Post Election Thoughts

I'm still trying to work out how I feel about Tuesday's election. I'm obviously unhappy that Trump won. And I have friends who are truly scared because they are part of a marginalized group.

Other Christians are posting things like "God is still on his throne" and "Trump may be president, but Jesus is King". While that is true, it doesn't mean that there won't be consequences from the results of the election. God was still in control during the Holocaust, right?

In fact, we're already seeing racism and xenophobia already rearing their ugly heads. These are attitudes that were there before the election, but people are feeling more comfortable expressing these ideas. Check out this twitter feed.

I'm not the first to question how God can allow personal and corporate catastrophes to happen. Job (in the Bible) was one of the first and certainly not the last. But, the fact is that God does let this kind of thing happen. (I'm not a Calvinist - I think God lets them happen, not that he makes them happen.) I truly believe that Trump becoming president is a bad thing. Maybe he'll prove me wrong.

The first thing we can do is lament. Lament is a biblical response to any kind of tragedy. There are laments in the Psalms and the prophets. My go-to scripture is the Book of Lamentations traditionally ascribed to Jeremiah and written as a response to the exile of the Jews from Jerusalem. The author cries out to God asking why God could allow such a disaster to occur.

And right now, it's OK to just lament. If you are one of the marginalized groups of people that Trump has spoken against, you may need more time to adjust to the new reality. And that's just fine. Pray, meditate, be with people who love you and lift you up.

When our time of lament is over, the time of work begins. That starts with prayer. Our foundation is always prayer. Micah 6:8 tells us, 
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly[a] with your God."

Justice, mercy, and humility start with God. After that, we each have our lives to live and our own work to do. What I do as a 49 year old woman with chronic migraine is going to be completely different from my daughter as a 22 year old dance teacher. 

And this, of course, brings us back to love. We must love each other. We must love the marginalized people who are understandably scared right now - immigrants, Muslims, disabled, LGBTQ friends, and even women. But, we also must love those who are acting hatefully - the KKK groups that are harassing the marginalized and putting out nasty fliers, the Confederate flag fliers who are scaring our African-American population, and all those who are speaking ill of anyone.

So, love hard. It may not be easy. But, it's the only choice we have if we're going to put this country back together. 

Anything you would add?

CCM