Stay off Facebook! Emily’s advice was good this morning, although I didn’t heed it. The election is over; let the mourning/celebrating begin. Having followed this campaign through the Facebook feed, I figure about half of the people I know are doing one and half the other. More to my point, about half our congregation is depressed today, while half dances a victory dance.
So what?
During the campaign I posted some suggestions on how Christians should behave in the midst of political battles. These were always well-received, although it’s always easier to observe how the other side is not living up to higher standards than to embrace them ourselves. But now, instead of figuring how to accept political victory or defeat as Christians, I wonder what it would be like if we saw this election and its aftermath as an opportunity for practicing our Christian vocation.
Here’s what I mean:
The Christian vocation is reconciliation, simply because God’s plan is to reconcile all creation to himself through Christ. This, by the way, is the Biblical value, no matter what other things get labeled as such—the whole plan of salvation is summarized right here. Our participation in God’s plan is demonstrated primarily in how we treat one another—love your neighbor and all that sort of thing. Scripture expresses God’s primary concern for how we treat the powerless neighbor—the poor, the strangers, the widows are all specifically mentioned as people who receive God’s, and therefore our, attention.
A couple other ideas need to be thrown into the mix. In Romans 13:1-7, Paul tells the church to obey the emperor, seeing him as an instrument of God’s plan. In 1 Timothy, Paul (or someone writing in his name) tells his audience to pray for the emperor. Keeping in mind that Paul is talking about the very government that is persecuting the church and that will put him to death, these passages might help us dial our own political angst back a notch or two. Paul is saying that there is a place for the stability of government, even imperfect government, in accomplishing God’s plan.
So, using these Biblical values, I’ve got a few ideas:
First, what if, instead of questioning the sanity and reasoning power of those who voted for the other candidate, we try to see what they see? We’re supposed to do this all the time in the church—it’s not that hard, we just have to listen. What we seek is the wisdom of someone other than ourselves. Let’s go with the assumption that everyone is looking for the same good—an assumption of goodwill is a practical way of embracing that Biblical value of loving the neighbor. What do they see that you don’t? Listening isn’t as much fun as winning or lamenting, but it has greater potential. Imagine what would happen if our political leaders worked this way.
While we’re at it, again—let’s not violate the 9th Commandment. That’s the one against false witness. We don’t know what others are thinking until we hear their ideas, so let’s not fill in those blanks for them. Remember that Jesus was not really big on calling people names—in fact he warns against such insults. If we, like Paul, assumed that all could be instruments of God’s will, might that change the way we viewed them? In a similar vein, we don’t know what the future holds, other than that God will be there, so let’s not overdo it with the doomsday or the victory scenarios. The victory we are looking for is the wholeness of God’s Kingdom—it’s going to take more than 4 more years.
Second, pray for our leaders, all of them. I’m not talking about mean-spirited prayers that they would be converted to your way of thinking, but real prayers, ones that Jesus might use. Remember he told us to pray for our enemies, and demonstrated just that. For Jesus, as for Paul, the Kingdom of God
I read a suggestion that we use Psalm 72 as our prayer, and with a little adjustment, it works:
“Give the [president] your justice, O God,…. that he may judge your people rightly and uphold the poor with justice. Let the mountains bring forth peace for the people, and the hills prosperity with justice. May the [president] defend the cause of the poor among the pople, save the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.” (Psalm 72:1-4)
God’s love meant for all—winners and losers; reconciliation a higher priority than political victory; the possibility of God working in those you disagree with—these biblical values aren’t as exciting as Facebook antics, but they will get us where we should be going.
Now your turn—what’s your advice the day after elections?