To vote or not to vote?

Having spent most of the day in bed feeling weak and sick, I was probably the most tempted I’ve ever been to give it a miss...

But then I got to thinking about the Chartists and the suffragettes... and realised getting out of bed and wandering round the corner (in the sunshine☀️) to put a mark on a piece of paper really isn’t that much effort compared to the bigger picture of what people have done in order to vote!

I was also the most clueless I’ve ever been about the candidates I had to choose between... But realised Jesus already gave me the values to look out for, I just needed to find the one that in my mind most closely stood for the values we Christians seek for as we join Jesus in building his kingdom.

Justice. (Especially for the oppressed, forgotten and outcast of our society.)

Unity and Peace. (Both within our country and with other nations worldwide.)

Equity. (Bit like equality but where people’s different needs are taken into account.)

Good stewardship. (Of everything we use and impact with the way we live.)

Basically, LOVING God and everything/one that he made how we would like to be loved.

Christianity isn’t just about singing in church. Graham Cray writes:

“Discipleship is to be lived out in every dimension of life. The Christian term for citizenship is, in effect, public discipleship. This can bring Christians into conflict with their societies, when the values of society and the values of Christ’s kingdom conflict. But it does not set Christians over against their societies, as public discipleship seeks the common good, in the light of the kingdom of God.”