There’s More to Life Than Simply Politics

Photo: The Federalist.

I entered my only bodybuilding competition in 1991. As I walked out a placegetter but not a winner, one of the organisers consoled me. He said, “There can only be one winner.” It was a harsh truth that I had to accept. I had placed third against two better built and conditioned athletes.

There are winners and losers today. Some herald with hysterics the spoils of victory. Others are in disbelief, not sure that this sort of result was even possible. Others will be bemused as to what, if anything, to feel.

Whichever side of the political divide Americans find themselves on, it certainly has been a long and arduous roller coaster ride. And only one side would ever win.

Once the disappointment or elation has subsided we inevitably come back into the practice of life: the sun will still rise tomorrow morning, God willing. Obama said it and it remains the same always. There’s nothing new under the sun, to borrow a line from the ancient Bible book of Ecclesiastes.

As we mourn with the Democrat supporters and rejoice for the Republican supporters, we can also agree that, despite myriad concerns of the unknowable, there’s more to life than simply politics.

Especially for those who believe in Jesus. For those who know the Sovereign: the One who presides over not a nation, but a whole creation.

As Christians, we have the duty to love everyone, notwithstanding political allegiances, and we do that because of our devotion to the Lord Jesus. Let us keep everything in its daily context. God is in control. Our families and loved ones and community need our love. And what the world needs more than ever is true unity.

That begins with us. Always has. Always will.