graphic: Martha G. Brady on Canva
This week, the common people had the opportunity to vote and make their voices heard. Many of them have felt ignored in Washington for quite a few years. Granted, our choices in this election were difficult, but we made our choice for change rather than continue with things as they are.
This week, the common people had the opportunity to vote and make their voices heard. Share on XAre we wild about our candidate? For many of us, I can say a resounding “No!” I personally do not like his inflammatory language, his language about women, minorities, etc. Overall, his brash and often tacky behavior is not my cup of tea. I prefer when our leaders behave in public in ways that show respect to others even when we disagree on issues.
Change will be happening. Not everyone will like every change.
However, I do look forward to some changes. I have been tired of being treated as if my values as someone who is conservative, Christian, and pro-life are at least weird and at worst, something to be trivialized. Having the president of the nation who makes straw men of people who believe a different way gets tiring after awhile. Personally, I have tried to respect him.
Even though I didn’t vote for Mr. Obama, I have tried to respect and honor him. Sadly, I didn’t feel he was able to treat those who disagreed with him with the same respect as many other presidents have. stop
Common people have voted for a new president. Not many saw it coming.
So now, common people have voted for a new president. There is no question Mr. Trump is a very flawed man on many levels. I have no illusions about that. But as I have watched and read reviews of the voting that actually took place vs. the polling that turned out to be inaccurate, I have learned that those who voted for Trump were common people from all walks of life. When you look at a colored map by county, you see a lot of red all over the map! The splotches of blue are mostly located in big cities. I was shocked!
Understanding who the King is, helps all of us in terms of who is president at the present time!
It was helpful to me before the election to realize that GOD is in charge of this election. I didn’t need to agonize over who was going to win. That was under GOD’s control. He is King. He is bigger than anyone in the White House.
I came to be comfortable with that before the election. This didn’t come easily to me. I love to have change when things aren’t working and there doesn’t seem to be hope of improvement. We had a government that didn’t seem to want to listen to common people who didn’t agree with their view. They knew better than anyone. They were right. Those who didn’t agree were wrong and didn’t deserve to be heard.
Now, not only is the president a different party, but the losses in the senate and house were minimal so he has a good group to work with to push his agenda through. I pray that this new government will be humble as they work through changes to come, but will be strong, realizing they have a mandate.
What can I learn from this election to help myself as a Christian and be more aware as a Church (even though I’m not a church leader)?
One takeaway I have from this election is to realize that I need to spend more time with people who believe differently from myself. I have done that in reading, with friendships online, listening to people with different backgrounds than mine. But I haven’t done it enough.
One takeaway from this election? Realize I need to spend more time with people who think & look different. Share on XHow many of us watch news whose perspectives we mostly agree with, spend time with mostly church people and Christians, and know very few people from different ethnic groups, socio-economic groups, or religious beliefs than ours?
It isn’t easy, but it can be done. In our area, there are opportunities to volunteer to tutor in public schools, with local organizations for your choice of a variety of local groups, many areas have job training groups for men and women of various sorts that help them get into the work force. With the internet, it isn’t difficult to find ways to serve. The need is huge!
For those of us who work or have worked, we have usually found ourselves in all kinds of situations where we learn about different perspectives of people from a variety of racial and cultural views. In nursing, I found it to be so both from working with co-workers and the patients and their families. It definitely kept me grounded in the reality of living in the world we do.
No, don’t desert your church, just be sure you are making time to serve outside your Christian bubble!
I’m not saying to desert your church. I’m just saying to make sure you have balance. Do you have at least one way of receiving input into your life from your church beside Sunday worship? Do you have at least one way of serving out inside your church and another outside in your community? For the stage your are in your life, you may have to adjust the question, but getting out of the Christian bubble is vital for your growth!
One reason this vote was such a shock was because the press, the entertainment industry and the government were all in bed with each other. They told each other what they wanted to hear. None of them listened to rumblings that were going on in parts of the country they weren’t listening to. They were considered to be uninteresting, irrelevant, uneducated and deplorable. Even after Donald Trump, with all his flaws, started listening to this group, the others wrote off the large rallies and the excitement surrounding him as irrelevant. These arrogant people loved their lives and their values. They didn’t care about the common people. They cared about power. They didn’t want anything to change.
One reason this vote was such a shock was because the press, the entertainment industry & government were all in bed together. Share on XNow the common, “irrelevant” and apparently powerless people have spoken. The electoral college that represents all of America vs. the cities, has said, “Have you heard us? We have said we were ready for a change!”
The status quo politicians who were ready for things to continue as they were, the insiders who were very content, the entertainment industry and journalists that were happy and on the inside? They are all shedding tears.
There are lessons for many of us in the Church who have bought into too many of the values of our culture!
The Church will be wise to watch what is happening. It is a good warning for us to understand why we are often irrelevant to the world we live in. Watch out! Beware!
Remember who was one of the most common people who came to earth…Jesus! Too many ignored Him to their peril.
In modern America, we are so impressed with stars. We would be wiser to pay more attention to the common people. May GOD have mercy on us!
For you say, I am rich, I have prospered,
and I need nothing,
not realizing that you are wretched,
pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire,
so that you may be rich,
and white garments so that you may clothe yourself
and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen,
and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline,
so be zealous and repent.
Revelation 3:17-19
**I totally understand that many of you won’t agree with my views where I got very carried away today. I get that. Hopefully, we can still be friends.
I actually didn’t realize how strong some of my views were until I started writing.
I know none of my friends and family took this decision lightly. For me, I couldn’t bring myself to vote for him…not just because of his policies, but also his words against those on the margins. I have a friend who isn’t sure how she will get through the next four years because everything about who he is is a trigger for her PTSD. I pray we all can unite and move beyond this election.
our pastor reminded us last Sunday that jesus is king and is more powerful than anyone in the white house. he also reminded us that more change takes place from the bottom up than from the top down. Tara, we often think power at the top will help bring on the changes we want. however, the reminders of Jesus to us are that the powerful changes that happen are found in our interactions of love one-on-one, family to family. those changes aren’t legislated. over the last 8 years, i have learned to trust GOD in new ways as i have watched changes take place that i wasn’t happy over. it helps to not anticipate the negatives. reading into things that are said or overstated b/f a person gets into office can add to our anxiety. it doesn’t always pan out in the ways we feared. there are checks and balances in government to prevent the change from going too far overboard. let’s take it one day at a time and not anticipate some of the problems that may not end being prioritized.
Martha, I so agree with your statements, and I like the common people better than what the world deems extraordinary! I am glad to have your email in my inbox this morning. Praying you have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for the encouragement to get outside our church to serve and know that God loves all and people at the core can be good/bad. Even us! Love, Jenn
thanks for stopping by jenn:) i think we’re all learning that it is less about being right or left and more about wanting what is best for the people in our country which definitely means working together.
I love the Walt Whitman quote. It is in line with a post I wrote about after the election. It is the everyday person that is the most power for change. Legislators may have power to change laws, but it’s the common person who has the power to love another person.
I love what you wrote about spending time and reaching out to people who are not just like ourselves. If we, as a nation, could do more of that, we could begin the process of coming together.
you are totally right cheryl! and that was what Jesus was trying to teach us as well! love GOD and love each other. yes, it is impossible without Jesus, but that is what we are to do.
i think so many have been trusting in organizational structures, political parties, churches, etc. to do those things for us and we are learning that it won’t happen without common people getting together and doing it. the organized structures of the left learned it the hard way this time b/c they were only listening to themselves and those they agreed with. but many of us do it too. we must get together and find common ground…we have plenty of common ground. but the rioting is going to have to stop, people will have to sit down and talk together and work on the problems in their communities. it won’t happen without some of us knowing jesus and being able to bridge a lot of gaps.
You’re right! We wrote similarly. I like that Walt Whitman quote. Shane’s job has definitely given us a different perspective. The people he finds jobs for, and the gals that work in the office.
i loved it when i came across it christy:) blessings girl!
Hi Martha, we’re neighbours at FMF today! I like the lessons you draw from the election about listening to people with different perspectives. It is important to get out of our bubble and spend time with those who are different from us and to actually listen to different opinions and try to understand, even if we disagree.
it definitely isn’t easy to listen to people we disagree with, but i have learned a lot over my life by doing it! glad you came by lesley:)