Who's sad?

Would it comfort you to know that I wrote these short words days before the results of last night's election? I hope it does because I did so on purpose. For a variety of reasons, I tend not to share my political leanings. One of the advantages I feel I have is that I can offer a perspective that you can take as being thoughtful and, as best I'm able to, free from the usual tone of "my side vs your side" politics. Besides, I'm not convinced most people want to know who I vote for. I was called by the church to be a pastor, a preacher and reminder of the Gospel of our Lord. So, with that in mind...

I'm anticipating the first time I'll hear the words. It'll probably be on Facebook! I first noticed them a few elections ago and have heard them every morning after the election since. What are those words?  Can you imagine someone saying this: "It's sad."

Take a guess at who says that. I've never heard someone whose candidate won an election state that; it's always someone on the losing side. May I suggest that a candidate losing an election is not sad--not even your candidate. Maybe it's disappointing or frustrating. It may even be wrong, but that's something we find out later, not the day after the election.

Sad? Children around the world are dying because of malnutrition. People live in anguish because of drug violence and gang activity. Families are struggling with addictions. Cancer, depression and suicide are sad. Elections? Well, there are people in the world whose votes don't matter and feel forced to vote in particular ways, or else. Is it sad to think about the amount of money used by candidates to convince us to vote? 

We're the church. We're supposed to be set apart, holy. Quite often the way we speak and think about the world around us sounds just like everyone else. Maybe that's sad. Rest assured, God's will is never subject to who runs our nation. Praise God! That message has been clear for thousands of years. Maybe you woke up to find the president to be the man you voted for. Maybe not. That doesn't mean God voted for them too or that the devil is running the next four years.  It means someone won an election.  That's not sad; that's politics.