Mary Oliver once asked, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (From her poem The Summer Day in her collection, Devotions, 2017.)
As I read through the United Methodist Church’s new edition of the social principles, I expected the section on the political community to give some guidance on an important question that goes beyond individual rights and standards of justice and mercy for government policy. To wit, what are the individual Christian’s responsibilities as citizens and participants? This question invites us to reflect deeply on our participation and choices: What will you do with your one wild and precious vote — that allocation of political power granted to you and protected by our constitution.
Should not Methodists approach the voting booth with the same prayerful consideration the General Conference used asking, “What would Jesus do?” The Social Principles seem to encourage this kind of reflection, urging us to align our civic actions with our faith. While some folks wear WWJD bracelets as a reminder, true spiritual discipline goes beyond outward symbols. It calls on us to act with courage, guided by love and prayer, especially in times when the world seems to be moving in troubling directions.
The latest edition of the United Methodist Church’s Social Principles (adopted in 2024) challenges us to confront injustice and to advocate for the vulnerable. Today, we see leaders in government who overlook the needs of the poor. We look on as school boards and legislatures ban books, and promote a growing disregard for science — a key driver of humane progress in all fields of human endeavor. The “culture war” threatens to extinguish the flickering candles of the Enlightenment, while the dream of a truly democratic society feels increasingly distant—even in America, which once inspired the people of other nations to pursue more participatory and humane forms of governance.
In such times, our faith calls us to respond—not with despair, but with hope, courage, and a commitment to justice. Protected only by love and prayer in an ongoing struggle for social and political mercy and justice, we are invited to participate actively in shaping a more compassionate and democratic world.
Most important of all, we should be called to think rather than simply react when we enter the voting arena. In poll after poll there is evidence that Americans dislike and do not trust political parties. Yet the typical response of these same voters, when an executive or representative of one’s own political party does or says something they do not like, is to simply vote for the other party. The intent may be punitive, but the effect is to further legitimize the two party system.
To an extent, every politician is the victim of the branding that voters have been encouraged to use as shortcuts to thinking and placing issues in a context of overall policy.
So, Methodists, do this: read, think, be civil and non-violent in all your political interactions. If you do those things, it will then be fair for you to ask: What would Jesus do? And if you need one of those little bracelets to remind you, get one.
Better yet, get one that suggests the question in a way that would remind us of the expectation Jesus has of us as members of the United Methodist Church: WSMD? I don’t think it will help to take your copy of Social Principles of The United Methodist Church, 2025-2028 into your voting station. It mostly says the same thing but it’s too long to print on a bracelet.
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