As I write this, I am thinking about the election mainly because I voted before coming into the office. I keep asking myself why our country has become so split and angry? It is not just about a difference of opinion. A difference of opinion has been going on since before the founding of the United States of America. What has changed in the last 25-30 years? This past Sunday, I briefly talked about remembering where we came from and who came before us. As a society, we forget where we came from and the struggles to get here. I fear we are destined then to repeat our mistakes of intolerance, violence, and dehumanizing people as a country. All because we cannot respect each other and have forgotten the lessons of the past.
Where does this put us as Christians? I want to think that we have to be an example. We have to be the voice of reason, respect, love, acceptance, and understanding, no matter our political views. We must ask ourselves daily if we treat our fellow human beings with respect. Are we treating them the same way we hope to be treated under similar circumstances? As Christians, we must vote our conscience but then remember to rise above those views and the pettiness of our candidate winning or losing. We need to show love and tolerance. As a society, we have, many times, stopped behaving respectfully. As Christians, we must resist falling into societal patterns because it is easy or that is what our friends and family members are doing. We must ask, how would Christ behave? Hate or disdain is not one of those things.