I GOT A PAINFUL EMAIL at 5:35 this morning, after the election.
It was from a lady who has been helping support The Casual English Bible® this year. She and her husband were deeply upset about the presidential election result.
I was up because I hadn’t gone to bed. I dozed off for an hour or two, and when I woke, I didn’t feel like sleeping.
But I felt. It was a “My God!” evening.
I felt for the lady, for myself, and for the dad who emailed me last night. He was about to leave, to meet his daughter who was upset after one of her college profs ripped into her because of her vote. After the election, she asked if the family could move to Canada.
Post-election misery checklist
Let’s put some feelings out there—a checklist from people I know on the losing side of the election.
- anger
- revulsion
- ashamed of being an American, again
- worried about daughters and wives
- worried about Ukraine and a broader war that could come of it
- concern about immigration, and if Canada will let us in
- thoughts of revolution if democracy falls to the autocracy of a convicted sex offender
- wondering how to stop billionaires from controlling what we read and hear in the media
(Add others on your mind in the comments, if you like.)
Lesson from baseball
I learned something from watching my grandsons, ages 6 and 8, play baseball. They lose ballgames once in a while—sometimes in a big way and sometimes because the players were making terrible decisions.
As a nation, I believe we made a terrible decision yesterday. And I think we’ll all be held accountable, just as ballplayers are docked in team stats, humiliated about losing, and saddened by the extra practice sessions the coach will have to call.
Advice from the coaches
But I’ve stood there in the dugout taking pictures and listening to what the best coaches I know tell their young players.
“It’s already over. We’re onto the next play now. It’s not about what happened then. It’s about what happens next.”
We have to express our hurt. That’s natural. But instead of lingering on what happened, and feeling miserable, and peeing in the wind, we need to move on—whether that’s:
- The family moving to Canada, if their immigration policy allows it
- Upset voters running for political office
- Or journalists forming their own news outlets so billionaires can’t write the headlines (Washington Post).
Lesson from the Bible
Paul said something I don’t like about political leaders. If anyone thinks I put my own spin on The Casual English Bible®, they don’t know me very well. Because I’d love to put my own spin on what you read below. But paraphrasing the Bible isn’t about spinning. It’s about reporting.
“We all need to let the government govern us. Our leaders got where they are because God put them there. That’s true of every government leader” (Romans 13:1).
I’m not sure Paul would have said that had he not been writing to Romans he was planning to visit in Rome, capital of the Roman Empire, and home to a tyrant Caesar, Nero.
He was simply writing a letter to introduce himself and his beliefs. He probably had no idea it would end up in the Bible. But churches kept the letter, passed it around, and one day a couple hundred years later a committee of church leaders decided it was worth keeping for good.
Obeying Nero
On the other hand, Paul was talking about Nero. And I think some historians would see many parallels between that Roman emperor and the president-elect. Google “Nero.” You’ll find he was not kind.
If Paul got it right, and God put Nero and our president-elect in seats of power, that isn’t necessarily a positive thing. Jeremiah quoted God saying,
“I’m assembling all the northern armies for an attack on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. Kings will come with their soldiers and surround the city walls and gates throughout the kingdom” (Jeremiah 1:15).
Those invaders erase the Jewish nation off the political map.
Tyrant leaders in the world
Sure, as Christians, we have to obey our leaders. But as Americans we can challenge them and stand against them when they are insulting, hurting, and killing people.
But whatever we do, if it’s possible, let’s try to do it with the grace of a loving brother or sister and with the humility of a third-grade ballplayer with a good coach.
That said, we all know that today—of all days—there are a lot of saintly souls in the country who would like to kick the rear ends of other saintly souls up one hill and down the holler.
Peace to you.
For a change here’s a link to maps from Romans
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