Christians voting for the "lesser of two evils" must ask themselves: would God authorize us to choose evil at all?

Evangelicals are rapidly endorsing Donald Trump, who seemed anathema to them only months ago. In their mind, he represents the “lesser of two evils.” Sure, he’s not very moral, he’s politically inexperienced and he routinely alienates minority groups and women, but “crooked Hillary,” to use Trump’s words, is considered much worse.

I wonder whether Christians have any business resorting to lesser evil calculations. Would God authorize us to choose evil at all? Those without hope have been conditioned to think that a life without a vote is hardly worth living. But are Christians so obligated to participate in national elections that we must do so even if we believe that both viable candidates represent evil in one form or another?

Scripture takes a fairly strong stance against evil. Jesus, Peter and Paul make clear that God is against and will condemn those who do evil. Paul goes so far as to consider it slander to accuse someone of doing evil that good may come of it (Rom 3:8). Since Christ died to set us free from this present evil age, we must abstain from all evil and may not use our freedom as a cloak for doing evil.

The New Testament witness is clear that God’s people should have nothing to do with evil. Though they are willing to suffer from the evil of others, Jesus and His followers never chose evil for the sake of the common good — not even for the Gospel.