Today, I am a little more concerned for my nation and EVERYONE in it.
Last night, like many of you, I stayed up into the late hours of the morning to watch the election results with a curious anticipation of what might be next. When I finally went to bed at 3:30 A.M., I wondered what a Trump presidency would mean to the church. However, it is the rest of the country that I woke up with on my mind. Like many of us also, we are becoming more and more aware that Christianity is not the norm. I believe too many of us believe that the results were a collective, "We are a Christian nation again" to the rest of the world. I worry about many of us thinking this will fix the decisive division within our country, remove the rejection of God's moral standards (which is Himself, in case you didn't know it), and make America great again. I worry because we have tried this before and the rate of those rejecting Christ continues to increase. I worry because more and more of our students are leaving the church and will continue to as long as we attempt to legislate people into the Kingdom. I worry because many of us will become apathetic again, especially if Trump can turn this economy around.
However, my biggest concern is for the LGBT, African American, Hispanic, and Muslim people. Last night, one of the commentators on this election expressed the deep fear that he and others with his skin pigment now have with Trump as president. Is their fear valid? Maybe, maybe not, but we cannot ignore that many people are feeling rejected by the same country that have embraced them. I have been reading a few posts of those who do not share my worldview nor biblical foundation, and they are hurt. There are many today that will not celebrate nor can, since they feel abandonment and rejection from the electoral college. I guarantee the LGBT community is now waiting with bated breath to see what will happen under a Trump presidency. I know that many of the Black Lives Matter movement people are wondering if they will become targets. I bet that those peaceful Muslims living next to us will wonder how they will be treated. I worry about my neighbor and my country this morning.
Why? Well, this election season has uncovered a glaring issue with our country. We are divided and it is not just two halves of a country, we are splintered across this country. Christians have felt pushed around these last years with many of the attacks on our faith. Many African Americans live in fear of their own neighborhoods, the police, and any authority that might be in their lives. The LGBT community wonders why they can't have biblical marriage, especially with the strong feelings they have for the ones they have cast their love for. Muslims have been targeted because of the ignorance of those who won't serve them and because of the radical terrorists that have been associated with them. Heck, the church is split between democrats and republicans. I have heard pastors tell their people if they don't share their political stances, they need to leave their church.
We are a splintered country and only Christ can unify us, but maybe He isn't. Maybe Christ is allowing this schism for a reason. Maybe a Clinton presidency would have continued to move the church, turning our attention even more to spreading the Glory and Fame of Jesus through the Gospel. Maybe a Trump presidency will accomplish that also, but I am not convinced it will. I remember George Bush's election in 2000 and the complacency that followed from the church. However, under a very liberal administration, I have watched the church invade darkness like never before. I do fear that we will slow down our movement into the cities where the Gospel is rarely heard. I also fear that those experiencing rejection today will believe its the church's fault they are experiencing the feelings of rejection. Has our politics put up a wall between the church and its neighbors?
I will freely admit that I did not vote for President Elect Trump. I was preparing my family for the hatred that we would have experienced if Trump didn't win. I was also preparing my family for more hostility to the church if Hilary Clinton had won. However, I might have had those two flipped and need to prepare my family for anger from those outside of the church and rejection from those inside the church? This I know, my attention is turned to my neighbor. I am praying for those hurting today. Your feelings are real, I understand your fear and will not mock you nor encourage you to live elsewhere. I want you here in America and I want you to live with the same freedoms that our forefathers secured for all of us. I admit we don't share the same values, but you are more important to me than my agenda or comfort. I am praying for you and hope that I can be an avenue of healing in your life.
Know this, your soul is more important than my comforts. I pray you will see that and experience that. Today, I am a little more concerned for my nations and EVERYONE in it!
However, my biggest concern is for the LGBT, African American, Hispanic, and Muslim people. Last night, one of the commentators on this election expressed the deep fear that he and others with his skin pigment now have with Trump as president. Is their fear valid? Maybe, maybe not, but we cannot ignore that many people are feeling rejected by the same country that have embraced them. I have been reading a few posts of those who do not share my worldview nor biblical foundation, and they are hurt. There are many today that will not celebrate nor can, since they feel abandonment and rejection from the electoral college. I guarantee the LGBT community is now waiting with bated breath to see what will happen under a Trump presidency. I know that many of the Black Lives Matter movement people are wondering if they will become targets. I bet that those peaceful Muslims living next to us will wonder how they will be treated. I worry about my neighbor and my country this morning.
Why? Well, this election season has uncovered a glaring issue with our country. We are divided and it is not just two halves of a country, we are splintered across this country. Christians have felt pushed around these last years with many of the attacks on our faith. Many African Americans live in fear of their own neighborhoods, the police, and any authority that might be in their lives. The LGBT community wonders why they can't have biblical marriage, especially with the strong feelings they have for the ones they have cast their love for. Muslims have been targeted because of the ignorance of those who won't serve them and because of the radical terrorists that have been associated with them. Heck, the church is split between democrats and republicans. I have heard pastors tell their people if they don't share their political stances, they need to leave their church.
We are a splintered country and only Christ can unify us, but maybe He isn't. Maybe Christ is allowing this schism for a reason. Maybe a Clinton presidency would have continued to move the church, turning our attention even more to spreading the Glory and Fame of Jesus through the Gospel. Maybe a Trump presidency will accomplish that also, but I am not convinced it will. I remember George Bush's election in 2000 and the complacency that followed from the church. However, under a very liberal administration, I have watched the church invade darkness like never before. I do fear that we will slow down our movement into the cities where the Gospel is rarely heard. I also fear that those experiencing rejection today will believe its the church's fault they are experiencing the feelings of rejection. Has our politics put up a wall between the church and its neighbors?
I will freely admit that I did not vote for President Elect Trump. I was preparing my family for the hatred that we would have experienced if Trump didn't win. I was also preparing my family for more hostility to the church if Hilary Clinton had won. However, I might have had those two flipped and need to prepare my family for anger from those outside of the church and rejection from those inside the church? This I know, my attention is turned to my neighbor. I am praying for those hurting today. Your feelings are real, I understand your fear and will not mock you nor encourage you to live elsewhere. I want you here in America and I want you to live with the same freedoms that our forefathers secured for all of us. I admit we don't share the same values, but you are more important to me than my agenda or comfort. I am praying for you and hope that I can be an avenue of healing in your life.
Know this, your soul is more important than my comforts. I pray you will see that and experience that. Today, I am a little more concerned for my nations and EVERYONE in it!
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