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Election Day With Amos: 3 Lessons for Christian Voters

Election Day With Amos: 3 Lessons for Christian Voters

Last updated on: October 19, 2026 at 9:32 am by Shawn Paul Wood

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Election Day With Amos: 3 Lessons for Christian Voters 2026-10-18T17:24:45-05:00 Shawn Paul Wood

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Election Day is almost here. Early voting has begun. And 98% of the country is considering a tummy tuck because they’re sick to their stomachs over the ridiculous onslaught of political ads.

Apparently, nobody running for office has accomplished anything worth mentioning. We hear more about human warts than in a Preparation-H commercial. Instead, millions are spent telling us why the other candidate is a liar, a crook, an extremist or responsible for everything wrong with America.

Ever wonder what biblical prophets would think about election season? Amos, one of the Old Testament’s minor prophets, comes to mind. His nine-chapter book sits between Joel and Obadiah. Don’t feel bad if you need the table of contents. Most Christians would need a divining rod and GPS to find him.

Amos lived nearly 2,800 years ago in Tekoa, a small town in Judah. His country had no polling places, campaign commercials or political action committees. Yet God sent this ordinary farmer to confront powerful people who weren’t particularly interested in hearing him.

Around 760 B.C., Amos traveled north into Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, when the economy was thriving, and the kingdom was expanding. According to 2 Kings 14:23–29, Jeroboam had recovered considerable territory. Trade flourished, wealth accumulated and, judging strictly by economic accomplishments, the king had an impressive record.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the whole story. Amos found wealthy landowners exploiting the poor, merchants cheating customers and corrupt courts favoring the rich. Some people were sold into slavery over debts worth little more than a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6–7).

Meanwhile, the pious and wealthy continued their ceremonies, offerings and festivals, celebrating—who else—themselves. Israel’s prosperity had become an excuse to ignore what was happening to its people.

Amos wasn’t impressed with the economy. He was concerned about the condition of the nation beneath it and had some unpleasant things to say to those responsible.

With Election Day approaching, we should probably hear him out.

BUT FIRST…

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The Farmer Who Didn’t Know His Place

An image of a young shepherd appearing lost in his own pasture.

We have all felt like this before. (Image Credit: Tao Yuan via Unsplash)

One moment in Amos’ life features Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, deciding he’s had enough of this troublesome visitor from Judah. Amos was getting the obedient, quiet country folk all worked up, warning that Israel faced judgment and its leaders bore responsibility.

In Amos 7:10–15, Amaziah reports him to King Jeroboam II, then tells Amos to return to Judah and earn his living prophesying there. Bethel, he reminds him, belongs to the king. In other words, “Beat it, dude, and try your church talk somewhere else.”

Amos responds: “I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit.”

He didn’t have a fancy, made-up title for the religious faithful. He was just a guy, but a willing and available one. God called him from his work and gave him a message for Israel, whether powerful people liked hearing it or not. He didn’t talk himself out of going. Amos didn’t even stop prophesying when the elite screamed: “Shut up!”

Think about using your voice today. How many have you talked yourself out of voting because you believe your involvement won’t accomplish anything?

The frustration is understandable. Campaigns promise more than governments deliver, candidates disappoint, and elections don’t always produce the changes people expect. Eventually, cynicism starts looking like common sense.

Back in Judah, Amos couldn’t control whether Israel listened. His warnings didn’t prevent the kingdom’s eventual destruction by Assyria (2 Kings 17:5–6). His responsibility was to obey God and speak faithfully. American Christians have an opportunity Amos never enjoyed: choosing their leaders. There’s no guarantee our preferred candidates will win, but that doesn’t eliminate our responsibility.

Jesus taught the importance of faithfulness in smaller matters (Luke 16:10). For voters, that means examining candidates, studying their records and making informed decisions rather than letting campaign ads or party loyalty do our thinking for us.

Amos didn’t need political influence to fulfill his calling, much like millions of lazy, straight-ticket voters do today. He only needed the courage to do what God asked. Today is no different.

Are Christians Getting Too Comfortable in Zion?

A young boy laying in bed reading a Bible, which is covering his face.

He’s comfortable, but at least he’s awake. Church? What about you? (Image Credit: Samantha Sophia via Unsplash)

Amos issued another warning to believers who have become comfortable with their political preferences and apathetic toward understanding whoever is on the ballot.

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria,” he declared in Amos 6:1.

Zion referred to Jerusalem in Judah, while Samaria was Israel’s capital. Amos confronted people who assumed their prosperity and position offered security. Neither kingdom was exempt from God’s standards.

Sound familiar? Christians can spot dishonesty and corruption immediately when accusations involve candidates they oppose. When similar concerns arise about someone they support, suddenly the explanations become more generous. Don’t believe me?

Ask a Michael Jackson fan how they feel about his questionable past with children.
Ask anyone wearing a MAGA hat about Trump’s lecherous past.
Do the same with Bill Clinton fans about Monica Lewinsky and that scandal.

Yeah, that sound you hear is something hitting close to home. Christians excuse behavior in politicians that would cause an uproar if their pastor did the same thing. And sometimes, they tolerate what their pastor does because, well…that’s their pastor.

Elections involve choosing between imperfect candidates, the proverbial “lesser of two evils.” But political necessity shouldn’t excuse us from examining what we’re willing to tolerate. As we explored in an earlier article about maintaining a biblical worldview, our convictions matter most when they challenge our preferences.

Campaign ads make that examination harder. Both sides select information that portrays their candidate favorably and their opponent as dangerous or incompetent. However, what do candidates’ records show? How have they treated constituents and opponents? Are their proposals realistic? Answering those questions requires more than watching thirty-second commercials.

Scripture demands consistency.

Proverbs 11:1 condemns dishonesty
Proverbs 31:8–9 defends the vulnerable
Micah 6:8 calls for justice, mercy and humility.

Governing also requires competence and judgment, and Christians may disagree about how to weigh those qualities. But our standards shouldn’t change with party affiliation. As we have read about America’s Christian identity, religious labels mean little when disconnected from conduct.

That’s precisely what troubled Amos. Israel’s people maintained their religious practices while overlooking wrongdoing. His warning about being comfortable in Zion deserves another reading before Election Day.

What Happens at the Gate Matters

An AI representation of a green iron gate with "The Way" placed on top of it.

Just like The Mandalorian, for Christians, this is… well, you get it. (Image Credit: Keith Hardy via Unsplash)

Amos wasn’t content to identify Israel’s failures. He told people what needed to change.

In Amos 5:15, he urged them to “hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate.”

Ancient city gates were where elders heard disputes and handled public business. It was literally the Town Square. Amos wanted justice practiced where decisions were made, not merely praised during worship.

Our voting booths aren’t usually found in the Town Square (although that wouldn’t be a bad idea), but both remind us that public decisions affect real people. We choose officials who administer laws, spend public money and make decisions whose consequences reach well beyond the next election.

Digest this and grab the Tums the next time you see a mini-marathon of attack ads: Amos said to hate evil AND love good. It’s easy to catalog an opponent’s failures while ignoring anything worthwhile they’ve done. It’s just as easy to overlook our own candidate’s shortcomings. Is that really what’s happening on November 3?

Amos sharpened the point in Amos 5:24: “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.”

In this entire story, God rejected Israel’s festivals, offerings and songs because religious activity had become detached from justice.

That should make Christians uncomfortable whenever we confuse a candidate’s religious language with evidence of good character. Even if they have no biblical worldview, wouldn’t you rather vote in a good person than an unscrupulous hack of a human?!

Jesus warned that people are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:15–20). A politician’s church attendance, campaign testimony or photograph with a Bible cannot replace scrutiny of conduct and qualifications.

Last summer in Close to Home, we discussed Christian nationalism and its relationship to faith. Political allegiance shouldn’t become our test of someone’s faithfulness to God.

Scripture doesn’t hand us a party platform or fill out our ballots. But the Bible does ask us to take truth, justice and our neighbors seriously. Amos expected those convictions to show up at the gate. We should expect them to follow us into the voting booth…and guide us while we stand there.

Election Day Is a Good Time for an Honest Examination

Christian Bible on top of an American flag with a Vote button

Is this how you vote on Election Day? No? Think again. (Image Credit: @LiveSlow via iStockPhoto)

On November 3, Americans will head to the polls with different emotions and expectations. Some will be enthusiastic, fully believing that their choice is the right one. Others will feel they’re selecting the least disappointing name on the ballot. Christians will be in both groups, and we won’t agree about every candidate or issue.

[SIDE NOTE: Yes, a Democrat can be as much of a Christ follower as a Republican. And an Independent can be as righteous as both of them put together.]

Sincere believers can share biblical convictions while disagreeing about how to apply them to complex political decisions. The concern is whether we’re examining our choices through Scripture or accepting the answers supplied by our preferred parties.

Amos understood that temptation. Israel was prosperous, its territory expanded, and its religious institutions were busy. Yet beneath the impressive headlines, injustice flourished, much like it does in America. God sent a farmer from Tekoa to tell people what their leaders didn’t want to hear.

Nearly 2,800 years later, we can participate in a political process Amos never experienced.

That privilege gives us a say in choosing leaders, but it also asks something of us: investigate their records, consider their policies and resist excusing wrongdoing because it comes from our side.

And yes, examine ourselves.

Have campaign ads done our thinking for us?
Do we hold our favorite candidates to the standards we expect of their opponents?
Are we choosing based on a biblical worldview, or just on that “straight ticket” button glaring in the booth?

Those aren’t comfortable questions, especially when neither choice inspires much confidence.

Picture Amos standing at Bethel, where a priest told him to take his message elsewhere. He had no party to defend and no election to win. He believed God’s people should live by the standards they professed.

That’s a useful thought to carry into the voting booth. Before marking a ballot, we can spend less time listening to what campaigns say about each other and more time learning about the people asking for our votes.

Then, with an informed conscience, we can ask a question worth more than any campaign slogan: “God, what do You want me to do?”

It’s worth asking before Election Day, not just when we’re standing in line.

General Christian

Politics and Religion

About Shawn Paul Wood

Shawn Paul Wood, Th.D., is an award-winning copywriter, contributor, and content strategist, and ghostwriter of several faith-based articles, speeches, columns, and books who has worked for some of the most admirable brands in their respective industries for over 20 years. As Founder of Woodworks Communications, he leads teams of content strategists and marketing professionals to expand the brands of corporate leaders, serial entrepreneurs, and respected ministers of the Gospel. He aims to help others develop self-discovery through stories and the written word to proclaim the Word to the world. For more information about his portfolio or help telling your story, visit WoodworksCommunications.com. You can read more about the author here.

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