On July 27, 2016, I wrote, “There are few sins God hates as much as shedding innocent blood, especially the blood of children. Seeing that Hillary Clinton is a radically pro-abortion candidate and seeing that the Democratic platform reinforces those radical views, can a Christian vote for Hillary in good conscience?”

Of course, I recognized that, “It’s one thing to be uncertain about voting for Trump (or other candidates). It’s another thing to vote for a radical, pro-abortion candidate like Hillary Clinton.”

That’s why I stated, “I, for one, do not see how you can look Jesus in the eye, look abortion in the eye, and vote for Hillary.”

In response, some Christians have told me, “I totally agree with you about abortion. It’s an ugly sin in God’s sight. And I totally oppose same-sex ‘marriage.’ But voting Republican all these years hasn’t stopped abortion or slowed the advance of homosexual activism. And where I live, the Democrats are more concerned with our education system and with helping the poor and with fighting for equity in the courts. That’s why I vote Democrat while fighting against abortion on the grass roots level.”

To be sure, as strongly as I feel about these issues, I do not claim that all Christians who vote for Democrats are backslidden, compromised hypocrites.

And since the great majority of conservative Black Christians vote Democrat while the great majority of conservative White Christians vote Republican, it is not my intent to pass judgment on all my Black brothers and sisters who vote differently than I do.

I simply want to challenge the idea that our votes do not play a direct role in helping to save babies’ lives (or impacting the culture).

Let’s start with the obvious.

If Roe is overturned by the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, it is largely due to President Trump appointing three conservative justices to the court. Without their vote, Roe would remain in place, perhaps not to be challenged for many more years.

Of course, Trump is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to overturning Roe. Pro-life activists have made sacrificial and even heroic efforts to fight against abortion for decades now, while many other Americans have added their prayers and their actions.

But without Trump (or someone of like convictions in the White House), Roe would not be threatened at all. In fact, had Hillary Clinton been elected and had she appointed three new justices, America would look very different today.

Think about that scenario for a moment. It really is quite frightening in terms of the threats to our religious freedoms and the further entrenching of abortion and gay “marriage.”

As far as the impact of our votes on the surrounding culture, had President Obama not advocated for same-sex “marriage,” it is very possible that Judge Anthony Kennedy might have voted against it, being the key swing vote in the court’s absurd decision.

The Supreme Court certainly does look at public opinion on matters of national interest to gain a sense of the pulse of the nation.

Yet to get elected in 2008, he had to profess support for marriage as God intended it, one man and one woman for life, even though he was previously on the record as supporting same-sex “marriage” when running for Senate in Illinois.

But with so many Black voters holding to conservative Christian values, often more than the average White voter, he had to appeal more to his conservative Black base. (According to campaign manager David Axelrod, Obama lied about his position in order to be elected.)

Ironically, one reason that Proposition 8, which opposed homosexual “marriage,” was affirmed in California was because of the large influx of Black voters. They voted for Obama and against gay “marriage.”

Four years later, when it came to his second term, he no longer needed to be duplicitous. He let the cat out of the bag, and given his great popularity, he certainly influenced public opinion.

Isn’t that a perfect example of our votes making a difference when it comes to these weighty cultural issues?

Getting back to abortion, once Roe is overturned (may it happen speedily!), then the question of abortion will fall back to the individual states. And that means that if you vote in enough pro-life candidates you will get pro-life laws. In many ways, it’s that simple.

Who can now say, “Well, my vote will not stop abortion?” To the contrary, your vote could help outlaw abortion in your state.

Getting back to the national picture, had there been 10 more Democrats in the Senate, they could have voted to codify Roe as the law of the land, regardless of what the Supreme Court ruled.

To repeat: your vote certainly does matter.

Of course, it must be the job of the church to change hearts, to serve those choosing to keep their babies, to be holistically pro-life, to work for the betterment of the poor, to be involved in the educational system, and to make a tangible difference in the communities in which we live.

But let’s not underestimate the power of our votes. Precious lives hang in the balance.