The protest that turned to violence on Capitol Hill is a harbinger. There already is and will continue to be finger-pointing and conspiracy theories and name calling to place blame. But the blame history will record is that anyone connected to Donald Trump is confirmed of being exactly what the news media and Democratic Party narrators said they were, and because of the way things went down on Capitol Hill, conservatives and Christians will be paying that price of association for years to come, guilty or not. People, there needs to be a reset. Part of that reset is clarity of mind, which means to seek truth, not the truth one wants to believe, but real truth. And speak the truth in love. These are Godly principles.
Congress did its Constitutional duty and voted on the states’ objections to the election. Election integrity concerns were not enough to persuade Congress, by a huge majority, from confirming Joe Biden as President. Yes, there are many side stories and “yeah, buts.” Nonetheless, the process was followed and it is now settled. There will be investigations and debates over election integrity. Those who are convinced that paper ballots are more secure than machines must begin at the local level and register their complaints and work to make changes. In those states where the law was broken regarding absentee ballot mailings and authentications, people need to hold their legislators accountable to fix it. Lesson from all this: politics is a dirty business where rules and laws are upheld or broken by political force, not fairness.
Reform is necessary. How it is done is important. Pitting people against people is not a solution. Citing outrageous conspiracy theory claims will not work. Either/or scenarios will also fail. Ideological bigotry and political intolerance only leads to more of the same. These all have proven to fail over the past year of anger (on both sides of the political spectrum). If one says, “There is no reasoning with these people,” then that person has lost the argument before it is even presented. We are all, as Americans, going to have to learn to work with people who have different views than we do, and do so with respect and honor—perhaps not for the opposing position, but more so to demonstrate the value of our position.
Please find ways to stand firm without being belligerent. Seek the truth in your life and don’t rely on those who are using a little bit of truth to make a better lie. Work across political divides and let the merit of your ideas constitute the fabric of your beliefs. While there are unreasonable people on both sides of the political spectrum, there are many reasonable people in between the radicals. Don’t allow your life to be defined by politics. If you are reading this, you are a follower of Christ, first and foremost. Focusing on Christ and His resurrection and saving grace will lead you to all truth. But you must focus on it and pursue it with vigor. Remember in these perilous days the words written in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” In that, have clarity in truth and truth only.
