Is It Safe to Open My Eyes Now?

I write this post two days before the US elects its next president. By the time you read this, the election would have already passed.  

The election results won’t make a difference to me. (Translation: I’m jaded.) Too many people have died from COVID, riots, and racism this year. Add to that unemployment, mask wars (a.k.a. selfishness), hurricane after hurricane, and fire after fire. We came into this election season an exhausted hostile nation—already overwhelmed with anxiety and grief. I can picture the devil high-fiving his minions right now over their victory at dividing our nation. There is no real winner here. Because a presidential election can’t buy peace and security in a land of hostile division.

It still baffles me the number of people who show more allegiance to a political party, nation, or flag, than they show to the well-being of actual people. Since America gets mentioned in the Bible—like never—maybe we ought to change our focus. The devil wants us to keep our focus right here on the U.S. of A—a nation that has lost the art of peacemaking. We can either have an earthly-focus or a Kingdom-focus. We can’t have both.   

In Ephesians Chapter 2 we see that Christ destroyed the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. The gospel takes these walls of hostility that pervade our nation and turns them upside down.  Regardless of party affiliation, skin color, or national origin, who are we to rebuild what Christ died to destroy?

Christians are citizens of heaven before we are citizens of any nation. When will we start emphasizing heavenly citizenship over earthly citizenship? Our peace and sense of security ought to rest in Christ, not in the outcome of a presidential election. In Matthew 5:9 Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” Christians have a duty to die to self, and to pursue peace with all people—especially people who see the world differently than we do.

2020 has broken many of us. I’m ready for the animosity and antagonism to end. And maybe that’s not realistic this side of heaven. But heaven is the only place this brown, conservative, middle-aged, American Christian female is placing her hope. Maybe that’s what God intended all along.