10-4-20 It’s All About Love
Quote: “I am way less concerned with who you vote for than I am with how you treat the people that vote differently than you do.” – Anonymous
In case you didn’t know – between all the zillion robo calls and political posts – 2020 not only has a pandemic and racial unrest but a presidential election. I believe it is all of our duty to vote and you better believe Mark and I will be at the polls to vote for the person God has put on our hearts to lead this great country that we call the United States.
But something disturbing is happening all over this great nation when you even mention the word Republican or Democrat or Trump or Biden. I can feel the hate in the posts and the negativity from the news. I am so thankful my children are not on social media to witness this anger and vile evil that is now the everyday norm in our country.
Because our family loves traveling the country and world, we have friends from all over. I was talking to a mentor of mine in Guatemala not too long ago. He said, “Danielle, the rest of the world is just watching the United States go from a powerful nation to an offended people and we are wondering, what is happening over there? It seems as if you are falling apart. You were once united and now you are so divided. It is sad to watch.” Well my friend, it is not only sad to watch but it’s even sadder to live and breathe in it everyday.
Don’t get me wrong – I am all about peaceful protest for injustices. The kids and I actually participated in a George Floyd demonstration in downtown Charleston this summer that was beautiful and such a tribute to the love of the people in that city. Imagine our surprise when we watched the news just a few days later that the same park we had just been in was now being trashed by loiters, the city was under siege, and fires and shootings were happening everywhere.
When did we all earn the right to push our agenda and beliefs on others so much that the second they don’t agree with us, we are allowed to push our views so full force that sons quit speaking to fathers? Co-workers can no longer have calm conversations. Longtime friends become enemies. Neighbors no longer chat at the mailbox. Social media feeds become filled with threats and hateful name calling.
All I know is that as Americans, we have got to figure this out! To the rest of the world, we look like we’re nuts. We have got to find a way to agree to disagree – peacefully. While I may not agree with who you vote for, I don’t have to judge or hate you because you don’t have the same point of view.
This hate is not what our forefathers died for. I can’t even imagine what the American veterans feel like during this time in our country! This is what I left home for at 18? This is what I left my family behind for? This is what I lost a limb for? This is what my good buddy died for?
No, we are called to love. And as Christians, we have a set of verses in our Bible that back this up, with NO exceptions. Jesus tells us over and over to love God but then to also love our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves. And then he says in Matthew 22:4o, “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Every command or truth from the Bible is literally traced back to the word LOVE.
I may not agree with my teenager’s choices, but I still love him. I may not agree with the prisoner’s choices, but I still love them and visit them in jail and pray for them. I may not believe the same way that my friend believes, but I still show them love and treat them with respect.
The world is watching Christians and how we treat others. We are called to be different. May we show the rest of the world that the United States of America is a country of love not hate.
