𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Do you consider yourself to be a confrontational person? Recall an instance explaining this.
• How do you decide if you will do something or not? Take us through a recent decision-making process.
• Tell us about one of the ills in society today that disturbs you the most.


𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗕𝗦 𝟭𝟬:𝟵

One important ethical concern that Christians need to talk about is the issue of vote buying and selling. Is it morally right to receive money from politicians in exchange for a vote?

Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines flatly says vote buying and selling are election offenses. That should end our discussion right away. For people who value public virtue, we recognize that our laws pretty much cover the basics of right and wrong in democratic elections. But the question lingers when some qualifications are added to it. What if I get the money but vote for someone else? What if the money given is not to buy a vote but is a simple act of goodwill?
There’s a growing body of sociological research going on about vote buying and selling. One of the important findings to date is how differently people perceive the meaning of the monetary exchange. Marginalized people, for example, perceive the exchange not as an economic transaction but as their only opportunity to get anything from people in government. For them, accepting money is a way to stake a rightful claim to the resources that should have been spent on them in the first place.

This nuanced view of the monetary exchange during elections gives us a textured understanding of the plight of the poor and the marginalized. Vote buying and vote selling are illegal acts according to the law of the land. But, the prohibition and the subsequent violations expose the broader issues of inequality and neglect among marginalized people groups. How should Christians graciously handle this tension?

𝟭. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲.
“𝘑𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦?” 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗪 𝟳:𝟭–𝟯

This is not to condone vote buying and selling. What is wrong is wrong no matter how we justify it. The guardrails of the law must be upheld for the sake of our Christian public witness. But, the wider social context of vote buying and selling forces us to open our eyes and see the plight of the disadvantaged sector of society.

For Christians, this is useful in two ways. First, this helps us view the marginalized with less judgment and more compassion. Second, those of us who are in a position of power could use this information in lobbying for policies to uplift the lives of the poor.

Why are some issues more complex than they seem? How should we view issues like these?

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵. 𝗘𝗣𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟱:𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮

Vote buying is not an isolated action that someone does in a corner. It is part of a larger ecosystem of corruption that starts even before a politician is in office. When a candidate pays for votes, he or she is not competing fairly, but is using illegal means to get elected. If the candidate is doing something illegal now, who knows what other illegal things he or she will do next once in office?

But, the wrongness of vote buying doesn’t stop with the candidates. It goes down to the voters as well. When voters allow their votes to be sold, they eventually help create a society where only candidates with deep pockets can win elections. Ideas, platforms, experience, and virtues are all set aside in favor of money. This is morally wrong.

The Bible offers a word of caution for the people of God: refuse to participate in these works of darkness. Unmask them for what they are. According to Ephesians 5:8, who are we and how are we supposed to walk?

𝟯. 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.
“𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥.” 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝟯:𝟮𝟬–𝟮𝟭

One of the signs that vote buying and selling are wrong is seen in the way we don’t talk about it openly in our Christian circles. There’s an air of secrecy about it that we can’t bear to bring it into the light. The Bible says that 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥. This means we have clear consciences before God. Why do you think truth is exposed in the light? How is having a conversation about such topics exposing truth?


𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• What would you do if you were offered money or personal gain at the expense of morality and violating your conscience? What do you think would enable you to say no?
• Why do you think a cycle of corruption exists? What is the source, and what is the solution? What is your participation in this?
• How can you set an example for others to follow? What is one thing you will do differently, starting today?


𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for His word that guides and teaches us. As a believer, declare that God’s word is the final authority over your life.
• Pray for those in your nation to know God and make decisions that honor Him, not themselves or others.
• Pray for righteous leaders in government who will trust God and do what is right.