It's the end of an election season. What better time to share a post? This election is one that I've followed closer than any other. I've read up on the different candidates, I've had at length conversations with my husband regarding politics, and I've had my opinion formed for a while now. I've held my tongue during this election, not posting anything on social media platforms. But now that the election is over, I'm going to voice what has been on my heart and my mind for a while now. This election made me sick. Not because of the two candidates chosen to represent our country - though, personally, I couldn't rally behind either of them. What made me sick was us as a people. The amount of anger, hatred, shaming, and judgment that was poured out on those who have shared differing opinions made my blood boil. How dare we shame others for having different opinions than us? How dare we judge others for forming different conclusions? And how dare we name-call an entire opposing side due to the actions of their candidate? I'm all for discussion and learning different viewpoints and sides of things, but the blatant hatred that went out towards people of opposing parties is unbelievable to me. And what has saddened my heart most of all is some of my fellow Christian brothers and sisters that have displayed such hatred. And such fear. I'm aware that the changes to this government and our way of life could become disastrous. But have we forgotten the power of our God? He can't be fired by Trump, nor can He be hidden by Hillary. He is all powerful, almighty, and all in control. Have we forgotten how He has worked in the heartache and the trials? I know how fear can govern emotions and actions. I've lived that way the majority of my life, and am still in the process of learning how to live out of that darkness. But this fear seems to be a theme in this election. Part of why I didn't voice my opinion during this election is because of the fear that my voice would be taken away from me by those who have differing opinions. And I fear now that if I say anything condoning Trump's political platform that I'll be labelled a racist or bigot. I can't handle the feeling of having my voice taken away from me. And so it hurt when I saw people voting out of fear; fear of the other candidate. And while I understand the logistics and strategy of voting against the candidate that is least desired, I can't get past the idea that we are voting out of fear rather than conviction. I know that is truly not the case with all, but it is surely for some. I couldn't do that. "I feel a strong desire to tell you–and I expect you feel a strong desire to tell me–which of these two errors is the worse. That is the devil getting at us. He always sends errors into the world in pairs–pairs of opposites. And he always encourages us to spend a lot of time thinking which is the worse. You see why, of course? He relies on your extra dislike of the one error to draw you gradually into the opposite one. But do not let us be fooled. We have to keep our eyes on the goal and go straight between both errors. We have no other concern than that with either of them." - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
When it's all said and done, God is still God. His reign is never ending. And He is omnipresently in control. So instead of focusing on what's wrong with these candidates and, now, our new president, lets focus our attention on praying for our leaders. And lets take action in prayer and deed to end this hatred and shame among us, starting with ourselves.
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November 2016
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