How to Be Human: An Election Season Survival Guide

1)        Worship Together

There are many stories of worship as a response to violence. During the height of apartheid in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu preached a service at St George’s Cathedral in Pretoria. When dozens of agents with the South African Security Police filed in and stood in the aisles, they took names and pictures of those in attendance. Tutu took himself down from the pulpit and… warmly welcomed them to worship.

The story of Jesus’s feeding of the 5,000 in John’s Gospel reveals tension in the crowd. The people wanted a warrior king and considered force to make it happen. But Jesus responded by calling the people to worship together and participate in communion. He shared stories of abundance and healing instead of political dominance and power.

This text encourages readers to remember the power of worship and reconciliation in times of division and disturbance. There is no better place to honor another’s humanity than in worship. As worship spaces become more and more politically divided, consider worshipping with and hearing the prayers of people on the other side of the aisle.

Scripture: John 6:1-22, Check out 36:20 to hear more about the Pastor’s trip to Northern Ireland to study peace and reconciliation.

2)        Beware Trauma TV

Psychologist, Steven Pinker says that “there are two ways to understand the world: a constant drip of anecdotes about the worst things that have happened anywhere on the planet in the previous hour, or a bird’s eye view of the grand developments that are transforming the human condition. The first is called ‘the news’ and for your wisdom and mental health I recommend balancing it with the second.” (Higgins, Gareth, “How Not to Be Afraid”)

This is not something that is hard for us, as Christians, to do. We all know the Better Stories of Jesus. He offers words of justice, love, mercy, peace, abundance, healing, inclusion, and more. These stories of Jesus are a re-seeing, a re- orienting, a moving away from the typical narratives that dominate in our world. When we contemplate these sayings, it re-orients and re-wires our minds. Consider studying, living out, or just keeping in mind these narratives this election season. Jesus helps us pull together new associations to tell better stories about living freer, eternal, and more abundant lives.

Scripture passage: John 6:24-35, Check out 42:10 for a beautiful rendition of Tommy Sands’ better story of friendship during The Troubles of Northern Ireland

3)        Make Space for Your Emotions

In Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. He makes the case that humans have evolved with moral codes. It’s fascinating but he makes the case that our bodies and societies are wired to react to several moral categories. Rational explanation is secondary to emotional responses.

This means we come to different places on policy and faith, religion and politics, NOT because some people have thought it through, and some people haven’t. Instead, it is because we feel deeply and have emotional experiences that have evolved across moral codes. We are all making morally charged calculations.

Consider being present to your human emotions this election season. To put on the righteous mind of Christ is to appreciate our fundamental unity even across difference. Don’t let difference lead to violence or heat or dehumanization, but to mutual respect, kindness, mercy and justice based in relationship.

Scripture passage: Ephesians 4:22-32, Check out 35:15 for a story about the Care/Harm Moral Code. Kittens are involved!