10 Biblical Principles for the Coming Election

By Dave Mann

The purpose of this article is to state what I believe to matter most in politics.

In history, it was church leaders who led the charge, advocating for our freedoms, leading to the shaping of our political systems – which protect our individual freedoms. The civilisational benefits and freedoms we enjoy and take for granted exist as a direct result of the Christian gospel.

It is essential that the public are educated in these most-basic understandings of our politics and economics – because freedoms that took centuries to gain can be lost within a few decades if the people, in their complacency, become ignorant.

The ‘bottom-up’ democratic system we have is unique in history – in contrast to the ‘top-down’ power of near-all other systems. What we have is extremely rare – and easily lost.

As John F. Kennedy famously said, “Only an educated and informed people will be a free people”.

Our churches have a role to play in ensuring we are politically and economically literate – which in New Zealand means we need to be somewhat Biblically literate, because the principles and values that forged our freedoms came directly from the Bible.

Resource: If you are a church leader and might like to teach on some of these, there is a slightly longer outline of each point in a PDF, available for free HERE.

Here are 10 Biblical principles that I think matter – and why.

1. The Value of the Individual

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27

The foundational principle of Western civilisation and its many benefits is this: Every person matters because every person is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This belief logically then defines a government’s role as serving people, not ruling them. The Ten Commandments out of which our systems of law and justice were built were defined on this foundation. When this founding belief is rejected, the effects ripple outward — from abortion and euthanasia to how we treat the suffering, disabled, and vulnerable.

The caution is that, without a transcendent basis for human worth, “the ends will eventually justify the means”, as has been seen in Communism and Fascism. A person or politicians beliefs invariably lead to matching behaviour. Beyond the two hot-button issues above, our Christian belief in human value has shaped our cultural values on equality, charity, education, healthcare, and our whole system of justice, law and government itself – while providing motivation for much more.

“I am very doubtful whether history shows us one example of a man who, having stepped outside traditional (Christian)morality and attained power, has used that power benevolently.” – C. S. Lewis

Question: Which politicians will affirm the inviolable, God-given value of every human life, ‘created in the image of God’?

2. The Limitation of Government Powers

“Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” – Mathew 22:21

Because humans bear God’s image, government exists to serve people, not dominate them. Israel’s earliest model — described in Deuteronomy and Judges — had no king, only local leaders under God’s authority. It was the most radical experiment in the ‘limitation of government powers’ ever attempted. When Israel later demanded a king, Samuel warned this would mean taxation, conscription, and lost freedom. Every time the government gets bigger, the people (their freedoms and rights) get smaller.

Jesus affirmed that Caesar’s authority was limited and accountable to God (Mathew 22:15-22). Over centuries, Christian convictions reshaped power from the standard top-down model, to a bottom-up model — reflected in titles given politicians like “minister” and “public servant.” King Alfred the Great then grounded law in the Ten Commandments; which the Magna Carta then reinforced. Our systems of government, and of individual freedom, were shaped from these ideas.

“The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it.” – Woodrow Wilson – Politician and Academic (1912)

Question: Who is calling for smaller government — with less bureaucracy, fewer laws, lower taxes, and less spending?

3. If You Will Not Work, You Do Not Eat

“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”” – 2 Thessalonians 3:10

Grounded in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, this simple principle recognises that poverty will always exist (Deuteronomy 15:11) and that a perfect ‘equality of outcome’ is unattainable. Communism, built on Rousseau’s belief that humans are naturally good (which opened the way for the French Revolution), blamed society’s ills on power structures rather than human nature.

50 similar Communistic revolutions followed, bringing equality, but not in terms of freedom and prosperity; instead an equality in poverty and suffering. Why? Equal pay regardless of effort collapses motivation. Aspects of New Zealand’s Welfare System, born out of the Great Depression, could have been applied as a temporary measure. Instead all initiatives became permanent, creating dependency in people who could otherwise work. Poverty continues, despite decades of forced redistribution. Because people differ in ability and effort, forced equality discourages productive effort. People work out how to work the system.

Our high welfare spending now exceeds our nation’s financial capacity so much that immigration, money printing (causing inflation), and debt are our only options.

“I suggest to you there is no left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to the maximum of individual freedom consistent with law and order, or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism; and regardless of their humanitarian purpose, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have, whether they know it or not, chosen this downward path.” – Ronald Reagan (1964)

Question: Who is courageously willing to say we need to reduce welfare spending, while also re-establishing a much higher value regarding work through good law?

4. Humans Are Fundamentally Corrupted

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9

It was Lord Acton who famously said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” — a truth the Bible affirms from Genesis 3 onward. Good law must combine an objective moral foundation with a realistic view of human nature. On this basis, checks and balances against inevitable abuse are diligently created.

The U.S. Constitution — shaped by thoughts from John Locke, John Calvin, and ultimately the Book of Deuteronomy — divided power across executive, legislative, and judicial branches designed to compete against one another for power. This system assumed the selfish ambition of those who would rule. This system therefore prevented any single group from gaining total control. In fact, half of the original signatories to the American Constitution had refused to sign – only until the ‘Amendments’ were added. They knew human nature would try to corrupt even the best of systems. This caution enabled unmatched freedom, prosperity, and charity to develop.

Christianity and Judaism affirm human sinfulness; secular worldviews often lack a fixed basis for defining good and evil objectively.

“There is scarce a king in a hundred who would not, if he could, follow the example of Pharaoh…” – Benjamin Franklin (1787)

Question: Which politicians believe human nature is flawed, therefore supporting limited government and good law that places constraints on power?

5. Generosity Cannot Be Legislated

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:7

Scripture calls us to give generously — but it is never by force (2 Corinthians 9:7). Voluntary giving is called a donation; forced giving is called a tax. For almost 90 years now, our charitable culture has been gradually replaced by a dependency upon the State to care, instead of ourselves. However, a State cannot care; only people can truly care.

Plato warned 2,400 years ago that democracies collapse when voters keep choosing leaders who promise more free money until funds run dry, forcing taxes onto wealth-creators. Welfare states become unsustainable without limits, while balloon bureaucracies are known to be highly inefficient and prone to fraud. Recent discoveries regarding billions in annual Welfare fraud in the US, like through USAID, illustrate. Charity is a culture, not a government program.

“What is human freedom without virtue (or moral character)? It‘s …madness without restraint.” …’because people will only remain free if they’re able to put moral chains on their appetites.” – Edmund Burke – British Statesman (1791)

Question: Which politicians personally give generously to charity, support a smaller welfare state, and champion a stronger charity sector?

6. Capitalistic Freedoms Are Good

“For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.” – 1 Timothy 5:18

Economic freedom reflects God’s design. The 10 Commandments affirm an individual’s right to own land and business, to invest and to keep the reward of their labour — in contrast to socialism, which is the process of gradually centralising ownership in capitalistic free societies away from individuals, back to the State. Correctly understood, capitalism is good. The misunderstanding is to equate it to greed – which is the excessive hoarding of wealth with disregard for others.

Beyond the Ten Commandments protection of private property (which socialism undermines), the account of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21) shows how seriously God views state seizure of assets (which socialism supports as it progresses to communism). Scripture affirms fair wages and greater reward for greater effort (Matthew 25:14-30). Certainly, some taxation is legitimate. Israel’s tithe funded moral education and charity. However, by contrast, excessive taxation crushes incentive, and as it naturally expands, begins to have the inverse effect of lowering total revenue (despite increasing taxation).

Capitalism has lifted billions from poverty worldwide. The UN has applied its principles with great effect. It is a good thing.

We are wise to also understand that governments have no money. They take money. Robust economic freedoms and protections are therefore essential – because entrepreneurial activity is where money comes from.

“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means..,: communism proposes to enslave men by force; socialism – by vote.”  – Ayn Rand – who suffered under the heavy hand of Communism in Russia (1905-1982)

Question: Which politicians are pursuing lower taxes and reduced regulation to unleash entrepreneurial growth?

7. Spend Within Your Means

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. ” – Proverbs 22:7

The Bible warns strongly against debt (Proverbs 22:7, Exodus 22:14, 25). It even instituted debt cancellation to prevent permanent bondage (Deuteronomy 15:1–2). Like households, governments shouldn’t spend beyond their means — yet many Western nations have, pushing tax levels near their limits.

Short on funds, quite a number of high earners have left the UK in recent times following tax hikes, as they already paid a hugely disproportionate share of tax revenue. The top 1% paid 30% of all taxes, while the top 10% paid 60%. Trying to balance the books by taxing the wealthy beyond a certain measure can therefore create a “doom loop” because – beyond a certain level –  the innovators simply give up or leave. Higher tax rates can therefore yield lower revenues for the government. Unable to raise taxes further, governments turn to borrowing, immigration and money-printing to avoid bankruptcy, the latter causing inflation by eroding a currency’s value. It is ironically the poor who pay when a nation over-taxes its rich. There is a balance to find – while the idea that a government should spend within its means (which ours is not) remains foundational.

“A democracy needs informed citizens if it is to thrive, or ultimately even survive.”   – Thomas Sowell, (Degeneration of Democracy, June 2010).

Question: Which politicians favour restrained government spending, borrowing if necessary only for infrastructure and never welfare, thereby supporting economic growth, enabling lower — not higher — taxes?

8. Nationhood Is Good

 ^“From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” – Acts 17:26

Loyalty to one’s nation isn’t wrong. Nationhood is foundational to sovereignty and self-governance. The currently common use of the word ‘nationalism’ as a negative thing is strange. Scripture affirms God-determined borders and a love for distinct cultures. Christians are told to respect civic (national) authority while recognising God stands above it (Romans 13:6-7; 1 Timothy 2:1–2).

At Babel, God scattered peoples specifically to limit the concentration of power due to the evils it would create— a theme echoed later as “Babylon” in the poetry of Scripture. Just as a family protects its home and culture, a nation may protect its borders and values without moral fault. Surrendering national decision-making to outside powers is as foolish as surrendering a household’s basic autonomy. Globalism concentrates dangerous levels of power in few hands.

Question: Which politicians are speaking up for national sovereignty and a valuing of our own history and identity?

9. This Land Is Here for Us to Steward — for Our Benefit

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” – Genesis 2:15

Genesis 1:28–30 gives humanity dominion over creation, All would agree this was for provision and flourishing, while not exploitation. Responsible resource use, including mining, is legitimate stewardship, not abuse. This applies urgently to energy. Restricting domestic production raises the costs of power, which drives industry overseas and weakens the economy. All then suffer. There is a balance to find.

The UK illustrates the danger — where aggressive “net zero” policy has left it with the developed world’s highest energy costs, pushing industry overseas. Meanwhile its emissions impact is negligible next to nations like China’s ongoing coal expansion – with new coal plants coming online almost weekly.

New Zealand, despite abundant clean hydropower, faces high energy costs due to past privatisation, concurrent with more-recently reduced coal mining. This has forced us to importing dirtier overseas coal. It hasn’t actually helped the environment at all.

Question: Which politicians support courageously expanding our own energy production to lower costs and fuel industry – while concurrently considering a balance of clean-burning options?

10. It Is God Who Helps a Government Succeed

” No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another” – Psalm 75:6-7

In the Bible God judges nations principally by their treatment of the poor and by their fairness in leadership. It condemns the bribery and the corruption that have historically accompanied power. Yet Scripture also offers hope: a struggling nation can turn to God for restoration.

New Zealand’s Parliament once opened with Christian prayer, reflecting an understanding that our values have been historically shaped by the Christian faith — which also gave rise to secular governance and religious freedom because of the Christian belief that Christian faith cannot be coerced. These points have been significantly misunderstood. Being “Christian” isn’t in tension with being “secular”. The latter flowed naturally from the former. We are Christian by values, while having individual religious freedom in daily life. The undermining of a regard for our Christian identity has been costly in many ways. However, the greatest danger is that God himself might withdraw his hand of favour and protection from us – the very thing our National Anthem prays will never happen.

Question: Which politicians show genuine regard for Christian faith, prayer, and our national heritage – and even if not personally Christian themselves?

Addendum 

Feedback on this article highlighted two more soundly biblical principles that I had not noted. I agree.

11. Valuing Marriage Correlates to National and Individual Health

Commitment to marriage is a clearly Biblical principle.

Failure to uphold this largely ignored value brings incalculable costs to relationships, communities, health, and economics, individually and nationally, especially for children.

Question: Which politicians and parties speak about and value marriage?

12. Robust enforcement of basic law and order

This is a clearly Biblical principle. In Israel, the law was written on the public’s hearts, to be enforced together — with police force needed.

Our systems of law and justice originate from the Bible. Clear consequences for crime deter it (‘broken window theory), while it is concurrently possible for consequences to seek to be restorative in intent (also a Christian value).

Question: Which politicians and parties keep the necessity of quick law enforcement a simple matter?

In conclusion:

Please vote with a view to principles not politicians’ personalities, and a view towards policies, not a political party’s promises.

Public media will cloud these matters through their showmanship, slander and scandals. Pay no attention. Our politicians beliefs and values are the ink with which our future will be written.

The words of 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 are maybe our best conclusion. They speak to the hope that is possible when a nation turns to God in a time of trouble.

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,  if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

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DAVE MANN. Dave is a networker and creative communicator with a vision to see an understanding of the Christian faith continuing and also being valued in the public square in Aotearoa-New Zealand. He has innovated numerous conversational resources for churches, and has coordinated various national nationwide multimedia Easter efforts purposed to open up conversations between church and non-church people about the Christian faith and its significance to our nation’s history and values. Dave is the Producer of the ‘Chronicles of Paki’ illustrated NZ history series created for educational purposes, and the author of various other books and booklets including “Because we care”, “That Leaders might last” and “The Elephant in the Room”. Married to Heather, they have four boys and reside in Tauranga, New Zealand.