Sanctimony or sanctification? John Wesley's voting advice for today

October 28th, 2024

To say that things are tense in the United States at the moment is a comic understatement. While the 24 hour news cycle treats the presidential contest as something like a sport, with betting lines changing daily with the latest polls, the cultural anxiety is palpable. From what I observe with friends, on social media, and in news coverage, people on both ends of the political spectrum and from practically every walk of life believe they are genuinely under threat. Tempting though it may be to blame political ads for catastrophizing, they would not be effective if they had no purchase on our darkest fears. These days, G.K. Chesterton’s quip that we are commanded to love our enemies and our neighbors because they are generally the same people seems more darkly true than merely funny.

In such a situation, what biblical and theological wisdom might followers of Jesus draw on in order to navigate this season in a way that tends toward holiness, i.e. toward love of God and neighbor? I believe John Wesley, the co-founder of the Methodist movement alongside his brother Charles, has valuable insight which deserves a hearing today. In particular, there are three points of advice found in his journal which warrant consideration. Often circulated in election season, the advice is found in his journal from 1784 when he was ministering in Bristol:

I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them (1) to vote,  without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy; 2) to speak no evil of the person they voted against; and (3) to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

Context: the Situation in 1774 Bristol

Though rarely cited, the context for this advice makes it all the more salient for contemporary Americans seeking to engage politics faithfully. The parliamentary election of 1774 in Bristol was quite contentious. At the time, Bristol was a highly prominent city, among the largest in Britain. There were highly divisive issues, not least of which was how to approach the situation with the American colonies. It’s particularly notable that Edmund Burke was one of the members elected to parliament from Bristol, though his support largely came from well-off Quaker merchants. Methodists from the poor classes primarily supported Henry Cruger, who won the most votes in the election, though both were Whigs. Cruger would later return to America, where he had been educated, and serve in the New York State Legislature.

The similarities to our present situation are easy to spot: a contentious election, fighting both between and within various political factions, and disagreement over how to handle foreign entanglements. It was into this hotbed of controversy that Wesley’s advice was given, to which we now turn.

Wesley’s Advice, 1: Worthiness and Not Selfishness

“...vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy…”

This is a deep challenge for those in any democracy. In the American context, recall the infamous dictum that James Carville made famous when Bill Clinton was running for President: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Americans tend to vote with our wallets, and historically we the people respond well to anyone who promises more resources (either in general or for our particular segment of the populace). 

In Wesley’s context, the “fee or reward” would have been more direct, but there is still wisdom here for the 21st century. How do we vote selflessly and not selfishly? Can we distinguish between appropriate self-care–desiring to provide for our needs and our families–and a sinful avarice which aims to hoard more than is necessary out of fear or greed? Wesley does not explicitly say to vote for the common good, or vote with an eye to the needs of the poor, but his life (visiting prisons, educating poor children, creating inexpensive medical texts, and his quasi-monastic simplicity) certainly bore witness to this concern implicitly.

Perhaps, from a Wesleyan lens, those “most worthy” of our vote are not necessarily those who will best serve us economically as individuals, but will best serve the whole, and especially those on the margins. While I suspect folks on the left and the right would both argue their policies are best for the poor and working class, it is beyond the scope of this piece to adjudicate that question. What we can say is that voting selfishly is not a Wesleyan, much less a Christian, virtue.

Now, from what we can say to what we should not say.

Wesley’s Advice, 2: Speak No Evil

“...speak no evil of the person they voted against…”

Here Wesley’s advice is more overtly biblical, as “evil speaking” is addressed directly in both Titus 3:2 and Ephesians 4:21, in addition to broader commandments about the use of the tongue. Again, in modern contexts this is no easy counsel from Father Wesley. Speaking evil of others makes up a large portion of social media and cable news, especially in election season. The algorithms that run major platforms are primed to prioritize what is negative and extreme (thus, the quickest way to attention is to be extremely negative). We have seen this in the church and in the political world, and in even cultural arenas like Star Wars or Marvel fandom.

Evil speaking may be an effective tactic in the attention economy, but it is a sin in the economy of God’s salvation. James 3:9 warns against the hypocrisy of praising God with the same mouth with which we tear down those made in God’s likeness. And yes, the person against whom you are voting is made in the imago Dei, the image of God. Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Tim Walz, and J.D. Vance are all made in God’s image, and while “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15) is our calling as followers of Jesus, let us take care lest we speak evil while claiming it is courageous truth-telling. Christians too often use the prophetic mantle as a cover for simply being mean-spirited.

Of course, as the Bible tells us, mean-spirited speech originates from the heart, out of which everything flows. (Prov. 4:23) That takes us to Father John’s final piece of advice.

Wesley’s Advice, 3: Guard Your Heart

 “...take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

A helpful biblical metaphor to describe the present state of many American Christians, I believe, is hardness of heart. This is most well known from Exodus, in which Pharaoh refuses to release the Hebrew captives despite the calamitous judgment of God, we are told, due to a hardened heart. 

Why have our hearts been so hardened toward our neighbors, both within the church (look at the UMC schism of recent years) and within the broader culture? There is plenty of blame to go around. I suspect Jon Haidt’s work, beginning with The Righteous Mind, offers a helpful prescription. As he alongside others points out in the helpful documentary The Social Dilemma, our digital ecosystem is designed to get precisely the current outcomes. That is, those who make their fortunes off of clicks are incentivized to keep us angry at one another, at the other side, and at the ever-present and usefully vague “they.”

As mentioned above, Ephesians 4 is a remarkably relevant chapter calling for maturity and unity in the Body of Christ. In 4:18, we are urged not to live as “gentiles” or pagans, who are “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” In contrast to this way of life, the life of a disciple is described in beautiful and challenging terms. 

According to Ephesians, we are to be truthful, which may include anger but must not include sin. (vv. 25-26) We are to avoid “evil talk,” instead speaking (or tweeting, texting, commenting, etc.) that which is “edifying” so as to “impart grace” to its hearers. (v. 29)  And, to leave no room for error, and because every preacher knows that repetition is an effective rhetorical tactic, the whole section is summarized with a blanket command: “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, with all malice,and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (vv. 30-31)

I suspect there is a good reason politicians and pundits do not win applause for being “tenderhearted.” Nor do we get many sermons or Bible studies on how to soften our hearts. Christians both on the left and the right often seem to envision aggressiveness as a sign of confidence, rather than gentleness, as if most of Jesus’ itinerant ministry was traveling town to town in search of tables to flip. Young men in particular appear drawn to a vision of strength that is difficult to discern from bullying.

The dangers Wesley noted centuries ago are even more profound now. We have turned viciousness into a virtue, and I fear “sharpened” spirits are encouraged in order to drive voter turnout, donations, and engagement. Self-righteousness is confused with righteousness, and we are giving to Caesar(s) hope, energy, and loyalty that should belong to God alone. No wonder our hearts are hardened and our spirits sharpened.

Conclusion: Eyes on Jesus

Matthew 14 records Jesus’s walking on water and Peter’s reliably bold attempt that failed. Important to observe here is that Peter did walk on water for a spell, until he began to pay attention instead to the wind around him and take his eyes off of Jesus. (14:33) While we ought not lose sight of the fact that many of our fellow disciples around the world face far worse in places like Ukraine, China, and Gaza, this season does exert enormous spiritual pressure on American Christians. Staying faithful to Christ and loving our neighbors when we are encouraged on so many fronts to bitterness and hatred may be a sort of miracle. Thankfully, we do serve a God who empowers us supernaturally to that which we could not accomplish on our own.

Guided by the Spirit, we can rise above the chaos and anger and anxiety of this political season if we keep our focus where it belongs. In the Hebraic imagination, water symbolized chaos and disorder, which seems apt given that navigating this harsh season can feel like we have been thrown into stormy seas. If we take our eyes off Jesus, and look at the distracting winds or begin moving toward someone or something else instead, we also will begin to sink beneath the waves of our tumultuous culture. Thus the wisdom of the old hymn which bids, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.” Or, as Jesus himself put it in Matthew 6:33, “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added.”

Wesley’s advice remains salient in our season. He invites us to engage in the political realm without being consumed by the soul-crushing seas of culture warring. Let us vote, but with a view not only to self but to neighbor, for the common good and not chiefly for personal reward. Let us use our words to build up others and proclaim what we are for, rather than speak evil of those whom we vote against, even when such speech is normalized or even rewarded. Lastly, may we guard our hearts, asking God to cultivate within us the fruit of the Spirit, even kindness and gentleness, during a season in which meanness is confused with conviction and brutality is taken to be strength. Doing so could make the difference in whether American Christians experience this election as a growth in sanctimony or a growth in sanctification.

About the Author

Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre is an Elder in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church and serves Grace UMC read more…
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