most and get more involved in local and state elections to help more pro-life candidates reach the national level.
Marriage and Family (and gender) – We should also vote in ways that honor God’s design for marriage and family. From the very beginning, God created them male and female and defined marriage and family. As a family, read the account of God’s creation of man and woman in Genesis 1:27 and 2:18-24 and where Jesus reaffirms God’s design in Matthew 19:4-6. Then discuss the following questions:
- What do these passages tell us about God’s design for humanity?
- Who created marriage?
- Who designed and defined our gender?
- Do we have the right to change God’s design or change how He made us?
God’s design is best for society and culture. While not every marriage follows God’s design, overall strong marriages create strong families, which in turn create good societies, so we should support policies that follow God’s design and oppose those that lead to confusion.
Okay, those are pretty easy issues to interpret using scripture. What about issues that are more complex like immigration, medical insurance, fair income taxes? Some topics are going to take more research and might be too big to tackle with little ones. However, knowing how God’s word relates to various topics is going to be more and more crucial, especially if you have kids coming home from school being taught a very humanistic worldview.
Widows, Orphans, and…Since my husband died, I’ve become acutely aware of how many times the God mentions caring for the widow and the orphan in the Bible. It’s a lot. Psalm 68:5 tells us that God is the Father to the fatherless and protector of widows. Exodus 22:22-23 warns not to mistreat them. James 1:27 says that pure religion is a faith that cares for the widows and orphans.
But who was supposed to do this? 1 Timothy 5 says first their family, then the church if they had no family. God called us as individuals to care for the widows and orphans in our sphere. Is there a kid without a dad in your neighborhood? Can you invite him to join your family for a fishing trip? Can you mow the lawn for a widow on your street?
Should the government be structured to be fair to the widow and orphan? Absolutely. However, we need to consider how policies will actually affect people. Sometimes, well-meaning policies have lasting negative consequences. The government generally doesn’t do a great job in the areas where God has called the church to act.
… the Sojourner (i.e. immigrants)Immigration is one of those nuanced topics in which we need to be very careful about our terminology. An immigrant is anyone coming into a different country than their nation of origin. We further differentiate between those who come into our country legally or illegally. But how should Christians think about this issue?
First, anyone we come into personal contact with is made in the image of God no matter where they call home. We are called to treat each person with worth and value. Hebrews 13:2 exhorts us to demonstrate hospitality. Leviticus 19:33-34 instructs us to treat the sojourner the same as the native. We are to be compassionate and demonstrate mercy.
Yet, we need to understand the Bible definition of sojourner. Sojourners also had requirements, mainly to assimilate into Hebrew culture, following the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 18:26, Numbers 15:14-15). Israel had one law that applied to both the Israelite and sojourners.
Romans 13 also makes clear that we are to obey the law of the land and the rulers unless they call on us to violate God’s moral law. While we can all agree that our nation’s immigration system needs a massive overhaul, the Bible doesn’t allow people to break the law because it will be better for them. Coming into our country illegally violates the law. While we can have compassion, the circumstances of most of these people are beyond tragic, however, breaking the law is still sin.
But what if your kids ask, “Wasn’t Jesus a socialist?”This could be its own article, but quickly, no, He wasn’t. First, much of God’s law that was given to Moses is based on the idea of private property and the need to repay people for damaging their property (Deuteronomy 5:19). God is so emphatic on personal property that a family was not even permitted to sell their familial land permanently; land was always returned to the original owners every 50 years during the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:13). Socialism does not have private property. Secondly, Daniel 4:17 clearly shows that God, the Most High, gives power and wealth to whom He will to serve His purposes. Also, read Matthew 25:14-30. Jesus tells a parable of three different servants trusted with three differing amounts of money. They started with different advantages. Wouldn’t Jesus address this if it were inherently unfair? Maybe brainstorm with your children why the master might have given some servants more money? We are not all called to have the same; we are all called to do the best with whatever we have been given.
While Jesus did call on the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor (Matthew 19:21-24), He did not call everyone to do so. Perhaps that young man needed to see that he loved his money more than Jesus.
We are to glorify God in how we use what He has entrusted to our stewardship. That means being generous to the poor and needy, but we don’t abdicate that responsibility to a secular (and often godless) government and hope they get it right.
How do you handle these more nuanced topics with your children?These kinds of topics are where you need to dig in deep. You might need to do some research before you sit down with your kids. First, do your best to understand the proposed plans from each side and how they will play out in the real world. Like shutting down an oil pipeline might be safer for the natural environment in case of leaks or spills, but how will it affect gas prices, food prices, and electricity costs? All policy decisions have ripple effects which impact peoples’ lives. You can help your kids see this through Bible stories about men who made sinful choices and how those choices affected their families or Israel as a whole. (Exodus 20:5 shows how an idolatrous father can affect generations, King Ahab from 1 Kings 16-21, Korah from Numbers 16, and most of the kings of Israel in 1&2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles.)
Additionally, remind your children what the Bible says about our human nature. We are sinful and have a fallen nature. Which platform, candidate, or policy denies our sinfulness and ascribes natural goodness to all? Take the platform to its logical conclusion and discuss. Have your kids evaluate if it’s really a good idea. Does it align with Scripture? Can we look to the past to see how similar policies affected our nation or others? Look at the platforms of both parties and ask your kids to consider how each one would work in the real world and how those policies align with who God is and how He commands us to live.
Discuss with your children how a candidate is more than one office in many elections. A governor or presidential candidate may appoint hundreds or thousands of people (I heard one candidate mention in an interview this week that the president appoints 10,000 people!) to various high-level offices and appoint judges to different levels of the court system. Consider carefully which viewpoints you want those appointees to hold. The previous four presidents all appointed hundreds of judges to the federal court system. In many cases, they hold long or lifetime appointments. The impact of judicial appointments was very clear when Roe v. Wade was recently overturned.
Teach your children that we don’t vote our feelings.We can’t say this enough right now. Our culture is feeling the feelings. And they seem to be counted more crucial than facts. Emotions are real, but they are not always true. Sometimes, we can feel totally worthless and depressed, but all we really need is a sandwich or a nap (1 Kings 19). We need to base our thinking on solid foundations, not ones that are so temperamental. And empathy for others can be toxic when it leads to policies that hurt others. Have your children research the effects of welfare. Did it help or hurt? How can they make sure a policy that sounds kind is also wise.
Because most media is run by ad revenue, what we see and hear is perfectly curated to evoke strong feelings in us and be persuasive, whether it’s for a tissue brand, soft drink, or political candidate. People make their livings on being able to get us to override logic based on our emotions. Don’t fall for that and show your kids how to think through propaganda. The podcast Filter it through a Brain Cell is an excellent resource in this arena!
Another interesting method is watching political ads without the sound, using just closed captions. It’s amazing how much of the power in an ad or movie is in the musical score.
Read through slogans and watch ads to determine what each candidate endorses and recommends. If the candidate is vague, that speaks volumes as well. Why are they being vague? What are they trying to mask? Sometimes it might be that they haven’t fleshed out a solid proposal on an issue, but sometimes, he/she might deliberately be trying to keep their true intentions secret to win those middle of the road voters. Look at their past records as candidates and in office. What did bills and policies did they support or oppose? What is their track record in office? How well did they fulfill their campaign promises?
For older kids on social mediaHow we behave online can have a huge influence on others. I’ve had lots of hostile interactions regarding my pro-life views and had people (even strangers) message me about how impressed they were with how calmly and rationally and kindly I acted even when I was being attacked. Remind your teens we are blessed when we are attacked for the truth and name of Christ. Don’t let it upset you. Do your best to represent Christ as you strive to share His truths. And especially remind them that we don’t debate to convince the person we’re talking to, we aim our demeanor at all the people who are watching the interaction. More than likely, you won’t change your sparring partner’s mind. But you might change the mind of onlookers—but only if you keep your cool and keep it kind.
Also, tell them to do their best to fact check articles and memes before posting. We all fail at this sometimes but try to at least find a couple of sources that verify the information you’re about to share. Images can be extremely powerful, but it’s never acceptable to knowingly share false or misleading information because it makes your point. The ends do not justify the means.
Before sharing news articles, read opposing sources. How did the other side characterize the same event? Having enemy attestation of facts that make a powerful point, is even better. I often have found an opposing article that proves my point to share because it’s much more effective when a source your friends or family might trust says the same things.
Speak wisely.Each of us has an influence in this election far beyond our vote. You have a sphere of influence starting with your children and including friends, family, neighbors who are watching and listening. How you act speaks volumes. Your kids have those spheres of influence too. Help them learn how to have good conversations even about difficult topics. Teach them to be bridge builders (Bridge-Building Apologetics is an excellent resource by our very own Lindsey Medenwaldt).
Teach your children to ignore ad hominem attacks (personal attacks) on the candidates (or directed at them) and focus on the issues. Keep the main thing the main thing. For example, “Okay, we can agree he is kind of a jerk, but let’s focus on the issue of ____.” Don’t get caught in the emotions of having a tough discussion. Remember, people generally won’t have a political epiphany and change their views on the spot. Teach them to ask their friends the same questions we’ve asked you like:
- How would that work?
- What do you think that would solve?
- Are there foreseeable consequences to that solution that might cause other problems?
- How did you come to those conclusions?
Help your children remember to always represent Jesus. Sometimes the way they act will influence their friends more than any carefully crafted arguments.
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But what can we DO?We are supposed to be the salt and light of the world. In her forthcoming When Culture Hates You, Natasha Crain points out that verses like John 3;19-21, 8:12, and Ephesians 5:11 are about those roles of preserving (salt) what is good and (light) exposing what is not. She says, “They require Christians to advocate for righteousness in the public square. We aren’t preserving or exposing anything by sitting passively in our living rooms.”1
If your kids are anything like mine, they want to do something. Start with fasting (take a tv or phone break, skip dessert, etc.) and praying as a family. When Nehemiah agonized over the state of Jerusalem, he spent days weeping, fasting, and praying.
Ask God for wisdom in how you and your family can make a tangible difference in your area. Can your kids collect canned goods for a food bank? Can they visit the residents at a senior center? Can you all volunteer at a pro-life pregnancy center, homeless ministry, or foster clothes closet? Can you attend city council meetings and support Godly men and women who run or serve?
Find ways for your kids to be part of doing things to be the salt and light of the world. Show them they can change the world one person at a time.
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The candidates we have this year are partially our own fault. We have allowed evil to reign in every corner of our government. Look for ways to bring a change in the culture through your witness and making disciples. Change won’t come overnight, but together, we can make a difference in the culture which then affects who we follow in politics and Hollywood (which definitely needs to change!). Hopefully, we can teach our kids how to boldly be the light in the darkness.
Jennifer DefratesJennifer DeFrates is a former high school teacher turned homeschool mom and Christian blogger at Heavennotharvard.com and theMamapologist.com. Jennifer is a CIA graduate (the Cross-Examined Instructors Academy, not the government agency…though I wouldn’t mess with her just in case) and has an abiding love for apologetics. She is also the reluctant ringleader of a small menagerie in rural Alabama. How cool is that?
www.heavennotharvard.com1 Natasha Crain, When Culture Hates You (Harvest House: 2024), 27.The post Politics at the Dinner Table: Answering Your Kid’s Questions Without Panicking appeared first on Mama Bear Apologetics.