We Begin

The Election, Your Spirituality, & the Soul of Our Nation #1

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Election season. A time of anxiety. People frowning, griping. No one thinks conventions, ads, parties and politics make us better, holier or wiser. The contest is one of nastiness and negativity, feeding our inner darkness and sharpening our anger and fears. How many relationships have been fractured because of the polarization and intensity of political viewpoints?

So much is at stake – and not just politically for our country. The soul of the nation – yes, there is such a thing – is up for grabs, as is your own personal spirituality. How do you as a Christian maintain some calm and find some spiritual equilibrium? Are there ways we might have a healing impact on those around us? Is there any real hope for the soul of our country?

You could always withdraw, and many have. But Jesus clearly asks us to be engaged in the life of the world, and the human impact of not just who wins but how they win is massive. You can stay in a mood, bristle in front of the TV and dash off a Facebook retort. You could tell me “religion and politics don’t mix” – but we religious people live in a political place and time, and if we can’t talk about God, and God’s vested interest in these things that matter so much, then God isn’t really relevant to anything at all.

And so we ask God to show us “a more excellent way” (Paul’s intro to his “love” chapter, 1 Corinthians 13). Humility, curiosity, charity and a hopeful spirit can be cultivated, and might just be contagious. I know most people feel we are victims, that the mess is too big, too overwhelming – inevitable, really. But I am marketing hope. There is still a God. And the true God isn’t a fan of one party and irritated by the other.

So I hope you’ll stick with me and trust me to help us together to be hopeful, to imagine that God is sufficient even to the troubles of this world. I’ll share my best wisdom on how we might sort things out and interact with a raging, cocksure culture in holy, constructive ways. We’ll ask if God cares about the results of the election, for we know God cares about how we conduct ourselves up to and then after the election. We’ll ask if there are genuinely Christian issues and positions (and yes, there are).

Let’s pray together, for our world but also for our souls – and hope that these times together, sharing these emails, might bring some healing, hope, and even holy engagement with this world God created. “God so loved the world” – this world – and is more eager to save it than we are.

The Rev. James C. Howell is senior pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, N.C. This post is republished with the author's permission from his weekly email series, "The Election, Your Spirituality and the Soul of Our Nation," to church members and other interested persons. Click here to subscribe.