Singaporeans head to the polls on September 1 to elect the next President, the third time since the Elected Presidency (EP) took effect. The other two times were when President Ong Teng Cheong (1993) and President Tony Tan Keng Yam (2011) respectively won the elections to take office. 

Now that we have three deemed qualified to stand for the position, it is the responsibility of all eligible Singaporeans to exercise their rights and civic duty to vote.

Why should we care? 

As Christians, I’m sure you’ll agree that our desire is to please God in all we do. This ongoing “living sacrifice” stems out of not being conformed to worldliness but by being transformed by godly thinking (Romans 12:1-2).

Put another way, our chief heart posture in all we do must be to fear God (1 Peter 2:17), and to revere and worship Him with everything that we do done for His glory (1 Corinthians 10:31), including how we participate in voting for the Elected President.

How do we do this effectively as Christian citizens?

We each have an obligation to be good stewards of our citizenship. And I found it useful to first take a step back to look at three key Scripture passages to discover what God has said about civil authorities for our benefit.

Even though it was written before any democracy took root, it has timeless, biblical principles from which we should take our bearings: 1 Timothy 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Romans 13: 1-7 (ESV).

Three roles 

From these verses, despite what we may humanly perceive around us, God has ordained three intertwining roles:

God’s Role

Ultimately, we believe that God puts all human institutions in place, including the office of the Elected President.

“There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (Romans 13:1).

God is therefore sovereign over all forms of institutional authority, whatever the earthly intents or actual track record.

Roles of those in Authority

Those in authority are “God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4). This includes “restraining evil, punishing wrong doing, and promoting the order and well-being of society” (Romans 13:3-4, ESV Study Bible notes).

The role of civil authority instituted by God is thus for the “good” of all and certainly not for any self-serving purpose.

Our Role

We are to be subject, for our Lord’s sake, and for our conscience, to those who are in authority (Romans 13:1,5, 1 Peter 2:13). Every “good” we do, in subjection, is thus God’s will (1 Peter 2:15). And it paradoxically affirms our freedom in Christ to not act or react foolishly (1 Peter 2:16).

That said, the Scriptures do not assume that no government can act wrongly or unjustly. When this occurs, there are avenues open. For example, the Apostle Paul, while leaning fully on the Holy Spirit, appealed to Caesar when he was not getting justice. He exercised his legal rights as a Roman citizen to appeal for his life (Acts 25:10-11).

But the thrust of Scriptures here is that Christian citizens therefore obey all laws of the land except where it means disobeying a higher command of God.

The Word of God has recorded for us specific instances in Acts 5:29, Daniel 3:13-27, Exodus 1:17-21, Esther 4:16, Daniel 6:10 and Matthew 2:8,12. Do take time to read each for they do inspire courage to act unswervingly, when the need arises, only for the audience of One.

Should we find ourselves taking a stand and then suffering for our faith (as some in the above references did), we glorify God through our faith-filled courage.

In addition, Christians are to:

●      Honour all people including those in authority, showing them proper respect (1 Peter 2:17). 

●      Pray for all those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4), something I wrote about here. 

How can we pray and vote wisely?

In the midst of the hustings and electioneering, prayer is always our privileged best place to start. Based on the brief (and by no means exhaustive) preamble, here’s how we can pray in two directions:

1.    Let’s pray for the right person to be elected

“Our Father in Heaven, we declare You are sovereign and, despite what others may say, this office of the Elected President is in place under Your watch and the authority of the Elected President is ultimately from You. Lord, You who made everyone in Your image searches the hearts of all and knows who is best suited for this role, in this season.

We pray that out of the three men standing for election, the final one who will be elected is one who:

●      Exemplifies good character, reputation and integrity – starting in the crucible of the home front, in community service and potentially abroad as our nation’s chief diplomat. May he be one who seeks to put the interests of the nation above himself. 

●      Is competent to grasp and do the work as stipulated in the Constitution – rightly distinguishing between discretionary powers and acting upon the advice of the Cabinet or in consultation with the Council of Presidential Advisors. May he wisely and rightly navigate as each situation presents itself. May he have the necessary wisdom and skills of a Daniel and Joseph of old. 

●      Has the courage to execute these powers, as recorded in the oath of office he will take, “without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. Should the situation call for it, may he be nonpartisan and act in good faith for the good and future of Singapore.

In the next five to six years, Lord, You alone know what lies ahead, what our nation needs, and who is best suited to help meet that need, working in tandem with the elected government of the day.

May this person undertake this role responsibly and soberly for the unity of Singapore, seizing opportunities that come as he acts as our Head of State both here and abroad.”

2.    Let us pray for ourselves to be informed voters and supportive citizenry

“While we are sojourners on earth (1 Peter 2:11), You have said that we are to seek the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:7). We love Singapore and are thankful for how our Government has sought to serve the greater good of Singaporeans by just laws, effective policies and the skilful handling of our economy.

You have also blessed us with reserves that can be instruments stewarded for further good in times of need. And now You give us this opportunity to cast our votes in secret, as our duty and right as Singaporeans.

We ask that You will help each of us distil what is truly required of this office and thus elect one suited for the role. Help us not be confused but enlightened.

Help us not succumb to favouring one over the other based mainly on whether we find the person with a personality or stature we think befits the office. We are humbly reminded that this was not the way David ended up appointed king over his brothers (1 Samuel 16:4-13).

Help us also do our due diligence as citizens by reading about, listening to, or watching the available candidates so as to make our best informed decision, leaning on Your wisdom and trusting in Your sovereignty as we do so.

Lord, the scale of the work of the Elected President, as defined, is unique to Singapore and the Constitution confers specific powers in areas deemed important, be it in safeguarding past reserves, having a role in the appointments to high offices, or exercising a right to ensure institutions stay incorruptible or that our nation’s security is not compromised. Help us to understand the specifics sufficiently and then to vote wisely.

In Christ’s Name, we pray, Amen!”

Look to Him who is Sovereign 

Finally, brothers and sisters in Christ, we know God does work through human institutions and those serving in positions of authority. Yet ultimately, He is the one who preserves, protects and defends our nation.

Let us therefore look to Him even as we cast our votes for the Elected President. And thereafter, when all is said and done, confidently subject ourselves, for the Lord’s sake, to the institution and the elected office bearer.

That too would bring the Lord glory.