Dear Grace Family,
As I write this, we are 24 days away from the 2024 General Election. Many of you have already voted, while others are waiting for their mail ballots, and some of you are waiting for election day to vote in person like I am.
We all know that our nation is one of political polarization that only gets worse as days go by. And the political polarization is leading to fractures in human relationships, further heightening the division and dissent, driving wedges where no wedges should be. It’s very frustrating to me – we should be able to agree to disagree and continue to love one another and work together for the good of all. After all, that’s what Jesus said in Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
This Golden Rule in scripture challenges us to engage in conversation and seek to create whatever common good we can with our relatives, friends, and neighbors who we might consider to be on the “other side” politically and ideologically. As we attempt to come together, the idea is not that we are obliterating either one or trying to change each other, but rather we discover the beauty that can be created when we work together to make the world a better place. The “purple space” is where we cultivate kindness, compassion, humility, respect, and love for one another and for the good of all the world, no matter what.
In October 1774, John Wesley was preaching in some small English towns near Bristol, where a contentious election for Parliament was underway. In his journal, Wesley called it “[one of the most] exciting elections Bristol has ever had.”
Sound at all familiar?
In the days leading up to the election, while in the town of Pill, Wesley met with members of the local Methodist society, and offered this important guidance, quoted in his journal:
“October 6, 1774
I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them. (1) to vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy; (2) to speak no evil of the person they voted against; and (3) to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”
That is such good advice! Vote for who you think is most worthy. Don’t speak evil of the other candidate. Show no animosity to those who voted differently.
280 years later, John Wesley’s advice is as helpful now as it was then. Regardless of how ugly and mean-spirited this or any election season becomes, we can model the kind of decency and civility that we expect of those who lead us.
Peace,
Pastor Sharon Pajak