Not directly. However, the nation of Israel was warned that they would “cry out” to God because of the king they had chosen for themselves (1 Samuel 8:18) – so we had better choose a good one. Christian, you need to vote!

God established and ordained government (Deuteronomy 32:8; Acts 17:26). As far back as Genesis 9:5 God authorized the use of capital punishment and that government was ordained to administrate it. We are not given the right anywhere in Scripture to take the law into our own hands or to ignore it.

Romans 13:1-7 gives specific instruction to God’s people about their relationship to government. In that passage we read the following: 1) every soul is to be subject to government; 2) government has been ordained by God; 3) if you resist government’s role in society, you are resisting God; 4) rulers are not to be feared by those who do good; 5) government officials are the ministers of God; 6) Christians are supposed to pay taxes!

There is not another country in the world like the United States of America. Our process of government is second to none when the morals and values of the Word of God are held high and cherished. It is when “every man does that which is right in his own eyes” and casts off his natural moral restraint that we start to have serious problems.

The courts have referred to America as “Christian” in a moral sense, but Christianity has never been the established religion of the nation. It is this morality issue that is at stake in every election. That is why morality makes a difference! Morality must remain intolerant of immorality or there is no morality.

Does a candidate’s religious background matter? I was four years old when President Kennedy was assassinated. It is one of the earliest events I can recall from memory. I mention him only because history tells us that as the first Catholic president there was very real concern by some on the heels of two world wars that, if Kennedy was elected, the Pope would run our country. If it did make a difference, the general public never noticed it. Religion is one of many factors that must be considered, but anyone who voted for Mike Huckabee or Bill Clinton simply because they were "Baptist" voted ridiculously shallow and uninformed. We are supposed to be thinking voters.

For the Christian, perhaps the most concise statement of effective and profitable leadership is found in Psalm 101. Read this Psalm slowly and with pen in hand. Consider the inspired resolutions of King David in his inaugural prayer. Line all of the candidates up against this criterion and VOTE!