I hope all Americans exercise their right to vote tomorrow (November 6) in the general elections. It truly is a chance for your voice to be heard, your opinion to count. As this is a spiritual blog I will stay out of the political fray except to say that I believe truth always has a way of winning out in the end and that above and beyond all else, when all of the votes are tallied and it’s all over and done, I believe no matter what the outcome, we all as Americans need to both accept it and then move on in a manner of respect for our country and its leaders, whether your candidate(s) wins or not.
I believe it’s been a disgrace that there has been such disrespect, often in the form of vulgar and even violent protest, for our government leaders following the past election and this is totally not in line with God’s teaching which we find in His Word, the Bible: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment…Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (Romans 13:1-7)
We have no way of knowing the truth except to try to follow in God’s footsteps one day at a time and learn as much as we can by reading and studying His Word. As human beings, we do the best we can. Whether or not “our” truth is “the” truth or “God’s” truth may never be revealed until we are dead and gone; but one thing is true…we need to show respect and love for one another as Jesus commanded no matter what.
I was told by a counselor several years ago that to love someone is usually not a feeling (except when you “fall” in love, a feeling that often fades over time) but a choice; we choose to love our spouses, our friends, our family members, our neighbors, even (and sometimes especially) when we don’t feel like it. So too we can choose love over hate when it comes to our country by respecting its “authorities,” honoring its laws and acting as good citizens.
