The Day after the Election

November 4, 2020 is going to come. You’ll wake up. It will be a new day. Maybe there will be a result for the Presidential election or maybe there won’t. Regardless, November 4th is coming.

So what are you going to do when it comes – when you wake up on Wednesday? I imagine part of the answer is unknown. That’s ok. Maybe you’ll be happy, or relieved. Maybe you’ll be confused and angry. Maybe you’ll have thoughts you never considered before.

So now what? Do you start it all over again? Start looking to the next election cycle? That’s what our political system wants you to do. There may even be pundits on election night who start talking about who maybe be positioning themselves for a run, or as part of the upcoming administration.

Here’s a fact of our modern American campaign politics industry – campaigning is never over. Election Day is just the start of the next election. That’s not an exaggeration. Did you know that there are fundraisers already scheduled for Nov. 4th? The next cycle begins that day.

Tired yet? Tired of the endless campaign cycle?

So what now? What do you do when you wake up on Nov. 4?

America is sick right now. It’s been sick for awhile actually – a chronic condition that has not been treated and is getting worse. And we Americans are contributing to the sickness. The symptoms of this sickness are showing – anger, fear, scapegoating, white nationalism, violence, threats, intimidation, cult-like allegiance to parties and/or candidates, confused identities, disregard for others, and more. Those are just the symptoms though. The real sickness is mis-trust. We don’t trust one another. We don’t trust our institutions. We don’t trust our government. We don’t trust news. We don’t trust anything or anyone.

When there is a lack of trust in all but just a small handful of people or things, a society breaks down. Trust is one of the essential elements for a society to function. Without trust, you are on your own. Without trust, the basic values that are adopted are that the strong survive, it’s every one for themselves, and the ends justify the means. These are not recipes for a healthy society. They are recipes for a society to fall apart. And when society falls apart, there is chaos.

When you wake on Nov. 4, you can’t control what others will do. You can’t control how others will impact you. You can’t really control a whole lot. But you can decide what you will do. Will you be sucked into endless campaign political cycle? Will you be decide that you can’t trust anyone anymore? Those are decisions that lead no where – a bottomless pit.

Or you can choose to live differently, regardless of what others will do. You can choose to see the image of God in all people, regardless of how they voted. You can choose to seek out shalom – wholeness in creation, community, and relationships. You can choose to live as a steward of God’s creation. You can choose to take what Jesus teaches seriously and try to live it out and when you fail, hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness. You can choose to care for the poor and outcast, regardless of what policies are implemented. You can choose to reject injustice. You can choose to live in love. You can choose to forgive. You can choose to show mercy. You can choose to live into the faith you have been given.

Or you can choose to react endlessly. You can choose to try to win a corrupt and unjust game that is stacked against you.

The day after the presidential election is another Election Day – the day you vote how you will live going forward. Will you live like it’s Nov. 2 and all the days before it. Or will you live into the faith that you have been given. Will Nov. 4 be a day of resurrection for you?

Decide. Nov. 4 is coming.