For the past few weeks, I have been struggling with the phrase- “choose the lesser evil.” No one wants to choose evil. Oftentimes we are caught between a rock and a hard place. There are times we are faced with dilemmas and there doesn’t to appear to be a good choice. What are we to do?
Hearing the quote, “choose the lesser evil” leaves me feeling hopeless and discouraged. I don’t want to choose evil especially in this political climate…it’s enough to make me shut down. Though we have choices, Republican, Democrat, other or don’t vote. To some the choice is clear, to others the choice may seem murky. If choosing the lesser of evils is still evil, we’re in one of those tight spots.
Many feel politics doesn’t belong in the church. Perhaps, but if we can’t turn to our pastors or our churches who can we turn to when we have questions especially sensitive ones such as how do we vote? Who else can help guide us when we are between a rock and hard place? And that’s not to say a church or a pastor can tell you how to vote, but they should be a resource for those times when you are faced with a tough decision. When it comes to making a moral decision, the Ten Commandments are a perfect way help make those decisions. And I do believe the Ten Commandments can help us with how to vote. I am not telling you how to vote. But if you are on the fence I hope this blog post can help you maybe help you with another tough decision.
I wish more pastors and churches would speak about those sensitive subjects such as voting, abortion, suing, politics and current issues. These may not have a place in our churches and pastors can’t tell you how to choose, that is the conviction of the Holy Spirit. However, these topics do exist in our society that we interact with daily and we as Christians should know how to respond. Turning to scripture should be the our first line of defense against these tough choices. We should also be able to go to our pastors for guidance, not to justify our thinking or not but to help us with reading scripture. God gives us the Ten Commandments, it’s His moral law. And I believe when we are in a tight spot, when we are confronted with a dilemma we can turn to God’s word for direction and conviction.
We are all sinners and there is not a perfect politician on the planet and if they are all evil, who are we supposed to vote for? “Choose the lesser evil” is not Biblical. I found a few articles that helped me understand this more. One article I found; “Is the Lesser of Two Evils a Biblical Principle” makes some great points. In Daniel 2:21-22 “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him” (NIV). God is sovereign. We can see this in Genesis 50:20 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people“ (NIV). Joseph’s brothers meant to kill him but God used that so Joseph could save his family from the famine.
The article goes on to say that God will use and control even the most wicked rulers for his purpose as we see in the book of Daniel. David was a man after God’s own heart even though David was an adulterer and a murderer, but yet God used him, he even used Pharaoh.
As I was initially pondering, this, I heard God say; “Evil is not in the eye of the beholder.“ Sin is sin in God’s kingdom. There is no lesser evil in God’s eyes. The article sheds some light on our dilemmas in life by looking at what evil might look in the eyes of God,
Hosea 6:6 – “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (ESV)
Micha 6:8 -“No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” (NLT)
Matthew 9:12-13 – ”Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (ESV)
“Meaning, I would rather you do good than offer your sacrifices. This, during the time when sacrifices, was the law of the day. God says, “I would rather you do right — to show mercy, and act justly.” (quote article)
“Jesus taught us that healing people or allowing them to eat were acts of love and clearly overruled the written law — and so, on his terms, not sin, since Jesus never sinned.”
When we are faced with tough choices, there is no level of evil. We must choose what is good, the right thing. “To not act in love may be the true evil in the eyes of God.” This gave me hope and helped me to change my mindset when I need to make a tough choice.
References:
The Kedge Anchor 
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