It’s been a nasty week. I sort of hold my breath every time I go on social media this week. I’ve seen so much nastiness; it breaks my heart. There’s so much angry and dare I say hate circling. The sad thing is that this isn’t anything new. This happens every four years…every election season. Matt and I have been saying for weeks that we can’t wait for election season to be done.
Election Season
Every election season, we forget that our fellow citizens are not our enemies. We forget that those who vote differently are not our enemies. You know who our actual enemy is? Satan. You know who’s having a great week? Satan. Because he’s dividing people, stirring up hate, projecting fear, and overall making a mess of things…which is what he does.
We have to remember that even in an election year, the rules don’t change. It’s not suddenly okay to hate or to tear one another down. It’s not okay to attack people whether outright or online. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t command us to love each other all the time, except in an election year.
Our Command to Love
What cancels hate? Love. What brings peace? Love.
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
John 15:12 NLT
This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:17 NLT
As Jesus spent his last days with his disciples, he used the opportunity to remind them again:
Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:33-35
Our Reminder to Love
This week’s reminder is simple: just love today. You can’t change people’s minds. You don’t need to argue political stances. Find somebody that needs your love today and give it to them freely, no strings attached.
Remember, things are at a fever pitch right now. They will calm down. People will forget eventually about this election as they’ve forgotten other ones in the past. What they won’t forget is how somebody we treated them.
More Encouragement
For more on this topic, check out my post, Love is Still the Answer. One of my favorite books on the topic of loving people is Bob Goff’s Love Does.
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