It's About Politics...You Can Skip It If You Want To
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 10:11PM I have been studying World History with Michaela for years now, and we have covered just about all of the major civilizations, empires, kingdoms, regimes, and governments.
Let me interrupt myself here to make it clear that I would never even begin to pretend that I am remotely close to being an expert on what has happened in the world since time began. I acknowledge that my adult studies have been largely limited to whatever Michaela was reading, or I was reading to her, for her lessons. I do think I have acquired a general knowledge of the whos and the whats of humanity's timeline (and a bit of the whys), though, and what with all of the hoopla over the last couple of months, and weeks and days even more so, some things have been racing through my mind, and heart too.
There have been -ocracies, -archies, -isms, -acies, republics, and dictatorships for thousands of years now. Do you know what they have all had in common? A human being is always in charge (or maybe a group of humans). But people always mess up one part or another, or multiple areas (or get it wrong from the beginning of the whole thing). There is no perfect human system for maintaining a society, and the reason is societies are made up of humans: individuals who, even with the best of intentions for the greatest number of persons involved, will prove to be fallible, hurtful, and unable to keep the myriad promises made to a hopeful, wounded, expectant populace.
THERE IS NO ONE, NO NOT ONE, PERSON IN THE WORLD CAPABLE OF LEADING OTHER PEOPLE WITHOUT MAKING MISTAKES.
I think this is really important to remember.
There are many answers that one could offer if someone posed the question,"What can we say is true of the human race that cannot be denied, but rather supported, by evidence that is observable?" What I think of, though, is the word self-interested. In a positive way, we might think of how we should take care of ourselves as far as our spiritual, physical, and emotional health go. Being concerned with one's own state of being is not all bad. However, unchecked, this self-concern can turn into something that is dangerous and toxic. Think for a moment about these (extreme) "self" words: selfish, self-absorbed, self-seeking, self-indulgent, self-centered, self-serving. All of these "self" words point to a problem that lies within (ironically) ourselves. It is, in fact, our self. We want what is good for us, what will make us happy, and we think we ought to get it, no matter what.
I confess, this is a huge struggle for me. I want all of the good things (most of which are total luxuries) and none of the hard stuff. I want my things to work properly and not fall apart or freeze up or get stolen. I want my cake and I want to eat it too. (And I don't just mean that figuratively.) (It should be chocolate.)
But what if we look at another "self" word? What if we turn things inside out, flip it all upside down, and shake it? What if it's selfless instead? What if we don't look at us, what if I don't look at me, me, me? What if I look at you instead? What if I look at him instead? What if I look at those folks over there?
That guy that walks up and down the street and lives among some trees on the side of the road.
That family that is dealing with estrangement.
That boy who is lonely.
That woman who is bitter.
That family who is full of joy.
That girl who made straight As for the first time.
What if we looked in someone else's eyes, held her hands, celebrated their happiness, carried their loads?
Do you know what load I would never want to bear? I would not want to have, nor could I stand beneath, the burden of running the most powerful country in the world. It would not only bring me to my knees, it would crush me. Fortunately for me (and believe me, for the rest of the United States of America), leading our nation from the White House is not what I am called to do. I do not have to worry about being crushed by the weight of that incredible responsibility. But I should still fall to my knees. The first thing I ought to do every morning is pray for this land of the free and home of the brave.
Barack Obama is the president of the country right now, and will be for four more years. As a Christian in this nation, it is a privilege to pray for him and his administration. You see, he may be the leader of the free world for a time (and it is for just a time), but my God is on the throne forever. I might not like the fact that Obama won, but I do not need to live in fear of or for the future. (Not that this is easy, not to live in fear.) (For me, that would be true no matter who was president.) Whether excited about this election result or not, the best thing we can do for Barack Obama and those on his staff is to pray for them. This is not only benefiting the authorities, but it is obedient to God. He's the boss.
I also can't stop thinking about our military. These men and women have given up so much, as have their families, and there cannot be enough thank yous. I need to pray for them every day: for their safety, for their strength, for their wisdom, for their courage, for their discernment, for their healing. I am beyond angry and heartbroken that there were some service men and women who did not get to vote because their ballots did not reach them (in time or because of an accident or whatever). There is so much wrong with that, that I cannot even begin to talk about it without tearing up. I pray that such a thing does not happen again. It is unfathomable that the very people who are responsible for the (global) safety of the U.S.A., who are committed to the protection of our freedom, and who join a legacy of men and women who fought to establish and preserve the government that we have, would not be able to vote.
I am proud to be an American. I do believe this is a great nation to live in. I am very grateful that I do live in it, because have you seen our world? It's messed up in a few places. That is what makes me even more grateful that I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God. He is a King who does not mess up. He has promised a future. I was going to add some modifier of future, but...the promise of a future is good enough.
And now that I have far exceeded the amount of words that should ever come out of my mouth (or fingers) regarding politics, I must end this post. There really isn't a great way to do that, so I will leave it at this: I hope that I did not offend anyone too greatly, but gave pause for thought. I am the most selfish person I know, so I did not mean to write judgment. I want to try to do better. I need to start with prayer.
Reader Comments (4)
This is really well done Christina. I mean that - well done. I found myself nodding several times. You're right - there is no man (or woman) in whom we should put our faith. God is the only one who never lets us down.
And yes - the cake should be chocolate. :)
Love the pictures from the last post. Love watching your kids grow!
Well said, Christina! You put into words everything I have been thinking and feeling the past couple of day, but couldn't articulate. All the negativity that came out of the election has led me to take a break from Facebook. I can only imagine how we would all feel if we could put aside our differences and pray for our country and its leaders no matter if we voted for them or not.
HI!! I just got your email so hopped on over. Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. It means so much to me that you even think about me and my family and continue to check in with me. By the way I love this post. There has been so much ugliness spewed on facebook the last few days--it's so discouraging and frustrating. But what you wrote had a level-headed, godly perspective.
Well said!!!