A Little Perspective, Please!

Has the election left you lost and disheartened? Maybe you need a little perspective. Nothing can shake the foundation of our lives when it is built on Christ. And at that foundation you find these three things no matter what is happening in the world: faith, hope, and love. So take a deep breath and relax and consider these thoughts.

1. Choose faith not fear. It's amazing to me to hear all the fear-based conversations. Yesterday I heard a bus driver say that there will be another civil war if anything happens to Obama. There would be major riots nationwide with looting, burning and killing. I saw a poll on election night that said 17% of voters were terrified to think of Obama winning. Same poll claimed that 23% said the same of McCain. We fear opposing view points. We have mistakenly believed that our political ideology is also God's ideology. We feel threatened when our position is questioned. Erwin McManus wrote, "It is easier to be certain you are right when you have never heard an opposing argument or when you are in the majority position." Fear proves that we are placing our trust, our security, our peace in something or someone other than God. If this election has created fear in you and you feel like our world is falling apart and that a mistake has occurred and that we have not just lost an election but somehow God was also voted down and out of power then read Rom. 13:1-7. Have faith in God. He has established the Obama presidency to work His purposes in the world. We did not necessarily elect Obama but, more accurately, God has placed him in this position for His good purposes. This does not make Obama a saint. Romans 13 was originally written of an oppressive, pagan, Roman Empire and of emperors that believed themselved to be god. God is in control and maybe we all need a "change" and to be shaken out of our comfort zone and place our trust back in God.
2. Choose love not hate. Not only do we dislike opposing viewpoints but we also are afraid of people who are different (race, culture, religion, etc.) than us. I have heard what I can only call "racist" rhettoric although the people speaking would deny being racists. I have heard more jokes that demean the fact that Obama is black in recent days than I have ever heard. And many of these jokes come from people who profess Christ. I sense a fear among well meaning people of Obama's black heritage and Muslim name that mostly flows from a lack of knowledge and misinformation. This is an historic election but the significance can be lost in the attitudes of people who are uncomfortable with this type of progression and freedom. If this world is going to truly "change," which was the main word of the Obama campaign, it will not be because of an election result. Love cannot be legislated. Change will come because love prevails and especially the love of Christ from God's people. According to I John 4:7-18, it is fear that squelches love. We fear losing control and lash out at those whom we feel are stealing it from us. God is moving other races, cultures, religions, worldviews right on to our soil in masses. God is bringing the mission field to us, to our neighborhoods, to our streets. It is no longer enough just to give money and send missionaries. We have to embrace a missionary heart and mindset in order for us to extend love to those around us.
   
3. Choose hope not despair. Despair is for those who cannot see the potential in the world around them or feel powerless to make positive change to create a better world. Neither of theses attitudes should be true of a Christian. Because Christ is alive the possibilities are endless and with the Spirit of God in our hearts the power is already here. I find great hope in the fact that Obama is a believer. I have heard his testimony a couple of times and he seems to grasp what salvation is and is able to articulate it. I have no more reason not to believe his testimony than I would to disbelieve the faith of President Bush. That makes Obama my brother. That means Christ resides in his heart. I have to believe that he too is seeking God's guidance. I have to believe that God can and will speak to his heart and that he hears God's voice. That makes it even more imperative that I follow God's desire as found in 1 Timothy 2:1-8 and pray for our new president. I must support him, not only in prayer but in word and deed. I must not resist his authority but submit to it. This does not mean that I can't disagree with him but my relationship in Christ demands me to live above the fear, hate, and despair that is trapping so many people.