 |
|
I’m in sort of an odd position as I write this piece. Today is Monday, Nov. 2, the day before Election Day.
By the time most of you read this, it’ll be a day or two or more following Election Day.
You’ll know what happened on that night better than I do right now.
I can’t predict the future as much as I wish I could.
Election Night outcome possibilities include: President Donald Trump being elected to a second term as president, former Vice President Joe Biden becoming the president-elect, too many races too close to call or states still counting votes and there is no winner yet, or maybe Kanye somehow won — it is 2020, after all.
Whatever happens, it’ll be the conclusion to a long and challenging journey.
Some people are going to be happy with the outcome, some people not so happy with the outcome.
Whatever said outcome is, all we can do now is move forward.
Knowing where we are
No matter who wins, at least we’ll know where we are at as a nation and what and who we’re dealing with.
Instead of polling, panning, and panicking, we can pray, pick up, and practice calm.
Praying is a big one. We can always start with prayer — whether they be prayers of thanksgiving or petition.
No matter who wins, there is a lot of work to be done.
All of the issues that the bishops of the state and the country speak about still need to be addressed.
While many people in this diocese didn’t agree with using the term “pre-eminent” in regards to abortion (I know this because I received quite a plethora of “letters to the editor” about that), I’d hope we’d all agree abortion is an option we never again want to see as reality.
Whoever is putting his hand on the Bible on January 20 of next year, doesn’t change the fact work has to be done to get those numbers to zero.
At least we’ll know where we’re at now.
I’m slightly envious of you who are reading this now if you know what the outcome of the election is.
I can only sit at my desk, wonder, and let time pass.
Time will pass, though, and we’ll all know together who won and what we need to do next.
Eternal goals
No matter who wins the election, our ultimate and eternal goal doesn’t change.
We’re still all trying to get to Heaven and help others get there too.
Our daily plan on November 2 was to know, love, and serve God.
The same can and should be said for November 3, November 4, and so on.
Even if we’re still waiting for election results, we can read the Bible in the meantime, we can read the Bible between now and January 20, and we can read the Bible after that.
The election should have not stopped us from serving others (as best we can during a pandemic) and whoever comes away with the 270 electoral votes shouldn’t pause us from serving others either.
If we turn toward God, and less toward the negative effects of politics, the eternal goals remain the same and good in our cities, states, and country can come from striving for them.
So, if you’re unhappy about how the election went, don’t let it ruin you and ruin what God wants you to do for Him.
If you are happy with the results, pray that you use this opportunity to accomplish some real and true good.
Pray that the good that comes out of the outcome helps everyone work toward that eternal goal of reaching Heaven.
The next steps
As I’m finishing this editorial, I’m trying to imagine life post-2020 election day.
I’ll be getting a lot fewer text messages from “people” that I don’t know screaming at me to vote.
TV and streaming political ads will disappear and hibernate until the next election season ahead of the 2022 midterms.
Social media arguments will look differently as the same old bullet points won’t be spewed back and forth anymore.
And we’ll all carry on.
We’ll carry on as we did in 2016, 2012, 2008, 2004, 2000 — you get the idea.
God’s love gives us more than any political promise.
Our neighbors are more valuable than just nameless voters.
If God is the winner in the end, whatever you saw happen on Tuesday, or later, is just a small paragraph in the Book of Life.
There is a greater victory to be had and waiting for us if we do our part.
So, let us pray and let us get to work.
Let’s always remember what’s really important.