Let’s not talk politics, but let’s talk about politics. This past Sunday, I thought long and hard about including the line “We give thanks, O Lord, that the election is finally over” in the Prayers of the People, but I didn’t. I also thought long and hard about preaching on the aftermath of the election, but I didn’t. The only mention made this past Sunday about the election was praying for Donald, the President-elect, in the Prayers of the People.
It has been over a week since the election, but if you, like me, are an avid user of social media, it seems as if the election has not happened yet. There is just as much vitriol as there was before the election, and an argument can be made that there might be even more now that the dust of the election has settled. I blame one thing for all of this: social media.
Social media is the new office coffee pot where folks gather around to talk about things going on in the world. The difference is that you are looking at a computer instead of another human being created by God. You are typing words into a processor instead of speaking words to another human being who is loved by God. That difference can break down relationships. That difference gives us the audacity to post things on social media that we would not ever say to another person while looking them in the face. What ever happened to face to face conversations? What ever happened to hearing someone’s voice speaking words instead of reading someone’s words written?
Again, I am an avid user of social media so I am not knocking its use. It connects me to friends and family who I do not see very often. It feeds me information about Mississippi State athletics. It is a great marketing tool. There is more good in regards to social media than there is bad. Otherwise, I would not use it. But this one bad thing is very detrimental. When we post to social media as if we are looking into the eyes of another person instead of a computer screen, what we post more accurately reflects the image of God. When we post as if we are looking into the eyes of Christ we build up relationships instead of tearing them down.
Our baptismal covenant says that we are to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.” It is hard to seek Christ in others posting behind a computer screen. So let’s get back to having face-to-face conversations. Let’s look each other in the eye which has been said is the window to the soul. Let’s try to understand each other. Let’s talk to each other instead of past each other.
If you voted for Donald, buy a cup of coffee for a Hillary supporter. Look them in the eye and try to understand them and where they are coming from. If you voted for Hillary, buy lunch for a Trump supporter. Look them in the eye and try to understand them and where they are coming from. Chances are, at the very least, even if you disagree, you will discover that Christ does not discriminate. He abides in everyone. Even Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton and the people who supported them.