Americans could not have foreseen the twists and turns ahead when they buckled into the roller coaster of the 2024 election. The process, intended to bring clarity to voters, was fraught with claims of mental unfitness, criminal convictions, colossal Supreme Court decisions, two assassination attempts, a candidate’s withdrawal and replacement, and a catfight of a debate before the polls opened in November.
When Donald Trump and Kamala Harris met for their first and only presidential debate, many Americans were disappointed with their options, seeing it as a choice between what they felt was the “lesser of two evils.” While both candidates certainly had enthusiastic members in their respective bases, many Americans, including some followers of Jesus, were discouraged—perhaps knowing which bubble they ultimately would fill in on Election Day but not planning to do so with great passion or optimism.
Regardless of their level of enthusiasm, Christians turned out to vote for President Trump in a notable majority. Self-identified Christians represented 72% of voters this election cycle, and 56% voted for Donald Trump, according to data from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University 2024 post-election research. The issues that most greatly motivated them were inflation, immigration or border control, and abortion, the CRC noted.
With the new president in office, Christians would be wise to ask, “What does it mean for us that a new administration, one in many ways antithetical to its predecessor, has come to power?” Are Christians’ roles essentially unchanged from one administration to the next, or are there unique ways to serve the Lord and others under our current leadership?
Avoiding Apathy With Discernment
Before diving into that question, there are some crucial principles to remember. First, while we ought to promote the best candidates, every election will mark a choice between the lesser of two evils. The winner will always be a person separated from God because of sin unless they have been ransomed back to him through Jesus’ blood. They will always have selfish impulses, compounded and fueled by the corrupting nature of power in human hands.
But even in light of this, Christians must be wary of falling into the lie that, since all candidates are imperfect, they are all equal or that it doesn’t matter who holds office. Scripture speaks out against such a mindset. Passages like Romans 13 speak to God’s design for government, that it is for our good, tempering the influence of evil in the world until it is restored by King Jesus. Indeed, it matters who carries out this tremendous task. Likewise, Christians are called to be discerning, holding the ideas we encounter against the unfailing ruler of Scripture and destroying arguments that go against God’s plan (Romans 12:2; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4).
Christians must not use a lack of perfect adherence to Scripture to justify apathy.
Some policies better reflect God’s design for the world in how they protect justice, safeguard the innocent, and promote human flourishing. To the extent that a leader is likely to pursue these things, Christians ought to rejoice at his or her election and feel no shame in doing so. We must consider our leaders’ claims clearly and thank God for the good. Do not believe it is wrong to feel excitement over a new presidential administration because there is disagreement among Christians. Relief does not have to equal idolatry or spite.
We should be thankful that President Trump was willing to agree, whether or not it was his motivation, with Scripture on the nature of human beings as male and female—immutably. Trump’s executive order, declaring that the federal government will recognize only these two sexes, is grounded in Genesis 1:27, when God creates Man, male and female. This theme is restated throughout the Bible, even through the imagery of Christ and his bride, the Church. In a related move, Trump declared that incarcerated men who have identified themselves as women will no longer be transferred to female prisons, guarding the safety and dignity of the women there.
Other actions from the executive branch thus far have signaled a commitment to promoting a culture of life through the pardoning of pro-life protestors convicted under the FACE Act, Vice President Vance’s in-person message to the March for Life participants in January, and the rescinding of executive orders from President Biden’s administration that employed taxpayer dollars to cover abortion access costs.
Seeking the Welfare of the City
But let’s return now to the underlying question: how ought Christians to live and fulfill their Christian responsibilities from one presidential administration to the next? Adam Rasmussen, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Arizona Christian University and fellow at the CRC, noted that the foundational role of Christians is unchanged: “Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, and my job is to speak well of God and proclaim the Gospel.”1 Christians have been tasked with ongoing responsibilities as we engage with government and culture. First, we are to pray for our leaders, for their benefit and ours, as we pursue “peaceful and quiet lives” (1 Timothy 2:1–4). We are also called to submit to and honor our leaders, even those with whom we disagree (Romans 13:1) insofar as it does not conflict with our ultimate allegiance to God (Acts 5:29). In addition to this, Christians should actively fight for good things for the nation in which God has placed them (Jeremiah 29:7), once again, both for its benefit and our own.
Greg Johannes, a professor and academic success coach at Arizona Christian University, recognized that the political process and the government leaders will never be the saving power of a society that continually drifts further from God. “My hope is in Christ,” Johannes stated, “We’re supposed to be salt. We’re supposed to be light. We’re supposed to be trying to stem the tide of corruption and of sin as much as we can. But I know the solution is not in legislation. The solution is in evangelization and sharing Jesus.”2
Still, that salt is vital for a flourishing culture.“It does make a difference who is in the White House. It doesn’t make [the] ultimate difference, but it does make a difference,” Rasmussen noted. As such, Christians need to know “what’s going on in culture and to, here and now, have [their lives] count for impact . . . a lot of things are important. Politics is one of them.”3
Rasmussen challenged Christians to engage with the political ideas dominating culture, even when the ideas are distasteful or uncomfortable.
For some, he noted, it will be like eating broccoli—something that just must be done. “Probably in the areas where you’re scaredest or you’re most averse to it, you should probably lean into it a little bit more with your faith. So we need a robust engagement in all of life.”4
What, then, should be the attitude of Christians in our political moment? It should be one of humility before Christ as the only ultimate hope. It should be one of faithfulness, praying for those in authority over us—as we are clearly commanded in Scripture—with the passion and specificity that can only come through engagement with the culture of ideas around us. Pray for their repentance before the Lord; pray that they would enact justice; pray that the decisions they make in office promote a culture where the gospel will flourish. We should praise God for the good he allows our leaders to enact and listen actively for his directions as we “seek the welfare of the city.”
By Catherine Gripp