Voting: Your Christian Duty

Today is election day for local elections and, in some states such as New Jersey, state elections. With all of the drama and prominence that goes with national politics, we often forget that it is at the local level that government affects us on the most personal basis. Even though the funding and the policies may come in part from higher levels of government, the implementation of programs such as education, recreation, fire and police protection, and other municipal services is all determined at the local level. And yet, voter turnout in local elections tends to be a small fraction of that for state and national elections.

Most local elected officials serve basically as volunteers, putting in endless hours of meetings and planning sessions in order to serve us. My first entry into elective politics was as a successful candidate for Board of Education in Glastonbury in 1987. (Keith Hook, David Carson and I share the happy memories that go with that job -- Keith in Hartford and David in West Hartford.) Before each bi-weekly board meeting, a Board messenger would drop a one-inch thick packet of materials off at my house, and I was expected to be familiar with its contents by the following Tuesday evening. It is a lot of work serving in local government.

I hope that you will all make it a point to vote today in your local elections. In our country, we have the rare situation of having church and state separated. But in a democratic society, it is our duty as Christians, even as it was for the Jews of first century Rome, to "give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's," and that includes taking advantage of the privilege -- and accepting the responsibility -- of electing the officials that administer our civil laws.

Have a blessed day! Your brother in Christ, Don+