The candidates say it. We say it. Every few years, the world thinks it: “This is the most important election of our lifetime.” And in a nation ripped apart at the seams by two radically different visions for our country, it will never stop being true. Since Barack Obama’s vow to fundamentally transform America — a promise he kept — each November has become less about politics and personalities and more of a ferocious battle over whose worldview will define a nation. Values and traditions that used to unite us have vanished, replaced by the hard contours of two parties without much common ground.

In 2024, we’re a country racked by violence, turmoil, and upheaval at the highest levels of government. For Christians, this year has not only been marked by the shock of an assassination attempt and the unprecedented shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket — but a unique set of challenges. The disappointments of a watered-down GOP platform still sting, and the abandonment of core principles by leaders we’ve come to know and trust is forcing some believers to question their very involvement in politics. When even those who claim to be conservative walk away from absolute truth, as clearly revealed in Scripture, what should Christians do? How should we approach an election when the flaws of the candidates and the imperfections of both parties seem more evident than ever before?

1. With Realistic Expectations

“None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).

Our political system, like the rest of our fallen world, is messy, broken, and flawed. As frustrating as it is to see our values trampled or ignored, we need to accept that the church isn’t going to find a perfect ruler until the millennial reign of Christ. Men and women in public office are human, and they’ll continue to let us down, no matter how sincere their faith may seem.

As someone who served on this year’s Republican platform committee — a process that’s been described as “insulting” and “despicable” — I understand the disillusionment that comes with the betrayal of longtime principles. I watched leaders who I considered stalwarts of the conservative movement wipe out decades of pro-life and pro-family progress. It convinced me of this: Christians should go into this election with eyes wide open. We must practice discernment, understanding that we will never have perfect alignment with any political party.

Does that mean we shrug our shoulders and walk away? Absolutely not. It means we recommit ourselves to being faithful witnesses to the truth of His Word at this moment in time that God has entrusted to us, whether it’s in vogue or not.

2. With Discernment

“But test everything; hold fast what is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21).

An alarming number of Christians in America today aren’t operating from a biblical worldview. How can we expect those believers to vote for biblical values if they don’t know what the Bible says? If Christians are going to change the country’s trajectory, it has to begin with a basic understanding of God’s truth.

Engaging the culture and evaluating the candidates all begins with a biblical perspective. Fortunately, Scripture spells out the fundamental values we should be looking for in the first 12 chapters of Genesis: God the Creator (1:1); Life (1:26); Marriage (2:22); Male and Female (1:26); and Israel (12:3). Using these five categories as a guide, how do Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stack up?

While Donald Trump seems to have taken a disconcerting step back from some of his socially conservative views in recent months, Americans do have the benefit of the 45th president’s four-year track record, which demonstrated his support for the sanctity of life, religious freedom, parental rights, biological sex, national security, legal immigration, military readiness, free speech, constitutionalist judges and justices, and Israel. (Visit FRC Action’s Trump Administration Accomplishments for a detailed list.)

What is much less known is the record of Kamala Harris, who, like Trump, professes to be Christian but invokes her faith as a justification for policies like social justice, LGBT activism, same-sex marriage, and even abortion.

When she ran (unsuccessfully) for the 2020 presidential nomination, Harris insisted that the work she did as California attorney general should serve as “a model of what our nation needs to do...” That “model” was a six-year masterclass in weaponizing the office of AG in which she:

• Attacked pro-lifer David Daleiden for exposing Planned Parenthood’s sale of baby body parts;
• Demanded that California pregnancy resource centers promote abortion;
• Targeted businesses with moral objections to abortifacients;
• Refused to defend laws upholding man-woman marriage;
• Fought to overturn abortion safety standards for women.

Harris’s record in the U.S. Senate was so lopsided that GovTrack dubbed her 2019’s “most liberal senator,” an unsurprising distinction considering she:

• Voted twice in favor of legal infanticide;
• Vowed to force taxpayers to fund abortion;
• Applied a religious test to judicial and Supreme Court nominees;
• Sponsored the Equality Act to end religious freedom in America;
• Promoted legal prostitution;
• Supported the elimination of the Senate filibuster to pack the Supreme Court and abolish election integrity laws;
• Opposed homeschooling and popular school choice legislation;
• Earned 100% on Planned Parenthood’s scorecard;
• Introduced the Do No Harm Act to gut religious liberty;
• Cosponsored a bill that would block religious freedom for adoption providers;
• Campaigned on allowing trans-identifying men and women in the U.S. military; and
• Lobbied for girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, showers, sports, and even women’s prisons to be opened to biological men.

In the White House, insiders say she’s the force behind Joe Biden’s leftward lurch, even becoming the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion facility. Together with the president, she:

• Rewrote Title IX to force schools to use preferred pronouns, hide gender identities from parents, and elevate transgenderism above women’s rights;
• Sued pro-life states to overturn protections for the unborn;
• Turned neighborhood drugstores into abortion pill dispensaries;
• Granted taxpayer-funded travel to active military seeking abortions;
• Forced taxpayers to cover abortions for veterans;
• Reinstated overseas abortion funding;
• Advocated for gender-mutilating surgeries and hormones for minors, while demanding taxpayers cover transgender procedures for veterans and military personnel;
• Prosecuted political opponents like peaceful pro-lifers and whistleblowers like Eithan Haim for exposing his Texas hospital’s unlawful transgender procedures on children;
• Lobbied to expose students to pornographic books;
• Funded Planned Parenthood through Title X dollars; and
• Tried to shut down America’s largest Christian universities.

(For a complete list, visit FRC Action’s website.)

While it’s true that we can’t save the country with a single election, the reality of these policies is: we could very well lose it.

3. With Obedience

“Faith without work is dead” (James 2:26).

Why should Christians care about politics? Because government is appointed by God. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul describes the governing authorities as “ministers of God,” responsible for administering civil justice. Government is God’s idea, and Christians should think about it and engage with it in a way that’s consistent with its God-ordained purposes.

As believers called to be agents of transformation in the broader society, we have a clear responsibility to vote — not just when we’re enthusiastic about the options or when the choices seem most obvious. If political parties and candidates don’t align perfectly with our values, the answer is not for Christians to retreat. The answer is in rekindling our love and devotion to Christ that causes us to accomplish our spiritual and cultural commissions.

That’s not to say that we should put our trust in the outcome of any election or elected leader — because that would be a false hope. But if we fail to be the salt and light we’ve been called to be, we could clearly see America sink deeper into darkness.

4. With Neighborly Love and Global Compassion

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…” (Proverbs 31:8).

America’s decisions have a direct impact on people’s lives everywhere from our local communities to the rest of the world. When God commanded us to love our neighbors (Mark 12:31), one way we can do that is by engaging in the political process to meet other people’s needs. While the race for president gets the most attention, there are much broader implications for voting this November than who will occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. In our hands rest the hopes of soldiers on foreign battlefields, the persecuted church in faraway lands, and the peace of God’s chosen nation Israel (Numbers 24:9).

And many would argue that there are much more important decisions than the presidency on the state and local ballot. Control of the House and Senate hangs in the balance. Governors, state attorneys general, local school boards, even comptrollers are amassing major victories in protecting children from radical gender ideology, pushing back on corporate America’s woke agenda, fighting the Biden administration’s lawless overreach, and passing sweeping pro-life and pro-parent laws. While we might not have the ideal situation at the very top of the ballot, Americans have several other issues to be mindful of as we head to the polls.

5. With Eternal Perspective

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

As we weigh how to approach this year’s election, it’s just as important to understand how not to approach it — and that’s with fear, timidity, or despair. I Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In all things give thanks...” Regardless of what’s happening in America, we should be eternally grateful that we live in a country where we still have the ability to vote. Even though the fabric of our nation is being stretched and tested as never before, each of us has the power to shape our future and our family’s future — a luxury millions of people around the world will never know.

And yet, as believers, we understand that this earth is not our ultimate home. However, we must engage with the culture, including politics, while standing firm on the transcendent truth of God’s word. Paul tells the Ephesians to keep standing (6:13). We are called to stand whether the battle is in our favor or against us, knowing that as we remain faithful to God’s Truth, our actions in this life will echo into eternity.

Will we turn this country around? We will work toward that end. As former president John Quincy Adams responded to a cynical question about the failure to end slavery after decades of trying, he said simply, “Duty is ours; results are God’s.” Let us do our duty!

This story was adapted from Decision Magazine’s October print version. It was originally published in its shortened form in Decision Magazine.