day 17: loving the other party

(I apologize for the glitch earlier today where I "posted"  two words. By mistake, I selected this to be a scheduled post as I was planning out the week. Here's what I was really intending to write about...)

If you live in the United States it's hard to miss the fact that it's presidential election season. And I'm sure many outside the US are aware of it too, though they are thankfully spared the barrage of ads, signs and mudslinging.

Before you leave, hang with me for a sec, this is not going to be a post about where I espouse my political views or share who I think everyone should vote for. It's a post on loving your enemy.

That's the theme for this week's loving others challenges.

And I'm laying down a challenge for myself and for others who have any sort of political conviction: I'm challenging us all to find some way to love the other party.

You know, the one you think will make a complete mess of this country, who must be reading their facts upside down. The one whom you'd never vote for in a million years. Specifically, here's the challenge:

Find at least three good things to say about the other candidate. Be authentic and look deep. Saying you like their hair because it is black or their eyes because they have two of them does not count.

Why is this important?

Because one of these two men will be leading this country early next year and for the next four years, unless God wills it otherwise, and unless I'm mistaken, as professed followers of Christ, we are told to respect those God places in authority over us whether we like them or not.

Both of these men are putting themselves out there. They are sacrificing themselves and their families to lead a country that may grace them with a brief honeymoon period before proceeding to complain about how they are failing their nation.  

They will have to deal with consequences and policies made from previous administrations. They will have to make tough decisions which, at best, may please half the country and they will have to do much of it through Congress - a body not know for its efficiency or desire to meet in the middle, but one that prevents this country from becoming a dictatorship.

This will be the first presidential election I have the privilege of voting in. Though I certainly hope the person I end up voting for wins, I want to prepare my heart for the reality that the "other" person may win. And I want to prepare it by learning to love them as I love their opponent and myself. Will you join me?

This week I'm learning to love God with all my mind and loving my enemy (a.k.a. the people I'd rather not have to deal with). Want to join me? Please click here for this week's challenges.