What to Do After Election Day

Two years ago I wrote an article on this blog entitled "After the Ballots Have Been Counted." It was my humble attempt to encourage Christians to thoughtfully prepare for the unknown outcome of a particularly momentous and tumultuous political contest.  

Now we’re on the eve of another especially significant Election Day and it’s difficult not to fret. Indeed, I’m gravely concerned about how our country will react tomorrow, no matter which party ends up controlling the House and the Senate. It’s very hard not to feel the heat of the political pot on the stove and wonder at what point will things boil over?

But part of my job as a Christian is to help turn down the heat, not increase it with anxious (or angry) predictions. The Bible tells me that the “fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them who make peace.” (James 3:18) Now granted, part of the reason for the heat right now is because of the reaction of unrighteous people towards righteousness. And for that, I’m afraid the boiling water can’t be simmered. Even Jesus was demonized by unrighteous leaders for calling out their evil ways.

So no, we can’t stop sowing righteousness. But we can show the world how to sow that righteousness peacefully---just like Jesus did. Jesus didn’t just criticize the problems of the day; He lived the kingdom of God by bringing it to all He encountered (including those religious leaders like Nicodemus who had genuine openness to receive it). He loved his friends, His neighbors and His enemies. He engaged in conversations about the kingdom with those in the street as much as with those in the synagogue. 

Right now, probably the most significant thing we can do after Election Day is to show our communities what it means to be a Christian. What does it mean to be a Christian?  Check out Galatians 5:22-23, commonly known as the “Fruits of the Spirit”, for a good reminder. Then ask the Lord how you can be more loving, more joyful, more kind, etc. in how you interact with those around you. Oh, and by the way, that doesn’t get us out of calling out unrighteousness—after all, goodness is a fruit of the Spirit too. But it will help us engage the people in our lives in a way that shows them the fullness of the Gospel of the Christ we represent.  

With that said, here are a few bullet-point actions for you to consider implementing in the aftermath of this year’s mid-terms to help keep the political pot from boiling over:

• Thank God for the outcome of the election, even if you are unhappy about the results. Then commit to praying positively and regularly for each of your elected officials.

• Refrain from apocalyptic laments or disparaging gloats on social media about the election results. Commit to keeping political dialogue civil (either on social media or otherwise). And by the way, “civility” simply means being kind and polite. (Our first president had some rules about this topic that might be of some help).

• Extend good-will towards someone you know personally who voted differently from you.

• Prayerfully consider what you might do to be a help (no, really, I mean that) to your local government officials. Ask them what needs in your community you (or your church) could be involved in helping meet.

• Look for opportunities during the holidays to participate in activities that will put you in contact with people from your community, regardless of their political affiliation. We need reminders that people are people, and far more than the sum of their party affiliation. You may be surprised how much you might have in common.

Meantime, please make sure you get to the polls tomorrow and VOTE! It’s a privilege that we cannot afford NOT to use. 

Build the Wall and Love the Immigrant?

“We have to protect our country from external threats.”

“We need to show compassion to those who are in need.”

If I asked the average American if he agreed with each of those statements, doubtless he’d say yes. But if I asked him if he agreed with either one of those statements in the context of our national immigration policy, he’d probably choose one or the other to summarize his views, and probably quite forcefully. And so it seems our American populace has done on the issue—one side forcefully arguing that national security is the guiding principle when it comes to immigration, the other also forcefully arguing that compassion should be so instead.  The two positions appear, in their raw, simplified explanations, to be mutually exclusive.

But are they?

Some years ago, a wise friend of mine explained that we often look at situations in terms of “either/or.” We think we have to choose either one thing or the other, elevating the one and excluding the other. But my friend pointed out that God usually doesn’t demand that kind of mutual exclusivity when it comes to real life. For example, God commands that we are to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But such paramount love for Him doesn’t mean our love stops there. The same God commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). Instead of “either/or,” it’s a “both/and.” We love both God and our neighbor. Sure, God has the priority, but love for Him doesn’t exclude the need to love our neighbor—in fact, the one actually helps us to do the other one even better.

I recently heard Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, apply the paradigm of “both/and” to the immigration issue. He pointed out that both sides of the debate have legitimate concerns that should be factored into a workable, sensible, and Biblical immigration policy. Immigration law should be enforced to prevent illegal immigration, while at the same time, preservation of immigrant families should help guide that enforcement.

I heartily echo Dr. Rodriguez’s sentiments. In all the commotion surrounding how to address immigration, terrorism, and national security, we’ve rather forgotten that the concerns being raised aren’t contradictory. Let me give you a bit of word picture to help make the point.

Let’s say you’re a home owner who has a leaky roof and a broken furnace. You wouldn’t say you can’t fix the roof because you have to fix the furnace, or vice versa. One might have priority over the other, but both can be properly addressed in due time. And in so doing, you would want to have the appropriate person fix each respective problem: a roofer for the roof, an HVAC technician for the furnace.

So it is with our country. Last Tuesday night, President Trump declared to our Congress that he wasn’t President to represent the world; he was president to represent America.  Of course, he’s right. His responsibility, by order of the Constitution, is first and foremost to the United States. And the security of our nation ought to be at the top of his “to-do” list. Part of that security is enforcing our existing immigration laws and seeking, where necessary, additional policies that will keep, as the President has put it, “our communities safer for everyone.” In other words, he’s been hired to fix the leaky roof.

But what about refugees seeking safe haven from horrific persecution? What about people from other countries seeking to better their lives and the lives of their families? What obligation does President Trump owe them? No more than the roofer owes to the furnace. The President of the United States cannot place the concerns of non-Americans at the same level of priority as Americans. He wasn’t elected to do so. However that doesn’t mean we don’t address their plight, any more than the homeowner ignores his broken furnace.

Well-meaning Christians may lecture the President on the need to implement an immigration policy that prioritizes the Biblical principle of showing compassion to the alien. But this is asking the roofer to fix the furnace. It’s up to the HVAC technician to fix the furnace because he’s the person best equipped and most knowledgeable to do the job. Social welfare is best delivered through private means.  There is no better group of people than the Church of Jesus Christ, to reach out to the immigrants and refugees in our midst, and to help provide relief to refugees outside of our borders. That’s our job, by divine mandate, (James 2:15-17), just as it’s the government’s job, by divine mandate, to protect our nation from harm and to punish those who do it evil (Romans 13:1-5). Our tasks aren’t mutually exclusive; they can be done in tandem.

Remember, the government, including President Trump, isn’t the owner of this House we call the United States of America. We the People are. And if we remember whose job it is to fix the roof, and whose job it is to fix the furnace, we may just end up with a sturdy roof that weathers the fiercest storm, and a furnace that warms the house in double time. Yes, there will be occasions when the roofer and the HVAC technician might get in each other’s way. But when that happens, the homeowner can make the needed adjustment to see that both guys have the room they need to get their respective jobs done.

Photo Credit by qbac07 in creative commons

After the Ballots Have Been Counted

Before you read any further, I need you to do two things (but promise to come back and finish reading after you do them). If you haven’t yet, check out my post about voting your conscience. I’d also commend this piece to you by Eric Metaxas (and just for context, this is the man who penned the definitive work on German hero Dietrich Bonhoeffer, gave a daring speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, and hosts an uplifting daily radio show about everything). I’m voting for Donald Trump for the same reasons Metaxas so ardently articulates. 

But whoever you are (or aren’t) voting for on November 8, think about what you’ll be doing on November 9 and beyond. No matter what the outcome the ballot boxes report, American Christians will have a lot of choices to make as we head into the next four years of the history of the United States. 

If Donald Trump is elected, many of us will breathe a sigh of relief—for a few moments. Unfortunately, if Trump takes residence in the White House, too many of us (i.e. conservative Christians) may do what we’ve done before: assume that a Republican presidency means we can coast for a while. Of course, the fact that the Republican president will be Trump is probably enough to keep a lot of us on our toes. But still, the tendency is to let our guard down when someone from our own side is the country's team captain. And besides the potential messes that Trump’s foibles might cause, we still have a hostile culture to deal with in the meantime. We still have to grapple with how to raise our children, how to boldly but winsomely practice our religious liberty, how to faithfully share the Gospel with our neighbors and acquaintances, and how to be practically involved in our communities.

And those questions become even more problematic if we get four years of another Clinton presidency—big time. Instead of an unpredictable friend, we will have a predictable opponent of the core principles that we as Christians hold dear.  

So, regardless of the election results nationally, regionally and locally, plan on doing the following things (even if you feel depressed) on the morning of November 9.

Pray. Praise God that He is sovereign, and thank Him that He has a good purpose for whoever He has placed in positions of authority.  Read Psalm 141:8: “But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord; in You I take refuge…” Ask Him for wisdom for what to do in the days ahead.

Be faithful to do what God has called you to do. No matter who is elected, don't alter your current way of life because of what might happen if you don't. Take a cue from Daniel, who kept publicly worshiping God even after he knew it might put him in a lion's den (and it did!) Maybe we might have to do some things a little differently because it's prudent or more effective, but we can't operate out of fear. Follow the British morale poster from WWII: "Keep Calm and Carry On."

Be a voice of hope. No, really. Christians can always, always, always bring good news when there is bad news, light when there is darkness, hope when there is despair. The Gospel is still the Gospel. No matter who lives in the White House, Jesus is still the King of kings. He will put all to rights, and for those who are right with Him, the very best is yet to come. As the Apostle Peter put it:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (I Peter 1:3-7 ESV)

Vote Your Conscience

Whatever you thought of Ted Cruz’s speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, his exhortation to “vote your conscience” is one that the Christian voter should wholeheartedly follow. After all, the idea of freedom of conscience is a thoroughly Biblical one. If you’re in doubt, spend some time in the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans (chapter 14 to be exact). Or perhaps consider Martin Luther, who, with a little more weighing on his mind than who to vote for, said that “to go against conscience is neither right nor safe.” With that in mind, and the presidential election just two months away, Christians all over the country should be prayerfully preparing to enter the voting booth so that they can come out of it with their conscience intact. Of course, the looming question for many such believers is how in the world do they do that?

Two caveats are in order before I attempt to answer that question. First, this post is primarily directed to those of you who are considering a vote for Donald Trump or some candidate other than Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I know some of you might believe Hillary Clinton is the best option in this race; if you do, I’d challenge you to examine Secretary Clinton’s agenda and track record in light of both Christian morality and constitutional political policy, and then let me know how you think her presidency would promote either.  Second, this is the first time in my voting history that I will be casting my ballot for the Republican nominee (I voted third party in the last two presidential elections, so I know what it’s like to buck both big parties; for those of you considering it this time around, I feel your pain).

So, how do we do it? How do we vote our conscience in a presidential election that has left us with what many believe to be more dismal than the “lesser of two evils?” I’ll give you four maxims that might help you get there.

Remember that God is in charge. It can be cliché, but for the Christian, that truth changes everything. God’s sovereignty means that nothing is outside of His masterplan, and that we can fully trust His choice (and yes, I said choice) of who rules and who does not. We can confidently concur with the conclusion of one of the world’s most powerful kings, Nebuchadnezzar, that “the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.” (Daniel 5:21)

Put the act of voting in the context of your larger responsibility as a Christian citizen. As Christians, our goal isn’t to take over the government in order to establish a literal “Christian nation” that perfectly implements righteous policy. That won’t happen until the return of King Jesus. Instead, our main priority is to be salt ( preserving life) and light (providing clarity) in our culture (Mathew 5:13-14), to be a blessing to our community and country (Jeremiah 29:7), and to seek to live peaceably according to the dictates of our conscience towards God (I Thess. 4:10-12). In considering the act of voting, those are the things that matter the most.  Look to the lives of Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah as models for how to effectively impact political figures while never compromising your conscience. And check out this election series by a pastor who's worked with government officials for over 3 decades. 

Articulate your choice with respect for other voters’ consciences. The apostle Peter exhorts believers to be ready to explain to others (anyone, in fact) why we do the things we do as Christians. But he conditions that we do so with “gentleness and respect” (I Peter 3:15, ESV). I’ve heard a lot of “Never Trump” folks proclaim their stance with all the snobbishness of a condescending cat. They assume that those Christians supporting Trump are doing so thoughtlessly or as compromised wimps, not from thoughtful or morally-supportable positions. On the other side, pro-Trump Christians have marginalized those who aren’t supporting Trump as being pro-Hillary (i.e. political traitors), instead of respecting their genuine (and honorable) attempt not to violate their conscience. Wherever you may stand, just make sure that it really is principle, not pride, that is determining your conclusion. 

No matter who you decide to vote (or not vote for) in the presidential election, don’t stay home on election day. I’ll let Jayme Metzger from The Federalist dismantle any possible notion of "not voting" in this piece, still the best political commentary I've read on this election to date.

Simplifying Complexity

I recently saw a bumper sticker that read “Trillions to Wars; Pennies to the Poor.” Apparently the driver was advocating particular perspectives about governmental policies, but as catchy as the sticker sounds, its simplicity reduced some fairly complex issues (e.g. national defense, foreign relations, social welfare, government taxation and spending) to a fragmented sentence on the back of a car. At best, it’s a conversation starter, but not especially helpful for readers in making informed conclusions on those matters. Like most bumper stickers, it was a familiar example of something we human beings are experts at doing: simplifying complexity.

Since the time we were kids, we’ve had an innate desire to have things explained to us, and preferably, as simply as possible. I’ve noticed that we really don’t outgrow that childlike preference, even when we’ve gotten old enough to know that things are a little more complicated then we thought they were when we were 6. But it doesn’t keep us from still doing it as grown-ups. It's also not a trait that is limited to people of one particular political persuasion. Conservatives do it as much as liberals. And it’s not limited to political discussions. Take any area of interest: history, science, theology, politics, even technology—we gravitate to labels and stereotypes. It makes life easier and controversial issues more clear cut. And though simplification is not itself bad, the danger lies in reducing issues, events and even people down to slogans, cliff notes, or pejoratives. In our age of texts, tweets, and sound bites, that’s a problem.

 We don’t have to look far to see the negative effects of simplifying complexity. The current tension between police and minorities is viewed by some as overblown and by others as under-reported. For a white political conservative like me who grew up in the Pacific Northwest where racial conflict was rare, I gravitate towards siding with those who are asking “What’s the big deal?” I’m prone to suggest that those criticizing law enforcement are motivated more by a political agenda then a genuine concern about police brutality. Then I hear the personal testimony of Tim Scott, a Republican senator from South Carolina, and I realize that my experience can’t simplify the issue; racism is a real thing, and many still experience its ugly effects. But I also have friends who are police officers. Their perspective reminds me that most cops are good people, men and women trying to stop the bad guys while putting food on their families’ tables. Reducing the issues of police violence and violence to police to a simple us-versus-them mentality is demeaning to victims of racism as well as the members of the thin blue line. Ultimately, it is unhelpful to constructive dialogue that might bring a solution to a tragic social ill.

People, especially public figures, are frequently the target of negative simplification. From now until November 8, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be two of the most demonized people in the world. Why? Because it’s far easier to vilify a person (and their supporters) who opposes your viewpoint than it is to thoughtfully contend with them on their positions. Humanizing political candidates we’d rather stereotype complicates things. It inconveniently pokes at our own humanity, reminds us that those folks are made in God’s image, and hints that they might be a bit more complex than the sum of their political stances.

Simplifying complexity can leave us in the sorry position of being unable to see an issue, a circumstance, or even a relationship from a bigger picture. That kind of unwillingness hinders our ability to contemplate a different perspective, a perspective that might lead to a better solution, a better understanding, and a better relationship.

Contemplating complexity doesn’t mean you won’t still reach a straightforward conclusion on a matter; it’s necessary that you do. But it does mean you’ve given consideration to more than just the bumper-sticker version of an issue. And by doing so, you’re actually reflecting the nature of your Creator.  He could simplify us, and our pathetic laments and complaints to Him, as nothing more than indicators of our finite, frail humanity. But instead, the One who is all-knowing and all-mighty “remembers that we are dust” and “forgives…heals…redeems…crowns…satisfies…[and] pities those who fear Him.” (Psalm 103:1-14). We should take our cue from Him, and start contemplating complexity instead of simplifying it. Maybe we can start with our bumper stickers.