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by Michael Peroutka, Institute on the Constitution

If you are a student of THE AMERICAN VIEW of law and government—if you have given effort to understanding the principles and precepts that undergird our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution—then you are aware that our federal and state governments have in many cases abandoned these principles. You are probably properly concerned, and perhaps anxious to do whatever you can to restore the Republic.

It’s natural for us to feel troubled, sometimes angry and maybe even frightened, especially when we see that the vast majority of those we keep electing to positions of “public trust” are people that we just can’t trust at all.

What should we do now that the elections are approaching? How should we act? What should we know? What should we ask? What are we looking for? And finally, knowing what we know (and don’t know), how should we then vote?

Let’s talk about it—

What are we looking for?

Whether we’re talking about Dog Catcher, City or County Council, State House, or our national government, it seems to me that, just like the Marines, we are looking for a “few good men.”

Let’s start with the word “good.” Although the people that wrote the commercial for the U.S. Marines probably don’t know it, the word “good” derives from the word “God.” To be good is to be Godly. A good man is one who appreciates and rehearses the attributes and characteristics of God.

Now what do we want this good man to do? Simply put, we want him to obey his oath of office and to protect and defend the Constitutions of these United States and of his own State, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

What is required for him to do this? Well, if he’s going to obey his oath of office, I guess that, first, he needs to know what an oath is, right? It’s a solemn promise before God, that invokes God’s wrath if it is broken.

Secondly, he needs to be very familiar with the content of the Constitutions he has sworn before Almighty God to uphold. If he has never read the Constitution, or cannot articulate the principles contained therein, then I guess he can’t do the job . . . right?

So, if our man is someone who understands his oath of office, then he fears God and believes that there is an eternal system of rewards and punishments that applies to him personally. I think we can assume that, if he does not see himself accountable to God for the truthfulness of his oath, then there is little hope that he will feel himself accountable to you or me once he is elected. In other words, if he doesn’t fear consequences from God, he won’t fear you or me.

But he needs to show us more than just fear of The Eternal. He also must demonstrate that he understands the Biblical limitations on civil government, as well as the limitations placed on him by the State Constitution and the Constitution of these United States. Unhappily, few, if any, of the candidates who come to you asking for your vote—and your money—have even taken the time to read either of the documents that they are promising you, before Almighty God, that they will uphold.

Moreover, assuming all is well with our candidate so far, one more thing is critically important. Our candidate must not only demonstrate that he knows that which is required of him, but he must also demonstrate that he will act on that which he knows. It won’t do us any good electing someone who knows what to do but doesn’t do it, whether out of fear of men (that is to say, “peer pressure”) or out of a desire to be re-elected, or whatever. This would be a vain thing, indeed.

To summarize, my precious vote can only be spent on a candidate that:

Here’s the bottom line: I firmly believe that, if I cast my vote for someone who doesn’t meet these requirements, I will stand before God and be judged for my failure to obey Him. To vote for someone who does not meet these criteria is to do a vain thing before God and men.

The chaos and incompetence and corruption of our civil government in all three branches is a result of our failure to choose what Exodus 18:21 describes as “able men, such as fear God.” When we choose “the lesser of two evils” we continually get evil and we certainly deserve it. After all, we chose it, didn’t we?