Augustine's Advice for Election Day

Election day can feel overwhelming as voters face a divided political landscape. Augustine reminds Christians that true hope lies in God’s sovereignty, not in earthly outcomes.

UNITED STATES – Election day is here once again. With it comes the renewed claims repeated every election cycle—that this is the most consequential election of our lifetimes or that failing to vote now might mean you will not have the right to vote in the future. This time on the calendar can be overwhelming as voters collectively decide between two alternative visions for the country’s future.

In truth, however, each election is merely one minute step in God’s plan for the end of the sinful world and the coming of the heavenly kingdom. The City of God will prevail even after the City of Man fails. But, while we are here, as temporary citizens of an earthly nation with a democratic form of government, we have the privilege to vote or abstain according to our conscience. As Christians, our conscience, and thus our vote, should be shaped by the Church’s mission and Biblical principles.

Yes, it may seem somewhat anachronistic, but St. Augustine of Hippo has much to say about how Christians should vote and conduct themselves during the election season. Though 1600 years removed from him and separated from one another by language, culture, and form of government, Augustine’s wisdom is palpably relevant for this cultural moment.

1. Lean on God’s Sovereignty

“Sinners, therefore, whether angels or humans, do nothing that impedes the great works of the Lord, designed to match his every will (Ps 111:2); for in his providence and omnipotence God distributes to each what is due to each and knows how to make good use not only of the good but also of the evil.”¹

Augustine’s The City of God may be his most significant work and arguably the most relevant to the current state of the Western world. In the introduction of his translation, William Babcock contends that it tells a story of love on a cosmic scale, contrasting two kingdoms—the City of Man and the City of God. The former is marked by a love for self, while the latter is defined by a love for God, “Two loves, then, have made two cities. Love of self, even to the point of contempt for God, made the earthly city, and love of God, even to the point of contempt for self, made the heavenly city.”

In His providence, God will one day separate those faithful to the heavenly city from those of the earthly city, rewarding them with the fullness of joy and banishing all sorrow. But for now, as God permits evil to exist, it plays an important role in His redemptive plan. Eventually, the shadow of confusion will lift, and the citizens of the heavenly city will behold God and understand His perfect plan. Until then, God appoints kings, even evil ones, and guides their hearts as He wills. Christians can trust that, no matter the outcome of the election, God remains sovereign and in control.

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2. Imitate Christ

“Let no one decide that he is a Christian unless he both follows the teaching of Christ and imitates His example…. He is a Christian who follows the way of Christ, who imitates Christ in all things.”²

If we are to imitate Christ in all we do, we must also imitate Christ during the election cycle, whether we enter the ballot box or not. Let every Christian study the issues, verify the information they ingest, and listen to wiser men so as to be persuaded of their choice. If not, let them abstain from voting.

In seeking to follow Christ’s example, God calls us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Our decisions should not be grounded in instinctual emotion but in Biblical principles, recognizing that Scripture is the Word of God. The virtues it teaches and its guidance on the role and purpose of government lead us to consider the following questions:

• Which candidate will most likely uphold and legislate Christian principles of morality and punish wrongdoing?

• Which candidate is less likely to play the tyrant and more likely to rule a nation of citizens rather than slaves?

• Which candidate would most likely promote an environment supportive of the Church's mission for evangelism and discipleship?

• Which candidate is more inclined to defend and support the innocent and vulnerable, such as babies (born and unborn), orphans, and the disabled?

• Which candidate is more committed to protecting the family unit—including traditional biblical sexuality—as ordained by God?

• Which candidate is more likely to ensure national and international peace and prosperity?

• Which candidate has displayed more truth and integrity in their public life?

• Which candidate will most likely be a good steward of the nation’s resources?

3. Participate Without Idolatry

“We put no confidence in man, but, so far as we can, we warn men to place their trust in the Lord; nor do we put confidence in princes, but, so far as we can, we warn princes to put confidence in the Lord. And though we may seek aid from princes to promote the advantage of the Church, yet do we not put confidence in them.”³

If you choose to vote, do so with trust in God, not in princes. Far too many voters have misplaced confidence in their favorite candidate (that sometimes seems to cross the boundary into idolatry), believing that if only they were to win, it would solve all of the nation’s major issues. Such is never the case. Christ alone is the only answer to the problem of sin. If your conscience leads you to vote, do so, but let your confidence rest solely in God and trust Him regardless of the election’s outcome.

4. Pray Without Ceasing

“If you would never cease to pray, never cease to long after it. The continuance of thy longing is the continuance of thy prayer. You will be ceasing to speak, if you cease to long for it… [Also], hear the Lord saying, ‘Pray for your enemies.’ Let them not pray for this, that their enemies may die; but rather pray for this, that they may be reclaimed; then will their enemies be dead; for from the time that they are reclaimed, henceforth they will be enemies no longer.”⁴

Prayer is a natural outgrowth of our hope in God and our desire for His peace in a broken world. Our world is broken. The reality of this brokenness should stir our hearts and bring us genuine sorrow. This sorrow should lead us to cast ourselves onto the rock of Christ in prayer. And yet, how often do we resort to snide posts on social media and endless complaints to our family and friends before we ever consider praying?

To be clear, just because someone votes opposite of you does not make them your enemy, nor should you treat them as such. But, there are many enemies of Christ in our present age. Certain forms of political activism are often brazen signals of hatred towards God.

Yet, through Jesus, God has reconciled us to Himself. Now, we are reconciled with the Church, and it is the Church’s duty to reconcile her enemies to Christ and thus to herself. Therefore, in love and desire, we pray for those we count as the Church’s enemies. Christ was already lashed for their sin—our job is to love them despite it. Christians must not allow politics to cloud God’s vision for the Church’s ministry.

5. Love Your Neighbor

“There can be no love for God in the man who does not love his neighbor, nor love of neighbor without the love of God.”⁵

The two greatest commandments in Scripture are as follows—to love your God and to love your neighbor. But who is my neighbor? Oh, Israel, even the Samaritan is your neighbor! No one is to be excluded from your love. Will you only love those who are agreeable? Then you are no different than the lost world—a citizen of the earthly city.

But if you are to follow Christ as a citizen of His kingdom, you must love friend and foe alike. In this love, you must move and act, not returning evil for evil but heaping hot coals of gentleness and kindness upon the heads of Christ’s enemies, imitating Him by denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Him. We must vote in love. We must act in love. And we must respond in love.

6. Remember Your True Citizenship

“Let us walk, then, like people who know they are on the way, because the king of our homeland has made himself our way. The king is the Lord Jesus Christ; there at home he is our truth, but here he is our way.  To what are we traveling? To the truth. How shall we get there? Through faith. Whither are we traveling? To Christ. How shall we reach him? Through Christ.”⁶

In Philippians 3, the Apostle Paul reflects on his national and religious identity, describing himself as “a Hebrew of the Hebrews.” In today’s terms, we might say “an American of the Americans.” We are part of the most generous nation in the world, possessing unmatched military power, founded on Christian principles, with a heritage of sacrifice, valor, innovation, prosperity, art, and culture.

Yet, Paul writes in verse 7, “I count it all as loss,” and in verse 8, the KJV emphasizes, “I count them but dung.” Why? So that he may know Christ, share in His sufferings, and become like Him in His death.

Paul continues in verse 30, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Too often, Christians lose sight of this reality. The cross is the banner of Christ’s Kingdom, soaring far above any earthly flag. Our identity as Americans should not only fall below our identity in Christ—it should be infinitely beneath it. We look for a city whose builder and maker is God.

7. Continue in Contentment

“But when the statement is made that we shall possess God and that we shall be content with Him alone, that in fact we shall be so delighted with Him alone that we shall seek nothing else, because we shall take pleasure in Him alone and we shall, in turn, enjoy Him in ourselves. For what are we if we do not possess God…?”⁷

Regardless of the election's results, whether your favorite candidate wins or loses, continue daily in what you have learned from Scripture and the guidance of the spiritual mentors God has placed in your life. Be content with such things as you have, and do not harbor jealousy or bitterness against God’s providence. He has decreed the rise and fall of every kingdom and the appointment and removal of every king. Trust Him. Seek Him alone, and you will find true joy and shall want for nothing else.

1. Saint Augustine, The City of God, ed. Boniface Ramsey, trans. William Babcock, vol. 7, The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2012–2013), 135.

2. Augustine of Hippo, “The Christian Life,” in Treatises on Various Subjects, ed. Roy J. Deferrari and Hermigild Dressler, trans. Mary Sarah Muldowney, vol. 16, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1952), 39–40.

3. Augustine of Hippo, “In Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist, Bishop of Cirta,” in St. Augustin: The Writings against the Manichaeans and against the Donatists, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. J. R. King, vol. 4, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company, 1887), 586.

4. Augustine of Hippo, “Expositions on the Book of Psalms,” in Saint Augustin: Expositions on the Book of Psalms, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. A. Cleveland Coxe, vol. 8, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1888), 107.

5. Augustine of Hippo, “Faith and Works,” in Treatises on Marriage and Other Subjects, ed. Roy Joseph Deferrari, trans. Marie Liguori, vol. 27, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1955), 246.

6. Saint Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms 121–150, ed. Boniface Ramsey, trans. Maria Boulding, vol. 20, The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000), 37–38.

7. Augustine of Hippo, Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons, ed. Hermigild Dressler, trans. Mary Sarah Muldowney, vol. 38, The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1959), 355.