I can’t lie to you all. I went to bed Tuesday night, Nov. 8 ready to accept the fact that Hillary Clinton would be our next president. I guess the media had me fooled too. Not that I was ever that fond of Donald Trump. In my opinion, he never impressed me as a man with much substance. As the Bible says, sometimes the more you talk; the less it proves to others that you are that wise at all. I woke up Wednesday morning, Nov. 9 in shock and awe by much more than just the news of who had won the election. I was quite taken back by the venom flying everywhere in the air on the day after!
My first thought was that today and the days to come would test to the core how tolerant those who preach the importance of tolerance really are! Is tolerance a privilege given only to those who agree with you? Must you be politically correct to be socially accepted? Do you have to shut your heart down to make your body matter? Are you confusing uniformity with unity? I don’t expect you to have to agree with me to like me. I love very dearly many who have differing belief systems. I have always asked God to help me love those who l may philosophically disagree with.
Loving another does not mean you must applaud everything that person does! Loving doesn’t guarantee a blanket condoning from you of all of their behavior! Just look at the relationship between parents and children! Just look at how God loves us in spite of what we do at times! I am saddened by the many rigid and non-negotiable conditions that those who claim to operate from such big and wide open hearts make upon those who don’t necessarily see eye to eye with them. How do name-calling and rampant and radical over-generalizations communicate love? What happened to live like you are loved and give the same courtesy to others? Didn’t Jesus say that we needed to go so far as to even love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? Where is this love hiding?
I have read lots of words of rage and discontent spread all over social media since Nov. 8. If I can offer any word of counsel, it is simply this: Outside circumstances should never interfere with an internal conviction! Here is one to chew on! Jesus never allowed the government of his day, as crooked as it was, to keep him from living a life of love and single-minded purpose! Come on people! It is ultimately always up to you and me and the decisions that we make which will result in the positive differences that America needs. Whoever is president will not amount to a hill of beans if good men and women don’t pick up the slack and shine their lights bright.
As I shared, I woke up Wednesday morning, Nov. 9 ready to be the man that God is calling me to be no matter what political party occupied the White House. As for me and my heart, I have chosen that Jesus will always come first when it comes to my uncompromised allegiance. That purpose doesn’t change from president to president. Neither should your mission be so messed with because of a candidate not winning office. We all need to continue to unwrap each and every day God gives us as the precious gift that it is and be fully available to bring such treasures such as love, grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, patience, kindness and truth to everyone we meet no matter what creed, color or category they may be. Bitterness, hatred, cruelty, name-calling, bullying, and intimidation only lead to causing further damage to the fragile foundation of brotherhood and community that we already are experiencing in our crazy world today! I have always believed that if you sow seeds of hatred, you will reap a harvest that has you becoming the very thing you say that you loathe.
Paul wrote that the greatest of these is love to a church that couldn’t stand him at times. They were always challenging his authority. They were cocky and stubborn and thought that they were above the very words that God was trying to lead them by. If Paul could still be an example of light in the midst of darkness and the same Holy Spirit that enabled him is available to us, do we really have an excuse to harbor such vengeance?
And let’s look at Jesus! Caesar Augustus forced people to worship him as a deity. The Herods were as corrupt as a swimming pool filled with sewage. The Pharisees had turned the work of God into a marketing venture and Jesus didn’t miss a beat. He was a citizen of a kingdom not of this world. The last I looked, our Lord’s followers were also called to be sojourners and visitors of this planet! And who did Jesus spend the majority of his earthly time with? It wasn’t the who’s who list of Jerusalem. It was the outcasts, the blue collar workers, the tax collectors and the labeled “losers” of society! Jesus never condoned the sin they were in but neither did he condemn them. Jesus rescued, redeemed and renewed the very ones that culture had written off. Now there is an example worth voting for!
Republican, Democrat, Roman Catholic, Protestant, black, white, red, Jew, Greek, Gentile, rich, poor, educated, homeless, North Jersey, South Jersey, Mets fan, Phillies fan are all manmade categories! When God looks at our hearts, he shows no impartiality. I challenge you to practice that kind of looking so nothing will stunt your powerful way of living. Shine on with your eyes fixed on a much higher prize than anything this world could offer. Let heaven ignite the fire in your soul and pray to leave a legacy of life in every stand you take and every path you walk. Crowds make lousy leaders! Dare to be the man or woman God wired you to be and go full steam ahead! Nothing and nobody can ever take that away from you!
ED. NOTE: The author is senior pastor of The Lighthouse Church, 1248 Route 9 South, Cape May Court House.
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