Voting American-ly. Voting Christian-ly.

Voting American-ly and voting Christian-ly are not one and the same.

The American in me votes for candidates who can govern well. Who can make and pass good laws that are in accord with the Constitution of the United States. The American in me votes for candidates who understand that the United States is a nation of laws that promote and protect “liberty and justice for all.” The American in me votes for candidates who understand the times in which we live and how to pass laws that are in accord with these times. After all, “liberty and justice for all” meant something much different 50, 100, 200 years ago.

The Christian in me votes for people who reflect the outlook of my faith. That is not to say I vote for candidates who makes laws that are distinctly Christian. I do not subscribe to the belief that the United States is–or ever was–a Christian nation. I believe Jesus Christ himself would agree with me on this as it was never Jesus Christ’s intention to build a nation-state on earth. Nor was it ever Jesus Christ’s intention that the United States and its people be his favored nation-state on earth. Jesus Christ does call Christians to get their hands on the levers of power. Rather, Jesus Christ calls Christians to a different kind of power: Meekness, poverty, and service.

The United States is a nation of laws that protect Christians and all other people of faith (or no faith) alike. When the United States becomes a “Christian nation,” it is not only a threat to the United States, but to Christianity itself. Christianity stops being Christianity when it conflates with Americanism.

I’ve heard Christians talk about “Kingdom Values” when choosing candidates or positions. “Kingdom values” meaning the “values of the Kingdom of God.” Jesus Christ spoke often of the “Kingdom of God.”

I vote from my Kingdom Values. Understand, however, that I am not voting for the Kingdom of God when in a United States election. I cannot make it more clear that Jesus Christ did not teach that any nation-state is, or should be, the Kingdom of God.

Another way to say it: I vote for candidates who make laws that are good for all Americans, not just Christians.

That is both a very American and very Christian thing to do. After all, God has a sterling track record of living with people’s boundaries and respecting people’s choices.

But back to Kingdom Values. The Kingdom of God is not a meritocracy. In the Kingdom of God, you don’t get ahead by being extra good or working extra hard. You’re not born into privilege and you don’t work your way up. In fact, many of the “traditional values” we celebrate in our Western culture were the very values that Jesus Christ criticized and set aside. The Kingdom of God is not a capitalist economy. It is not a meritocracy. It is not the place where “best man wins.”

The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of grace and mercy. It is a kingdom of children and servants. It is a kingdom where the last are first. It is a kingdom for the little guy, the nobody, the outsider. It is a kingdom for the poor, the sick, the weak. It is a kingdom for the sinner. It is a kingdom for the weirdo. It is a kingdom for the alien, the homeless, the oppressed, the orphan, the poor, the prisoner, the widow.

Kingdom values mean you get so much better and so much more than you deserve.

There is a hint of kingdom values in what established the United States. We set out to do away with castes and hereditary titles and a society that keeps some up by keeping others down. And I think we’ve succeeded some and we’ve failed some.

When I vote for kingdom values, I vote for grace and mercy. That means I vote not for the Christian candidate, but the candidate who works for what looks most like Christianity. Not a moral code, but grace and mercy for all. Especially for those who don’t deserve it.

I am for affirmative action, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

I am for LGBTQ rights, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

I am for engaging our enemies, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

I am for universal health care, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

I am for a social safety net, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

I am for immigrants and refugees coming into my country, not in spite of my Christianity, but because of it.

We vote not so much for a person, but for a direction we believe we need to go. As an American, I vote in the direction of a just society. As a Christian, I vote in the direction of a merciful society. They are harmonious if you understand each of them in context.

I hope we can dialogue over the next few months leading up to the November elections. This is not a time to be silent, but to speak up. More important, it’s a time to listen. A time to understand. If ever there was a “kingdom value,” it would be practicing the grace of listening and the mercy of understanding.

This election needs that kind of grace and mercy from Americans and Christians like me and you.