Give Peace a chance

 

Zechariah 7:9-10. NIV

 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

Today is Election Day.  I keep reading that this is potentially the most important election of our lives.  Of course, I have heard that before, most recently in 2008 when Barak Obama was elected, receiving 69.5 million votes, more than any other president has ever received.  This year the sheer number of voters participating in the election looks like it may very well be the largest ever voter turnout.  

Whoever wins - and we probably won’t know for sure for at least a few days, possibly weeks if any of the states require a re-count as Florida did in 2000 - it is pretty certain that the results will upset a lot of folks.  Some people are seriously frightened about the aftermath of this election.  A friend of a friend purchased a handgun the other day for self protection “when the civil war begins the day after the election”.  This person has never owned or even fired a weapon before, so I find this a bit disturbing and yes, even frightening, in a couple of ways.  One - a person without any training at all in firearm safety is not someone I would want to have walking around with a handgun in her purse.  Two - civil war?   People seriously believe there will be a civil war no matter who wins!?! 

I don’t get it.  What part of “love one another” do we have so much trouble with?  How is it possible to have this much anger?  Why is it we cannot stop yelling long enough to actually listen to each other?  

“. . .show mercy and compassion to one another. . . Do not plot evil against each other.” 

God of mercy, we are in a frightening place right now. We seem to disagree about everything.  Violence and threats of violence by ordinary citizens have become common in our news reporting.  May we cultivate patience when things seem to take too long to come to resolution, willingness to listen to one another, and a desire for peace. Amen.