Response to the Election

NOTE: This devotion was originally written after the 2016 election. It still holds true today and is worth posting considering the climate in which we currently find ourselves two Presidential elections later.

Philippians 2:1-4 (The Message)

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care – then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front, don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Many people are suffering depression from the election results. The same people who had no mercy or compassion for those on the right when Obama took office can no longer function now that Trump has been elected. Those on the right, however, feel new hope and energy. This merely displays just how deeply our country is divided.

As Paul explained to the Philippians, those of us who bear the name of Christ will all go through difficult times. If we trust in Him, we will also suffer for Him. Without doubt, we are living in days of ridicule and even persecution of the church. Therefore, we are to treat each other with love and respect, putting another’s interest before our own.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus taught His disciples that the world would know us as Christians by the love we show toward one another. As the Son of God and having all authority and deity, Jesus humbled Himself to come to earth to live a life as a human and to suffer all that we suffer. He took no advantage of His deity to live among us. He even gave His own life on a cross in order that we might share in His reign and have relationship with the Father as His children. He did it all out of love.

Regardless of which side of this election you find yourself, the proper response is to love others. Embrace those who disagree with you while keeping your God-given convictions from His word. Reach across the aisle to work together with those who disagree, and let your attacks be made toward the true enemy of our souls. The job of the Holy Spirit is to convict hearts, and we must leave that job to Him. Pray. Love. Respect. Let your light shine before men, and be a breath of fresh air to those who desperately need to see the love of Christ in action in this dark world. Be a solution to the problem instead of an antagonist. As we humble ourselves, God will work.

Have a blessed day!