As we approach Election Day, I want to offer a reminder that our faith has something important to say about how we participate in the life of our communities and our nation.

In the United Methodist tradition, we believe that faith is never meant to be separated from the world around us. We are called not simply to care about our own individual well-being, but to seek the well-being of our neighbors, our communities, and the greater good. We believe that loving God and loving our neighbors means taking seriously the ways our decisions affect other people, particularly those who are vulnerable, marginalized, overlooked, or struggling.

For Christians, voting is one way we exercise our responsibility to participate in the common good. Many of us have already taken advantage of early voting, while others will head to the polls on Election Day. However you cast your ballot, I would encourage you to spend some time with Scripture before you do.

Read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Read Matthew 25, where Jesus reminds us that how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned matters deeply to God.

And read Luke 4:18–19, where Jesus announces the very purpose of his ministry: “To bring good news to the poor…to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.”

These aren’t incidental themes in the ministry of Jesus. They are at the very heart of what he came to proclaim and what he calls his followers to embody.

I’m not suggesting that Christians will all reach the same political conclusions or cast their ballots the same way. We won’t. But I do believe we should all be willing to ask some important questions before voting:

How will my choices affect my neighbors, especially those who have the least? Am I considering the common good, or only my own interests? Am I taking seriously the dignity and worth of every human being? Do my decisions reflect the values Jesus taught and lived?

Our Christian witness matters just as much after we vote as it does before we vote. In a season when political rhetoric can be exhausting, divisive, and downright ugly, we have an opportunity to demonstrate a different way. Be kind. Be patient. Be gracious. Listen before responding. Disagree without demeaning. Resist the temptation to share cruelty, mockery, or hatred. Don’t assume the worst about people who see things differently than you do.

We can hold strong convictions without losing our compassion. We can disagree without treating one another as enemies. We can participate passionately in democracy without allowing politics to consume our humanity.

Remember, we are followers of Jesus before we are anything else.

May we approach the privilege and responsibility of voting thoughtfully, prayerfully, and with a deep concern for our neighbors. And may the way we treat one another reflect the love, grace, justice, mercy, and compassion of the One we claim to follow.

Go vote. Love your neighbor. Be kind.