Post-election Fallout

Someone sent me an email this week entitled "A Christian Response to the Elections". There are some people threatening to secede in response to the election that claim to be Christian. Some people labeled liberals, some of whom claim to Christian as well, seem thrilled, but demand more, more, more from this president. I don't know definitive “Christian” the answer. So I fall back on the things that I value most, seek to maintain my integrity as a Christian, and get on with life.

Basically, all we Christians can do is vote our conscience, accept the results, and pray for all of our public servants. We need to be Christ-like in all our dealings, no matter what! We need to respect authority. We need to work for compromise, not draw battle lines. We need to model the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

Jesus submitted to crucifixion. Even though he was wrongly accused and the government was corrupt, even though he could have called down all the powers of heaven to wage war against them, yet he submitted to the authorities humbly and without protest. How can we not submit to the authority of our government, even if it's unjust or corrupt? We are citizens of Heaven and just resident aliens here. Part of being Christian is living peaceably with our neighbors. Our government – for better or worse – is our government. Like Jesus said, “Give to Caesar the things that are of  Caesar, and give to God the things that are of God.”(Matthew 22:21)

Jesus said, “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike..” (Matthew 5: 43-48)  We've got to stop fighting. The bible says, "Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart." (Luke 11:17) Someone's got to start talking about peace and consensus, and I think we as Christians are bound by the wounds of Christ to be a part of the solution, not add to the problem. We can best work for change from a position of reconciliation, cooperation, and charity than from a point of view that is negative and hateful. Like my granddaddy used to say, "You attract more flies with honey than vinegar." It seems to me that our time would be much better spent sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ than arguing about who’s right and who’s wrong.

I recently read a statistic that made me sad. One in three young adults in America have no religion at all. One seventh of all Americans are “nones”, the nomenclature for people who have no religious affiliation. Look around you. If you see seven people, one of them is a non-believer. If we spend as much energy sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and what he means in our lives as we do sharing the political junk, then maybe we’ll be blessed enough to see the fruits of our labor when some “nones” show up at our church, or give their lives to Christ.

All I know is that my Lord died for ALL humankind. Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, rich and poor, Christian and non-Christian. If we follow the lead of Christ, we, too, will love everyone. We don't have to condone things we don't believe in, but we also don't have to condemn. Judging is God's job, not ours.

A Christian response to the election? Continue being the best Christians we can be. Seek God's will in all we do. Live a life that mirrors Christ as best we can. Avoid sin. Spread the good news. And, "Go make of all disciples!" And, for the love of God, be nice to each other - even if we disagree. And maybe, just maybe, when we stand before God, he will say, as he did in Matthew 25:23 “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you much more. Let’s celebrate together!” Then we all have a praise party and go back to work, because Luke 10:2 says, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” See you in the fields!