Devotion - Tuesday, Nov 6

While some might shy away from mixing religion and politics, I do not.  Our faith, and our life in the community must intersect - they overlap.

What I reject is the mixing of religion and partisanship.  There is no one candidate or one party that can be equated with God, or God's purposes.  But then, I reject partisanship itself.

This is not to say that I am independent, or a member of no party.  I am.  And I am firmly committed to the platform of the political party with which I am affiliated.

But I reject (and am calling on all of you to reject) the partisanship which refuses to allow any movement unless that movement advances one party over the other, unless that movement can be seen as a victory for one side.  We must move beyond such bickering.

As God's people, we ought to be able to lead in learning to compromise.  We know that as important as this political point may be, that there is a Kingdom which matters more.  We understand that no human is wise enough to know the limitations of every action.  It is when we work together that we are most likely to get things right.

The serpent waited till Eve was alone to convince her to eat of the tree.

Jesus made sure that every disciple had a traveling companion as they went out to preach the good news.

We need others.  We need the wisdom of those who lost the election (when did a 4% advantage become a mandate?)

When this day is over, let's not be a part of the discussion of who won and why; let's be part of the conversation about how we will put aside the hurtful things said during the campaign in order to work cooperatively on the issues before us.

As Christians, we are trained in this kind of work.  Let's offer it to the world.