Our freedoms in this country may just be the one thing that most undermines the Christian faith in the United States of America. This election cycle has had me doing lots of soul searching. In the process of that soul-searching, it dawns on me that our freedom to choose which person we will vote for in November puts us squarely in a position where we have to compromise our faith.

People have been talking about Donald Trump as if he were the Nebuchadnezzar of the present day, but he isn’t. The people in the days of Nebuchadnezzar had no choice. In the present day, we do have a choice. When Daniel was faced with compromising his faith or being a loyal servant of Nebuchadnezzar, he chose not to compromise his faith, in spite of the consequences.

He could have easily justified a different choice. He was the highest Jewish leader in the Nebuchadnezzar court. If Daniel was removed, who would protect the interest of the Jews. There would be no one.

But Daniel did not blink when confronted with the options to compromise his faith and suffer the consequences or to compromise and perpetuate himself in a place of authority, power and influence.

Whatever the consequences, we must not compromise our faith. We have two choices that are equally bad in my opinion. There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton has a proven anti-Christian track record. Is there any doubt that Donald Trump’s track record is equally anti-Christian faith?

Donald Trump has lived a life of brazen sinfulness. He brags about his sinfulness. He is unrepentant and brags about being unrepentant as well.

The difference is that Donald Trump has appeared to offer an olive branch to the Church to court the Church’s favor. But Donald’s stripes have not changed. He has supported all the things that Hillary Clinton supported in years past. Every day brings a new stain on Donald Trump and on the Christians who support him.

In this rock and a hard place situation that we find ourselves, I am wondering whether the freedoms we have in the United States are the very thing that have led to an anemic and ineffective Church. We have been offered the temptation of compromise, and we have taken the bait. We have given in to the temptation with the justification that we are defending the faith that we are compromising.

We have so many freedoms, that we are enticed to be intimately involved in the world. That intimate involvement leads to a thousand opportunities to compromise the faith, and I am afraid that we have too often done just that. We have even mistaken patriotism for faith at times.

These are dangerous times. We are tempted to think that God’s plan depends on us choosing between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. I think this is a false dichotomy. There may be another choice.

God’s plan may be simply a test of what his followers will do. Will they follow? Or will they compromise? I, personally, think a vote for either candidate is a compromise of faith

God puts rulers in place and God removes them.[i] We can leave those things up to God. God only asks us to follow, take up our crosses, and be faithful to the Gospel.

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[i] Romans 13:1