Jesus Loves Elephants (and Donkeys too...)

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes." -Psalm 118: 8-9

"One by one, these disciples would infect the nations with grace. It wasn't a call to take the sword or the throne and force the world to bow. Rather, they were to live the contagious love of God, to woo the nations into a new future." -Shane Claiborne, Jesus for President

Warning: This will be about politics and Jesus. You have been warned.

I have a confession: I love this time every four years. I think presidential elections are... fun? Is that allowed? I really like watching debates and hearing the different ideas people have and who's winning and who's playing catch-up. I love seeing candidates share their dreams and plans. It's the REAL reality show.

But this year hasn't been as fun as the rest for me. Maybe it's because I'm older, or because my perspective has changed over the past four years. But this election is different.

I love talking about politics and candidates and ideas and policies, but it has been really hard for me this time around. Nobody seems willing to listen. Nobody seems willing to hear anybody else's point of view. We all seem more interested in posting some clever meme telling the world how enlightened we are and how dumb others are.

There are seven candidates, all very accomplished and very capable, who are running for president. They are very different, and have very different ideas. None's great desire is to bring harm to you or your family. Rather, they simply have different plans for helping people and different ideas about how this country should function.

But that is what I keep hearing. I keep hearing that if we vote for Trump or if we vote for Clinton or if we vote for Carson or if we vote for Sanders or if we vote for some other candidate, the world is going to collapse, freedom will be curbed and tomorrow will be dimmer than today. Each camp is painting the other as the candidate of evil and lies and no compassion. Heck, they might be scarier than the Boogey Man. Fear is the name of the game. What would happen if, God forbid, instead of warning us of their opponents infinite flaws, each candidate were to extol the good things about the other?

But I must tell you, in spite of all of this, I have hope. And it doesn't come from these women and men, regardless of who wins. Because just like me (and you), they are all flawed, imperfect people who make mistakes and misjudgements. None has a monopoly on wisdom. Of course they aren't perfect, and neither are their policies.

But still I have hope. I have hope because there is a god who created the universe and has nurtured it since before time began. I have hope because there is a god who is BIGGER than left or right, red or blue, donkey or elephant. I have hope because there is a god who made the sun rise this morning and will tomorrow and has blessed me beyond abundance.

I've heard a lot about God in this election cycle, and I've heard a lot of people who love Jesus talking in the past year about the election. The funny thing is, though, I haven't heard very much of Jesus in their words.

Paul said it best I think in his first letter to the Corinthians, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." We talk all day about loving our neighbors, but when it comes to politics, we do a great job of excluding our neighbors on the other side of the aisle or who support different candidates than we do. We leave love at the door in an effort to win the argument. We've lost the ability to talk about politics, even the role of faith in politics, with words of understanding and love. (Kinda like college football in the South, huh?)

The truth is that I'm convinced Jesus loves Republicans and Democrats alike. And I know for a fact that there are a lot of Republicans who love him back, just as there are Republicans who could care less about the Christian faith. By the same token, I know Democrats profoundly invested in following after Jesus and others who steer as clear from faith as they can! At the end of the day, I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't check our voter registration cards to validate his love, just like I'm absolutely positive he hasn't registered red or blue.

To a bigger point, however, I'm also convinced that the role of faith in politics descends deeper than a platform of gay marriage and abortion. By no means do I mean to dismiss these as important questions Christians and non-Christians need to wrestle with. BUT, it seems to me that Jesus had much bigger questions at stake: How can we love, encourage and equip our brothers and sisters trapped in the horrors of cyclical poverty? How do we build bridges with our neighbors instead of creating barriers? How do we work towards a world where war is forgotten and peace wins? In fact, I think every issue is a question of faith and how we love our neighbors.

This is why I still have hope. Because regardless of who wins and the ideas and policies they support and believe in, God is still at work. And wherever possible, I'd like to join in God's work of supporting my brothers and sisters who have been forgotten, my brothers and sisters in the midst of terrible suffering and despair. Politics are important, but I have to believe God is bigger (much bigger in fact.) And the next president will not dictate the way I live my life and the ways I love my neighbor.

*As an aside, imagine what amazing work could have been done with all of the $2 billion (that's right, $2 billion) that was being spent on the presidential campaigns four years ago! It is tremendously humbling for me to look at that number and imagine the kinds of ways we could bless our neighbors with that kind of support, the diseases we could eradicate, the neighborhoods (heck, even cities) we could re-start and re-ignite, the hunger we could erase. Not to mention, we could buy SO. MUCH. ICE CREAM.

I love talking and involving myself in politics, but it has become harder and harder. Instead of it bringing people together (isn't that what government is supposed to do?) we are tearing each other apart, calling each other terrible things, condemning one another for ignorance and stupidity. But what if we were willing to listen, even understandingly disagree, with those across the aisle? What if we brought the grace of Jesus back into the conversation (not just as proof text but as the reality he is), and his love and grace actually infected the conversation? I'm convinced James was writing to America in 2012 when he wrote, "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."

So here is my prayer for the ballot box, which you are welcome to share: "Father, I pray for my neighbors in this country and for the women and men on this ballot. May they be filled with your wisdom. May they work to encourage and empower their neighbor, both powerful and weak. May they bring together and not pull apart. May they work for peace and not conflict. Let your grace and love and mercy flow in this country as it does for all people all over the world. For Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio and John Kasich and Ben Carson and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, I pray that you shower them with overflowing love and that their will might be in tune with yours. And may we return to loving our neighbors as ourselves!"

forever unfinished...

Strong...

"Somebody once told me that, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13). Life hasn't been a walk in the park for me, but I'm thankful for the obstacles, hardships, and accomplishments that GOD has provided for me. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be the Rajaan Bennett that you know today. I wouldn't have things any other way.

Strength is the ability to do or bear things in the state of being strong.

In the year of 2000, I moved from the streets of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to the suburbs of Powder Springs, Georgia. A year later, my dad died in a horrible car wreck, and as a ten year-old, I knew he wasn't coming back. This tragedy rattled me to the core. I felt as if there was no need for me to live. I wanted to be as happy as the kids with dads and moms.

Some days I would wonder - why me? But eventually, I realized that it was my turn to become a man. As I became older, I came to notice that in life you use strength as a blanket to protect you from this cold world.

I am the oldest of 3 and I have a brother with special needs who I have to take care of. I have to balance school, sports, friends, and family - and it gets so hard, but I push myself. I push myself like a sprinter who is neck and neck with an opponent with 10 meters left. With the strength that I posses, I feel like I'm Hercules.

I matured faster than all of my friends - and there will never be a time that I will give up. I may complain, I may refuse, and I may even cry about it, but I know I have to do what I have to do.

I work hard at whatever I do - just for that man upstairs to smile down on me with the rays of the sun ...and they feel so warm. My drive cannot be stopped or even slowed down, because every obstacle has a way around it. Every day I become stronger from the weights physically, the books mentally, and life emotionally.

There is no limit to my strength and at the end of the day, I want to be known as the strongest."

This is not original. It was written by Rajaan Bennett, a senior three years ago at McEachern High school outside of Atlanta, GA. A star running back, Bennett was committed to play football at Vanderbilt University. A week after this essay was written, Bennett was shot to death protecting his mother and siblings when an ex-boyfriend of his mom's broke into their home. He died protecting the people that needed him most. That is love. THAT is strength.

forever unfinished...