One of the world’s great politicians, King Solomon, declared this proverbial wisdom over Israel:

“There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” (Proverbs 6:16-19)

It’s axiomatic that anything the Lord hates, we should hate. Yet, in recent elections, many Christian leaders have argued they are not voting for pastors but rather for politicians who advocate for their agendas. King Solomon was not a pastor, but rather a politician. His words apply to all people. As followers of Jesus, we should publicly support public officials who reflect good character and integrity. 

The Watergate scandals of the early 1970’s Nixon administration caused a backlash against government corruption. Numerous laws were passed following Nixon’s resignation to protect the country against a corrupt administration. The 1976 Presidential campaign, the first campaign following the Nixon election, featured then Democratic candidate, Jimmy Carter, the first self-proclaimed “born again” Presidential candidate. During the campaign, Carter famously declared, “I will never tell a lie.”¹Whalen, Thomas, “From Jimmy Carter to Donald Trump in Four Short Decades,” The Conversation, September, 10, 2015.  What a difference from today!

In the 1988 Presidential campaign, Senator Gary Hart from Colorado was leading in the polls for the Democratic nomination. Suddenly, a photograph was published showing him on a boat with a young woman on his lap who was not his wife. His campaign collapsed due to the moral outrage.²Waxman, Olivia, “The True Story Behind The Front Runner: How Gary Hart’s Scandal Changed Politics,” Time Magazine, November 7, 2018. 

Many Christian leaders have argued they are not voting for pastors but rather for politicians who advocate for their agendas. As followers of Jesus, we should publicly support officials who reflect good character and integrity. Share on X

In 1998, it was revealed that President Clinton had a sexual relationship with a White House intern, leading to his impeachment by the House of Representatives. At the time, Ralph Reed, head of the Christian Coalition said the following: “Character matters, and the American people are hungry for that message. We care about the conduct of our leaders, and we will not rest until we have leaders of good moral character.”³ Goodstein, Emily, “Christian Coalition Moans Lack of Anger at Clinton,” NY Times, September 20, 1998.

The same Ralph Reed, now head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, recently said the following, “There has never been anyone who has defended us and fought for us, who we have loved more, than Donald J. Trump. No one!”⁴Wehner, Peter, “The Deepening Crisis in Evangelical Christianity,” The Atlantic, July 15, 2019. This despite that fact Trump in his first term was impeached twice and incited a riot at the US Capitol to overturn the 2020 election results. In the interim between his two terms, he was convicted of several felonies, indicted for several more, found liable to a woman he sexually accosted for millions of dollars, and his company was found liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for fraud. Now, on the threshold of the Presidency again, he has nominated several candidates for cabinet positions who wouldn’t pass an FBI background check, even if he authorized one. 

All of this causes me to wonder: If “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), and the “Word of God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8), what has changed in the ensuing years?

By supporting politicians of seriously flawed moral and ethical character, the Body of Christ has lost its witness as a light to the world. Character (still) matters.

Scripture is clear on this perspective. Jesus declares, “Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). He further said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). When we publicly support corrupt leaders, we obliterate the light. 

George Friedman, a well-known political analyst, wrote the following several years ago: “Character is everything…Recognizing character in a leader would appear to me the fundamental responsibility of a voter. The idea that you should vote for a leader based on his policy intentions is, I think, inherently flawed.”⁵Friedman, Geroge, “Character, Policy and the Selection of Leaders,” Geopolitical Weekly, September 4, 2012.

By supporting politicians of seriously flawed moral and ethical character, the Body of Christ has lost its witness as a light to the world. Character (still) matters. Share on X

Separating character and policy in a leader creates a false dichotomy. As an extreme example, in 1932, just before Election Day, Adolf Hitler gave a rousing speech calling for the unification of the German nation. The elections that immediately followed made the Nazis the largest party in their parliament. A few months later Hitler was appointed the leader of the country. Hitler told the German people, ‘Give me four years.’ Four years later unemployment had dropped from 30% of the country to 5%, despite the rest of the world lingering in the horrible throes of the Great Depression. The German military was rebuilt. The Summer Olympic Games were held in Berlin in 1936. That very same year the central office for combating homosexuality and abortion was formed. The Nazi Party platform included the following about religious practice: “We demand the freedom of religious confessions in the state insofar as they do not jeopardize the state’s existence or conflict with the manners and moral sentiments of the German nation. The party as such upholds the point of view of a positive Christianity without tying itself to any one confession.” 

Consequently, most churches welcomed Hitler’s leadership. But the worst was yet to come. Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf, written ten years earlier, revealed his true character: his fanatical antisemitism, his revisionist view of history, and his plan to overthrow the existing order of Germany. Despite reservations about his character and speeches, most German political leaders and church leaders supported him in his policies. As he said, ‘Give me four years.’ 

Why even raise the Hitler card at this point in 2025? Hasn’t the incoming administration already been comfortably re-elected, America having made its democratic choice at the ballot box in November? This connection is important because church leaders supported Hitler due to his policies while conveniently ignoring his character and speech until it was too late – exactly like most Evangelical leaders supported Donald Trump in his last three elections, despite the aforementioned major character flaws. Can something like what happened in Germany happen in the United States? The January 6th riot at the Capitol in early 2021 should answer that question without any hesitation.

Ever since the rise of the Moral Majority in the late 1970’s, Evangelical Christianity has increasingly merged with the Republican party, and political action has become a standard feature of many churches. It’s easy to forget the confrontation between Jesus and Pontius Pilate several millennia ago when Pilate asked Jesus whether he was the King of the Jews. Jesus’ response is telling, especially in this critical moment: “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now, my Kingdom is from another place” (John 18:36).

The gospel is not furthered by political action. Culture is not changed by government decree. Culture is transformed by the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, freely available amongst us through Jesus Christ. This must remain the priority of the church. 

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The gospel is not furthered by political action. Culture is not changed by government decree, but transformed by the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, freely available amongst us through Jesus Christ. Share on X

*Editorial Note: Our Brave Spaces Newsletter for November 2024, subtitled “All Shall Be Well,” pulled together a ton of our writers recent work on this political moment. Please revisit this newsletter as you navigate the upcoming presidential inauguration. And please subscribe here if you haven’t already done so! ~CK