Voting in the day of “either/or” makes me long for Heaven.
The wisdom of the ancients was “both/and” — holding truths in tension — acknowledging the veracity in two or more sides of an issue. This wisdom pushed pause on derision and arrived at division via a much slower pace.
I long for the day when championing the rights of the unborn does not pit you against the welfare of the immigrant.
I long for the day when championing healthcare for people with preexisting conditions does not pit you against free enterprise.
I long for the day when championing good stewardship of the environment does not pit you against utilizing natural resources.
I long for the day when championing social justice does not pit you against some ethnicities and for others.
The privilege of voting is distorted. Many issues are not either/or. Political platforms serve us clusters of beliefs, some of which in reality may be only weakly attached to one another. And by taking a stand on one issue, so many other issues have been chosen for us. Is this truly voting our conscience? All of this screams that there is no such thing as political salvation.
If you feel deeply torn — not only on the clusters of issues but on voting itself — I see you. You will be vilified and sainted no matter which side you choose.
In a time when social media provides an unprecedented pedestal for everyone’s opinions, the result is social schizophrenia, with inflamed division at alarming rates. Complex issues are boiled down to over-generalizations. Heartstrings are tugged. An us/them ultimatum speeds up arguments, bringing them to a tipping point and forcing the masses to take stands on issues even before they research, lest they be labeled bigots.
In this era of either/or, may we remember that neither side is heaven, and therefore neither side is hell. Looking beyond our borders, may we realize that America’s political sides and stances are not replicated in every country, for each has its unique and unholy clusters of beliefs. I imagine that a socially conscious, biblically minded voting citizen in any political system feels this tension. No human-made system is ultimate.
But political escapism is not the answer. That’s simply another form of either/or. The people of Christ are called to be shapers of culture—neither mindless champions of one side nor hermits who don’t acknowledge that sides exist. Our culture needs a hefty dose of both/and wisdom, and that takes thoughtful, prayerful dissection of issues and a refusal to thoughtlessly accept cultural ultimatums. This both/and wisdom requires much of us, but it also gives: it gives us a wild hope that truth in tension actually does exist, and that One who is fully God and fully Man came to this polarized planet in order to one day reign in unopposed wisdom.
And that’s why I say, “Your Kingdom come; Your will be done” —because in that realm, and only there, do we find love alongside justice, grace alongside truth. Both/And, come in me today.
Photo: me on my dad’s shoulders, age 3