Post-Election, Christians Can Model Respect, Honor, Love

In a hard-fought political battle, the one who did not prevail often helps set the tone for what comes next. In his concession speech on Wednesday morning, Gov. Mitt Romney called for cooperation between the political parties. He said, "This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation."

Gov. Romney went on to thank his running mate, his wife and family, his campaign team and volunteers. Then he said, "The nation, as you know, is at a critical point. At a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work."

"And we citizens also have to rise to the occasion," Gov. Romney said. "We look to our teachers and professors; we count on you not just to teach, but to inspire our children with a passion for learning and discovery. We look to our pastors and priests and rabbis and counselors of all kinds to testify to the enduring principles upon which our society is built: honesty, charity, integrity and family. We look to our parents, for in the final analysis everything depends on the success of our homes. We look to job creators of all kinds; we're counting on you to invest, to hire, to step forward."

Gov. Romney then turned back to politicians, saying, "And we look to Democrats and Republicans in government at all levels to put the people before the politics."

It is to be hoped that such will happen. But the campaigns themselves tend to make that difficult by playing toward a different tone. In his blog, TWW team member Timothy Merrill points out some of the problems:

1) [Political campaigns] model the wrong kind of behavior, a modeling and example that influences everyone of all ages. It's become okay to beat a person down in order to look better yourself. It's okay to whine about what the other guy did. Honestly, these politicians sound and act like second-graders sometimes. It's an utter disgrace.

2) The campaigns are too long. It is ironic in a communications age such as the one we live in today (Facebook, Twitter, Instagrams, wikis, YouTube, iPhones, iPads, Skype, FaceTime, television, blogs, e-zines) that politicians seem to believe they need more time -- not less time -- to get their message across to the American people. This is not a disgrace; it's ridiculous.

3) The two-year campaigns foment negativity, discord, disunity. We have no similar POSITIVE national catharsis, except perhaps the Super Bowl and Mother's Day. Two lousy days of the year. The rest of the time we're hollering or whining about something, and that includes Christmas.  

4) The campaigns elicit cynicism and political ennui. What's that collective sigh of relief we're hearing [at the end of the campaign] from coast to coast?

5) And finally ... the campaigns divide us so severely that we are unable to make changes WHICH EVERYONE IN THE COUNTRY WISHES POLITICIANS WOULD MAKE with respect to all this tomfoolery. Change the length of the campaigns. Change the primary system. Change the electoral college. Change the length of the presidential term in office. Change the rules governing fair and decent speech. Change and limit the amount of television ads that can be aired. And so on.

Won't happen. And when change that the people want doesn't happen, the people lose interest, and less than half the eligible voters will even go to the polls.

Quite apart from what politicians and the citizenry as a whole choose to do now, however, it behooves Christians to model a better way. In that regard, we like the comments we found at two Christian websites. The first, from Russell D. Moore, appears on The Christian Post, which is usually considered to have a conservative slant, and from Moore's comments, it seems likely that he voted for Gov. Romney. The second, from Adam J. Copeland, appears on The Christian Century site which is considered to have a liberal slant. Copeland doesn't say whom he voted for, but given the site, it's likely he voted for President Obama.

Moore first said that as a conservative Christian, he disagrees with President Obama on several social issues, and he doesn't plan to back down on those matters. But he added that there are other things where it will be possible to work with the president. Then Moore said, "But whether in agreement or disagreement, we can honor."

After talking about the New Testament commands to honor government leaders, Moore said, "Christians, above all people, should pray for and show respect for our President and all of our elected officials. After all, unlike those who see politics as ultimate, we recognize that our political structures are important, but temporal, before an inbreaking kingdom of Christ. We don't then need to be fomented into the kind of faux outrage that passes for much of contemporary political discourse. And, unlike those who see history as impersonal or capricious, we see behind everything a God who is sovereign over his universe."

Moore continued, "So let's pray for President Obama. Let's not give ourselves to terms of disrespect, or every crazy conspiracy theory that floats across the Internet. ... However we voted in the election, let's pray for God to bless our president. We can pray for him to be granted wisdom and health. We can pray that God would prosper his good ideas, and change his mind on his bad ideas. Moreover, we can teach our children to respect our president, starting with referring to him as 'President Obama' or 'Our President,' not as 'Obama' or 'the guy our parents voted against' or what have you."

"There's a time to vote. There's a time to campaign. And there's a time to petition," Moore said. "But, through it all, let's be the people who, even as we speak with conviction, are marked by kindness and respect. When we have to differ with President Obama, let's do that, with backbone. But let's make sure we do all this with honor, with respect, with prayer and, most of all, with love."

Copeland spoke of his intention to receive Election Day Communion at a church following his trip to the polls. He said he planned "to meet at the Lord's Table to be reminded of greater priorities, repent of my sin and be sent to embrace my faith's higher calling."

Copeland continued, "This is not to say voting is unimportant or unrelated to my Christian faith. Indeed, I see participation in public life for the public good as fundamental to Christian discipleship. A well-run government supports me in my call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Because of my Christian faith, I vote."

He went on to say, "The thrill of voting is all too quickly quashed by the choices before us. No elected official is without fault. No one fully lives up to the festal promise of election day. Our political system is deeply flawed. This election, more than any other, has reminded me how far we have to go."

"And yet," said Copeland, "the theologian John Calvin encouraged believers to 'think most honorably' of those who govern them, arguing that the Biblical narrative does not treat officials as 'a kind of necessary evil' but, instead, calls for citizens to have 'esteem and reverence' [for leaders] as ministers and representatives of God.'"

More on this story can be found at these links:

Mitt Romney's Concession Speech (Full Transcript). Washington Post
I Hope He Does a Good Job. Homiletics
How Should Christians Respond to Obama's Re-Election? Christian Post
Election Day Communion and the Sacrament of Voting. Christian Century

The Big Questions

1. What specific behaviors and actions help to make a Christian a good citizen of the country in which he or she lives?

2. How can Christians obey Jesus' command to love one another even when they have passionate and significant disagreements with each other? What specific behaviors should we avoid?

3. If you supported the candidate who lost the election, what is God calling you to do now? If you supported the candidate who won the election, what is God calling you to do now?

4. In what ways can Christians work together to fix political gridlock and open the public square for thoughtful, considerate, respectful discussion of our nation's critical issues?

5. Are politics simply too explosive for you to speak about in your congregation? Can there be more than one Christian position, politically speaking? What topics do you avoid talking about in church or with family and friends, Christian or otherwise? Is this the right thing to do? Why or why not?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

John 13:34-35
"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (For context, read 13:31-35.)

This is from Jesus, speaking to his disciples, who were a politically diverse group that included a tax collector who collaborated with Rome and a Zealot who sought to overthrow the government. Bible readers sometimes take this to mean that Christians are to "love everybody." But in context, Jesus is speaking to his followers and telling them to love one another. So while we may wish to extend love more broadly, at the very least, we ought to be behaving lovingly to those in the church with us ... even when talking about politics.

By the way, the command to love is not new (see Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:5), but what's new in Jesus' words here is that he hinges that love for one another on "Just as I have loved you" (v. 34).

Questions: Does it seem as if people within churches have love for each other, especially when it comes to political issues? Is there a level of exhaustion and an unwillingness to dialog? Jesus gave this command to his disciples shortly before his death. Why do you think he waited until that time to do so?

Acts 2:6-8
"And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?" (For  context, read 2:1-11.)

This is from the story of the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit enabled people of all languages to understand the testimony of the disciples. It was also the day the church was born.

Questions: The Holy Spirit broke down language barriers. Does it seem as if nowadays there is just the opposite when it comes to politics, a "Babel" (see Genesis 11:1-9) of assumptions, coded language and language that prevents rather than promotes communication and love? How much of this has infected the church at large? Your church? How can our faith help us to "hear" each other? How does the Spirit unify us?  

Ephesians 2:14
"For [Christ] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us." (For context, read 2:11-22.)

When Paul here refers to "both groups," he is talking about Jews ("the circumcision," v. 11) and Gentiles ("the uncircumcision," v. 11), but he could have been speaking to any two groups that were willing to follow Christ as the common ground upon which both stand. In being that common ground, Jesus becomes the source of peace between the factions. Paul is not saying that unity needs uniformity -- we should be able to disagree with someone and still be one with them in Christ, in relationship, in national pride, in willingness to seek the common good.

Questions: How can people within a congregation or other church body who disagree with each other (on anything from homosexuality to the color of the carpet or who has authority over the use of the church kitchen) proceed in mission as one united Body of Christ? For opposing  groups who are not Christians, what other common ground is available?

Ephesians 4:31-32
"Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you." (For context, read 4:25--5:2.)

These verses suggest that bitterness, wrath, anger, wrangling, slander, malice and the like are not just things that spring up within us and inevitable when disagreeing with others. If, as Paul urges, we can put them away from us, that means we have some control over them and can, with effort, tone them down or sublimate them to concern about greater things that we can accomplish jointly with others, even some with whom we disagree.

Questions: In what ways would these two verses be good advice for this post-election time in our country? How might we promote such a view?

1 Timothy 2:1-3
"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior ..." (For context, read 2:1-7.)

Russell Moore mentioned this passage in his post-election article, and Adam Copeland alluded to it, or a similar verse, in his article. When Paul wrote these words, he wasn't assuming that those in "high positions" were Christians; almost none were at that time. But he told the church to make "supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings" for them nonetheless, and tied that to the well-being and the duty of Christians.

Questions: Why do you think Paul urged this on his fellow Christians at that point in history? In what ways should we be doing this today? Paul writes this admonition to pray for leaders despite the fact that he had experienced some level of persecution from leaders in the empire at various levels. How easy is for you to pray for a leader from another party to be successful in aiding the common good?

For Further Discussion

1. Bob Dylan once said, "Money doesn't talk; it swears." What is your opinion about the place of money is the current political process? Has the influx of huge sums of cash accomplished what it meant to? What would Jesus say, if anything, in your opinion, about the use of large sums of money for political campaigns?

2. Why do you think political campaigns are as long and as negative as they are? What things about them would you change? Why? What do you think of this comment from Winston Churchill: "Democracy is the worst possible form of government -- except for everything else"?

3. In the TWW forum (http://thewiredword.squarespace.com/), a subscriber pointed us to this article, written a few days before the election: U.S. Presidential Elections in Perspective. Stratfor. The subscriber commented that it contains an "interesting assessment about how some people feel about elections," and said that he was struck by the phrase "chooses not to participate." Read the article to the class, and invite them to consider the implications for faith and life.

4. Comment on this, from Thomas Jefferson: "I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend."

5. Comment on this, from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism:

I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them:

1) To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy.

2) To speak no evil of the person they voted against.

3) To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

--From Wesley's journal, October 3, 1774.

6. Respond to 1 Peter 2:13-17: "For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor."

Responding to the News
 
Regardless of what individuals and issues you voted for, this is a good time to think about the hopes and dreams of those who voted differently, and consider where you have common ground. Then ask, How can I influence legislators and other political leaders to work toward those common goals?