Today I live in a world I could never have predicted just a few years ago. My family and I live in Las Vegas—a far cry from the Midwest of my childhood—The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions, and Donald Trump has won the presidency of the United States of America.
With my inability to predict the future understood, I believe that there are a few things I can rightly predict. The transition to this new presidency is not going to be easy. As many have rightly noted, this election promised to present us with the most divided nation post-election for over a century. Polls showed us that well over half of voting Americans did not trust either candidate. Many argue that the result of the 2016 presidential election is about a rejection of one candidate and party far more than it is about the embracing of another.
Even among conservative Christians, how this election unfolded was difficult to watch. Some Christians voted for Trump, reasoning that a vote for him at least stood a chance of protecting life and religious liberty. Other Christians, citing Trump’s previous lack of character, could not cast a vote for him with a clear conscience. Even others chose to vote for Hillary, declaring that they would prefer to face the known quantity of a leftist White House over the unknown and unpredictable future of Mr. Trump. And the social media storms bombarded us for months before everything went crazy on election day.
Now we find ourselves in a place few of us thought would come. We have seen college students plan “cry ins” to express their sorrow over the president-elect. We have seen name calling on social media again. We have seen gloating. We have seen loving, welcoming humility. We have seen rioting.
The question for us cannot be about what we wish would have happened. The right posture is not to gloat if what we wanted to happen took place. Neither is the right posture to have a fit if what we did not want to happen took place. Instead, the right move, from this point forward, is to behave with character and civility.
The outcome of this election has given us a great opportunity to learn about ourselves, about our friends and neighbors, about those who oppose us, and about the sovereignty of God. And with that in mind, I want to share a set of 10 things that we need to think or do, to avoid thinking or not do, as we move forward in the desire to heal a nation and glorify our God.
1. Learn to have civilized conversation and disagreement.
In the election cycle, we often commented that this is one of the ugliest, one of the nastiest elections in memory. And I believe that people of both parties and of no party were disgusted by the base cruelty of what happened.
Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
May we learn from this season that positive ground is not gained by ugly, nasty, mean speech.
2. Follow the golden rule.
Matthew 7:12 – “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus called us to intentionally and actively treat other people in the same way that we want them to treat us. Consider that as you decide to talk about the election. How would you want people talking around you if the outcome you did not want came to pass? How would you want to hear people talk about the outcome if the outcome you wanted came to pass? What assumptions do you want people to make about your character, your intellect, and your motivation? Please, to honor the Lord, do not treat people in a way that you would not welcome. That does not mean that you cannot disagree. However, it does mean that you cannot disagree in a harsh, judgmental, cruel way. It does not mean that you cannot argue for your point of view. It does mean, however, that you cannot argue unfairly.
3. Never present another person’s position in a way that that person would not agree is their position.
Exodus 20:16- “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
One of the best lessons I ever learned in discussing difficult topics with people who disagree with me is that it never helps for me to present a strawman argument. It does nobody any good if one party in an argument argues against a position that is actually not held by the other person. Before you attempt to persuade someone that their position is incorrect, you must first do them the courtesy of being sure that you and they both agree on what their position is. Otherwise, you are bearing false witness against them, accusing them of holding a position they do not hold, likely for reasons they do not agree are their reasons.
4. Do not give into the childish belief that those who disagree with you are always completely motivated by evil.
It is a childish thing to believe that every thought and motive of your opponents in a political discussion are all dark and malevolent. Not everyone who disagrees with you has a sinister plot. Even people who hold positions with which you vehemently disagree probably do not hold those positions out of utter stupidity or cruelty. We will always communicate better if we can be sure that we present one another’s positions fairly. We gain no ground by arguing against a fictitious opponent. Neither do we gain ground by assuming that our side’s motives are always positive while the only thing that motivates the other side is evil or stupidity.
5. Listen.
James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
How do we avoid making the mistake of the previous point? We must participate in actual conversation with people with whom we disagree. I am not here suggesting that we find opportunities to argue. Instead, I am proposing that people of both sides ask questions of people with whom they disagree without trying to plan ways to score points. When is the last time that you just listened to the fears and feelings of someone who holds an opposite political view from you? When is the last time you listened without looking for a way to call them an idiot?
If you are part of the group who is happy with how this election went, know that there are many people walking around in a daze today, unable to believe what has just happened. Talk to them. Even better, listen. Listen to what they are feeling. Listen to why they are afraid. Let them know that you are hearing them and that you care, even if you cannot agree with their point of view.
If you are distraught at the results of the election, find someone who is not. Listen to them. Hear why it is that they can be happy at the unforeseen turn of events that led Donald Trump to the presidency. I am certain that you will learn something new. If the entire news media could not imagine how President-Elect Trump could gain the votes he did, obviously there is a disconnect in the ways many people in our nation see the state of our nation and our culture. If you assume that everybody is mortified by a Trump presidency, you are obviously not in touch with the reality of the votes cast. People voted for Donald Trump on purpose. If you cannot imagine why, you should ask someone without trying to make it into a fight.
We would do much better if we put forth an effort to get to know people who disagree with us as actual people. As I saw someone say on Twitter, If you do not know someone who is excited at the outcome of the election and somebody who is distraught over the outcome of the election, you need to broaden your circle of friends.
6. Do not gloat.
Bragging is obnoxious. We gain nothing by rubbing a result we like in other’s faces.
7. Do not disrespect the leader.
Neither do we gain any ground by making nasty and disrespectful remarks about our leaders. God called his people in Romans 13 to respond rightly to government. When we realize how corrupt and evil that government was, we realize that Paul was not telling us to speak nicely about leaders we like and blast leaders we do not. We are to show respect for the office and to pray for its occupant. We want leaders who will protect the righteous and punish the criminal in our society. May our leaders have the wisdom and character to be a government that will lead our nation in a positive direction.
8. Pray for those you love
Are you happy with people around you who think as you do? Pray for them. Pray that they have the wisdom not to miss the opportunity God has given us to be peacemakers in this nation.
9. Pray for those you consider enemies.
What about those people who are on the other side from you? Pray for them too. Pray that God lead us all in his ways for his glory. Pray that God will help us treat each other with the dignity and respect that we should. Pray that God will rescue our nation from the judgment that we have so clearly earned.
10. Rest in the sovereignty of God.
Proverbs 21:1- The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.
Before the election, I saw multiple posts reminding us that our future is not in the hands of a president, a congress, or a judiciary. Instead, the Lord is on his throne. He sets up leaders and removes them. He establishes nations and brings them down. He directs the hearts of kings like water in his hands. So, while it may feel like the world has turned inside-out in the past 24 hours, God is still on his throne.
It is impossible to predict what is to come in the next weeks and months in the United States. However, I believe that it is possible for us to hold strongly to our convictions, to press for the change that is right, and to treat others with a kindness that will lead to friendships, healing, and health in the nation moving forward.
Pastor Travis Peterson 