The past few days I have noticed a lot of anger, a lot of hate, a lot of pride, a lot of judging. I have heard a lot of predictions of doom and many feelings of hope. People are joyful, people are sorrowful. All this over one man. One party. One election. Of course I am guilty of many of these things. I have said bad things about candidates, I have put others on a pedestal. I am happy with the results, I am feeling hopeful. But I am one person in this country, one person in this world. I live in one community, I represent one race, one class, one gender, one religion.
Today I was faced with my last straw. An editorial (
Click here to read)that was just down right mean. I have noticed this theme of meanness, from all sides, all people. I have been thinking hard about this, what if my vote was in the minority, what if I was unhappy about the results. How would I react. Am I being boastful, prideful, excessive about my happiness? Some of you might say yes. So back to the last straw: A stranger, in the paper, tells me that I am not a Christian. This makes me angry, defensive, ready to throw back Bible verses in his face that support my views. I want to laugh at his ignorance and disrespect his point of view. And what is the result of my actions? I am being just as judgmental as he.
Here is the thing, what is God really asking us to do in this world? I know it is cliche, but do you really think that Jesus would be voting if he were here today? Do you really think He could find one issue to put above the rest? One issue to throw judgment back on others? I wonder what Jesus thinks when He looks at all of us today. Fighting, insulting, prideful, angry...Does Jesus really think the government of the United States of America is really the best platform of Christianity? Are the last 8 years, or the next 4 years really more than tiny specks of sand in the time frame of this world? Are the decisions of one party, one leader, for one period of time, in one country in this world really all we make them out to be?
There are a lot of issues, there are a lot of ways our government can help, can change. We might not all agree on what is a priority, but we can respect each other as human beings. I am not saying don't vote, I am not saying don't care. I am saying find perspective. Find respect. Find a way to make every moment count. Every choice we make as Christians has to make a difference to those around us. Whether we are rich or poor, male or female, democrat or republican, we are humans, we are responsible for each other and we need to care for each other. So I ask us all to find away to put our worldly agendas aside and figure out what we can do, in every moment to love and respect our family, neighbors, community, country and world.
The past few days I have noticed a lot of anger, a lot of hate, a lot of pride, a lot of judging. I have heard a lot of predictions of doom and many feelings of hope. People are joyful, people are sorrowful. All this over one man. One party. One election. Of course I am guilty of many of these things. I have said bad things about candidates, I have put others on a pedestal. I am happy with the results, I am feeling hopeful. But I am one person in this country, one person in this world. I live in one community, I represent one race, one class, one gender, one religion.
Today I was faced with my last straw. An editorial (Click here to read)that was just down right mean. I have noticed this theme of meanness, from all sides, all people. I have been thinking hard about this, what if my vote was in the minority, what if I was unhappy about the results. How would I react. Am I being boastful, prideful, excessive about my happiness? Some of you might say yes. So back to the last straw: A stranger, in the paper, tells me that I am not a Christian. This makes me angry, defensive, ready to throw back Bible verses in his face that support my views. I want to laugh at his ignorance and disrespect his point of view. And what is the result of my actions? I am being just as judgmental as he.
Here is the thing, what is God really asking us to do in this world? I know it is cliche, but do you really think that Jesus would be voting if he were here today? Do you really think He could find one issue to put above the rest? One issue to throw judgment back on others? I wonder what Jesus thinks when He looks at all of us today. Fighting, insulting, prideful, angry...Does Jesus really think the government of the United States of America is really the best platform of Christianity? Are the last 8 years, or the next 4 years really more than tiny specks of sand in the time frame of this world? Are the decisions of one party, one leader, for one period of time, in one country in this world really all we make them out to be?
There are a lot of issues, there are a lot of ways our government can help, can change. We might not all agree on what is a priority, but we can respect each other as human beings. I am not saying don't vote, I am not saying don't care. I am saying find perspective. Find respect. Find a way to make every moment count. Every choice we make as Christians has to make a difference to those around us. Whether we are rich or poor, male or female, democrat or republican, we are humans, we are responsible for each other and we need to care for each other. So I ask us all to find away to put our worldly agendas aside and figure out what we can do, in every moment to love and respect our family, neighbors, community, country and world.
1 comment:
I can sense your outrage, but also your desire to foster understanding and common ground between opposing viewpoints. Good point about putting this all into perspective, stepping back and taking the long view. Jesus and politics? The more I read the Bible the more I see the message as simply, "go serve the poor."
Dad
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