In America, we get the government we deserve. Is this the best we can do? There is a big divide in how we approach politics, even among well-meaning Christians. But I believe voting is imperative for the follower of Jesus. Jesus said that we are to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s (Mark 12:17). Surely, included in this would be voting.

It’s our duty to cast a ballot. It’s also our privilege. I know a man who risked his life with six other Cubans to flee the communist island. They rowed for 48 long hours in a rickety row boat with a hole in it. One of them had to bail out the water the entire time. After a while, their fingers were bleeding, but they finally made it to the Bahamas. My Cuban friend is glad to be an American and is a patriot. He wouldn’t think of not voting.

Historically, Christians in America applied their faith to virtually every sphere of life—including politics. While the founding fathers were not all Christians, almost all of them had a Biblical worldview. As historian Donald S. Lutz said of even the unorthodox among them, “they knew the Bible down to their fingertips.”

Since they knew man is sinful, they divided government power. As James Madison, one of the key architects of the Constitution, noted: “All men having power ought not to be trusted.” This is a Biblical perspective. Sometimes people complain that the Constitution limits the amount of power any one single branch may have. That was by design—lest we have tyranny from one man or from an oligarchy.

When we vote Biblical values, we obey what the Lord would have us do. Jesus is not on the ballot, so ultimately we are voting for sinners. But the question is, where do those sinners stand on key issues? Too often, Christians seem to be waiting for perfect candidates and can’t bring themselves to vote for someone with many—but not all—the right views. There are some Christians who are so upset with the current crop of politicians they say they may sit out this election. But their non-vote is a vote—and such a view neglects the extremely important races further down the ballot for the Senate, House, governorships and more.

To cast our votes according to Biblical values, we must ask: Where do the candidates stand on abortion? On traditional marriage? On religious freedom? On fiscal responsibility? On educational issues? All of these topics are addressed in the Bible.

Dr. D. James Kennedy once noted: “A Christian said to me, ‘You don’t really believe that Christians should get active in politics do you?’ And I said, with tongue in cheek, ‘Why, of course not, we ought to leave it to the atheists, otherwise, we wouldn’t have anything to complain about. And we’d really rather complain than do something, wouldn’t we?’”

A few years ago, when commenting on the state of our nation, Mike Huckabee said, “Why has this happened? It’s mainly because good church-going Christians don’t vote and don’t care.”

So I pray that this election, millions of Christians will realize it is a privilege and duty to vote. If enough evangelicals and conservative Catholics voted Biblical values, we could carry this—and virtually every—election. Our nation’s founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to give us our freedom. The least we could do is vote—and vote values that are consistent with the Bible.