The doors are locked where they once stood open
A wound of fear where we once stood hoping
The shattered glass where the bullets broke in
I'm looking for the place that I was born
I'm looking for a way to fix what's torn
I'm looking for America

Looking For America, Switchfoot & LeCrae

Disclaimer: I voted knowing the candidate I wrote-in my ballot wasn’t going to win.  If you think  I wasted my vote, I didn’t.  If you think I helped elect a bigot, I didn’t.  If you think I’m not “Christian” enough for not voting Republican, my vote doesn’t determine my faith in God.  As a registered Republican, I chose to vote my conscience and I do not regret it.  I am not loyal to one party, but to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I knew I’d be disappointed with the results either way, but what I feel now is way beyond what I ever expected.  I understand and respect all of your views, I only ask for you to return the courtesy.

For the kingdom is the LORD’S And He rules over the nations.

Psalm 22:28

I woke up Wednesday morning with dual emotions and it took me until today, Sunday, to write all about them. I’ve been wanting to express so many words yet I am at a loss of them.  My prayers have always been directed to God for people to seek Him and intimately know Him without caring so much about who the President is.  As citizens of Heaven, we shouldn’t waste our time trying to convince people why they should vote a certain way, instead, we should be doing some Kingdom work while we share our testimonies and how God has influenced and drastically transformed our lives. Most of my social media (Christian) friends have posted more about politics and less about God.  Why?

Frankly, I don’t care who you voted for; I will not unfriend you or block you because we disagree on policy and ideals, but I do want to see God’s light shining through you despite these dark times of deep hatred and great discontentment in our country.  This is when our love for God and our love for people can be the only cure to heal our heavily bruised country.  But some choose to continue to post about the victories of a Trump presidency and pridefully gloat over his shocking win while others succumb to fear and despair after their chosen candidate lost in what appeared to be an easy battle to win.

My discouragement in the results wasn’t rooted in who won or who lost this election, but in how divided this country truly is.  Although Trump won the electoral college fair and square, he didn’t win the popular vote.  There are still nearly one million voters who voted for Hillary and now feel like their voices weren’t heard.  Instead of delighting and rubbing your victory on their faces, Christians, we should be going out of our way to combat their fears with the love and kindness of our Savior.

Between colleges giving their students a day to mourn the results to Anti-Trump rallies (or are they Anti-Electoral College, which one is it?) across the nation; friends unfriending friends on Facebook, #NotMyPresident trending on Twitter, a mom disowning her child because he voted Trump in his school’s mock-election, reports of the bullying and harassment of minorities after Trump’s victory, a teacher telling students their parents will be deported, a group of disgruntled voters striking a man for allegedly voting Trump and stealing his car, and I’m sure there are more crazy stories out there from both sides acting erratically, irresponsibly and irrationally.

This isn’t Trump’s fault.

This isn’t Obama’s fault.

This isn’t Clinton’s fault.

America, it is OUR fault.

Listen Up, America!

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)

We’ve forsaken listening to one another and we’ve chosen to instead push extreme agendas based on our own individual experiences.  We seldom think about others, but we only think about ourselves and how it affects our own race, our religion, our gender, our sexual orientation, our social class, and our _______ (you fill in the blank).

I knew I personally would be disappointed with the results because I couldn’t support either candidate.  I tried.  I truly listened to both sides and I also opened my heart to receive each of your opinions and concerns, but the election became an interminable circus.  Oftentimes, I wanted to support Hillary because I believe she ran a brilliant campaign and I admired when she promised she’d be the President of all Americans, but behind closed doors and according to released emails sent from her campaign, we later found out there was a false sense of unity being preached.  I just couldn’t believe she would uphold her promise to become President of all and instead would choose to push her agenda further to the left without considering the other half of the country.

I also wanted to support Trump because he possessed a more conservative platform than his opponent.  But Trump’s dangerous rhetoric and antics, which I strongly opposed since the primaries, pushed me further to vote my conscience.  Our politicians (yes, Trump is now a politician) decided it was best to play politics in order to win and didn’t care how it would later affect their nation.  In reality, this election season proved both campaigns to be extremely divisive and as a consequence, the election results are a portrayal of how divided our country is now.

If you hate the division as much as I do, listen to those who you normally wouldn’t give the time of day.  Read about the struggles of people who don’t look like your or think like you.  Open your mind to dialogue without resorting to personal attacks (ex. you are a racist…) and show them the empathy and compassion our Lord would graciously offer to them.  When our conversations are no longer fruitful and don’t seem to go anywhere towards resolution, then respectfully state your disagreements and withdraw before it turns into mudslinging and character assassination.  This is what our Enemy wants, but “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT)

We Lead by Example

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

Proverbs 27:1 (NKJV)

If your side won, don’t be overconfident in your triumph as it’s only been a few days since we’ve elected our next President.  Be hopeful, but do not put your trust in flawed humans.  Our politicians are not leaders.  Our politicians can disappoint us.  We are the true leaders and trend-setters.  They say what we want them to say to get elected, but they opt to later forget the promises they made to us.

The hypocrisy isn’t only theirs, it is ours too.

Why did Trump feel so open to speak the way he did?  This is how our society chooses to communicate.  You can’t go around with a banner proclaiming “Love Trumps Hate” while also carrying another that says, “F^@$ Trump.”  What’s so loving about that?   We want to believe love trumps hate and we are “stronger together,” but when it is time to exercise these lovely slogans into action, we instead choose to openly prove our vulgarity and disdain to the other side.  Our attempt isn’t to win them with love, but to show them how wrong they are and set them apart for their own prejudice.  You are merely hoping the other side reads your signs to convict them and save them from their own judgmental ways.  But in the end, who is really practicing prejudice?

How about “Make America Great Again,” if I recall, when was America ever so great we need to go back in time?  I’m not saying there haven’t  been great moments in American history, but through these great moments there were also times of strife, hunger, terrorism, slavery, racism, sexism, war, injustices, and economic declines.  When we chant these words, we are not thinking of those who have been marginalized in the past, and therefore, ignoring their pleas to be heard and their plight for freedom.  Just because America may have been great for you at one point doesn’t mean it has for the rest of the population.  When we address their hurts without shouting “get over it,” maybe then we will get somewhere closer to becoming a more united nation, not red nor blue, but purple.
This is why our “leaders” feel so open to being divisive, because WE ARE. 

Have you seen the movies that are coming out lately?  I was spending a day with my nieces when the trailer for Sausage Party came out and because this film is animated, it also captures the attention of children and robs them of their innocence.  I never saw it and I plan to never see it, but seriously?  Then we choose to complain about Trump’s profane and misogynistic language when he casually speaks of his treatment towards women, but we instantly welcome movies with overtly sexual content, violence, and serious obscenities without little to no complaints.

Don’t get me started, I denounce BOTH. 

I cringe having to raise a boy in a world that allows this kind of freedom of speech, but if we are to call one out, we should be calling Hollywood out too.  We should be calling out the frat boys and the sorority girls who talk and act deplorably and immorally in their college campuses and beyond.  We should be calling out the porn industry, the sex trafficking that goes on during the Super Bowl, and prostitution.  My friends, we want to talk about the objectification of the female bodies, we’ve permitted it for way too long in our advertisements and our fashion preferences.  Ladies, we can fight for equality all we want because we think we can do all things better than men can without realizing that we’ve been created to do what they can’t do.  It is NOT a competition, but our society programs us to think it is.  We aren’t equal, we are unique!

If you think the President is the only influence our children will have, you are dead wrong.

Stop following the mundane because they follow us; we are the true leaders and we must lead by example. They talk and do what they do because we talk and do the way we do.  You want love, love first.  You want to be heard, listen up!  You want to be respected, show respect.  You want to win the war, learn to lose battles.  You want freedom, fight fair.  You want the right example for the next generation, it starts with you at home and in serving selflessly in our communities.  You want empathy and compassion, be empathetic and compassionate towards your enemies.  You want grace for yourself, be ready to give it.

You want forgiveness, forgive those who trespass you even when they are not apologetic for how they’ve hurt you.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE in everything you do.  Work harder than anyone without always expecting anything in return.

Our reward isn’t here, but in His Kingdom.

Honoring our Authority

So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.   For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.

Romans 13:2-3 (NLT)

We are only responsible for our own actions yet we hope for others to get punished for theirs.  If it was up to some people, Hillary would be in jail or Trump would be under fire for his alleged unethical business procedures (Trump University, not paying taxes, etc.).  It is so much easier to look around and find what’s wrong with those who have already been exposed for their sins, but we like to keep ours private as to keep our reputation clean from accusations.

If there’s nothing to hide in our lives, then why fear?  If we live selflessly, generously, humbly, and authentically for the Lord, then our anxieties aren’t a reality and they aren’t practical to keep carrying with us.  According to God’s Word, living a life in pursuit of unconditionally loving our neighbors and our enemies will drive out the spirit of fear.  Our love should cover a multitude of sins and it should demonstrate patience and kindness to those who least deserve it.  But Christians, this gracious and persistent love isn’t what we are expressing these days.  I wonder what would have happened if the other side had won; we probably would be witnessing the same reactions we are seeing now…

The good news with our democratic-republic is that we shouldn’t wait every four years to be involved in the electoral process.  We must be ready to keep our politicians accountable for what they promise.  Stop pandering to one side and stay informed; start thinking in the likeness of God’s kingdom and in the interests of those who surround you, your friends and your not-so friendly friends.  When our elected representatives fail us, whether they belong to one party or the other, we must keep them in check.  We hire them for the job and we can easily fire them as well when we choose to vote for someone else.  But while they are in office, grant them the honor and respect we are commanded to give.  It is interesting to watch people who’d slandered President Obama demand the other side now to honor newly-elected Trump.  We had eight years to prove how to honor our President despite our clear disagreements, but we’ve royally failed to do so.

We must remember that corruption exists in all political parties.  They thrive when our nation stands divided because that is how they obtain our alliance, our trust, our loyalty… and our vote!

My hope is to look past our hurt and move forward to restore and heal our wounded nation. 

I am NOT picking sides.  I didn’t when I voted and I will not now. 

I love you and I’m here to listen if you ever want to chat  ❤