087 - Encouragement on Election Day
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Happy Election Day!
Now, listen, I know tensions are running high. I know convictions and beliefs that we hold have been tried and tested in this year. And especially this election season, it's been heavy. It's been divisive and it's been really hard. I don't know about you, but I have been doing a deeper dive behind the scenes, listening to podcasts, reading books, having conversations with my close friends and family, to really answer the question: what are my own beliefs about all of this? What do I believe to be true? What do I believe is the best way forward?
In today's episode, I want to remind all of us of three things the Lord calls us to, in any and every season of our lives. Three things that, if I'm honest, I feel like they've been pushed to the side. Three things that I believe were part of the founding of this country and three things that we absolutely must maintain if we are to move forward.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through it below!
So I thought about doing a recap of a brief history of America today or something really patriotic. I even considered sharing my political views and why I believe them.
But after sifting through all of that, I finally landed on something that I feel really strongly about: and that's simply encouraging you, right where you are, to focus on your character today. To focus on these three things that I alluded to because ultimately America, I believe, is guided by the character of her people.
As I mentioned, there are three things I believe were part of the founding of this country and we absolutely must maintain if we are to move forward. Those three things are; our measured words, humility and godly wisdom.
Words, humility, and wisdom.
#1: Words
First, let's talk about the power of our words and the importance of using measured words. Full disclosure, I'm going to be reading a lot of scripture today, and I'm also just going to be talking a little bit off the cuff of where I think we are and where I think we're headed and why these verses and these three things are so important. So let's first talk about the power of words.
Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And those who love it will eat its fruits." Another version that I love says, "Words can bring death or life. Talk too much and you will eat everything you say."
Friend, there is a lot of power in the words that we speak. And what I am feeling and seeing and witnessing and have even participated in, if I'm honest, is too many words that bring each other down, we are so quick to speak our mind, to say whatever is the first thing, especially on the internet right now. We are in this day and age of opinion culture, where everyone feels the need to express their opinion. And I just want to say, I get it. I get that we want to fight for what we believe is true, but I also want to remind you of the weight that your words hold. Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
James 1:19 says, "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."
Are we doing that? Are we really doing that? Because I'm feeling a little bit exhausted with everyone being really, really quick to speak and really quick to become angry. And there just doesn't seem to be a lot of listening.
To be honest, that's why I've kind of pulled back politically. I feel like I want to practice this. I want to be slow to speak. I want to be slow to react. I'm want to be slow to become angry. I want to be quick to listen and I, personally, just need to do a deeper dive and I need to learn. And I need to be sure, a 100% sure of my convictions and my beliefs, according to the word of God. And that's my encouragement to you. Let's be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry.
All right, the last verse I'm going to share is literally a mic drop straight from the word of God. It is incredible. And I think it feels like, it's such a mic dropper, it's so powerful right now because of the climate that we're living in. I'm just going to read it and I'm going to let it speak for itself for a minute.
It's Ephesians 4:29, it says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
I feel like I could just end the podcast right now because literally that's enough value for your day, right there. Don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth. None, don't let any. But only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Today, on Election Day, no matter who wins, are you going to let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth? Or are you going to build others up?
These are character choices that we have to make in our own hearts, in our own homes. And I think it's important. I also think it's extremely important to be measured in our words. So being slow to speak is important, but that's not saying to not speak. I think that it's just guiding us in godly wisdom saying, "No, just be slow to speak. Gather the information, read the word of God, ask him for humility and wisdom." Which we'll get to in a minute, but make sure that your words are measured and are filled with wisdom and are guided by the Lord.
And so, as you think about what you're going to say today, and over the course of the next few weeks, I just encourage you to remember these verses,
Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Your words literally bring death or life.
Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry, and don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what's helpful for building others up.
Say what you need to say, let it be measured. Let it be filled with truth and love and build others up.
#2: Humility
Okay, let's move on to humility. The second thing that I really believe we need to grasp today. And I think you probably agree with me, in the feeling that there just, seems like there's a lot of pride. I don't know. I mean, especially in this political climate, I just feel like there's so much pride. I feel like there are people shouting, they know the way. They know the way and anyone else who disagrees with them is a 100% in the wrong. And to me, this is troubling because there are people on both sides, in the church and in the faith. And they're both declaring that they're right, and everyone else is wrong. And they're both saying very different things.
And I think in order for us to really hear what God says and hear the truth and know the right way to believe and walk and vote and fill in the blank, it has to come from this place of humility.
Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit." I'm just going to pause right there. I feel like Instagram is full of rivalry and conceit. Okay, continue. "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility. Count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."
We cannot be so about ourselves that we're blind to the voices and needs of others.
James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble."
Luke 14:11, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. And he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Psalm 138:6, "Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud."
When I think about these verses, the first thing I think about is I don't want to be distant from the Lord.
And the thing is, I don't think that prideful people realize their distance. I don't think that they know that their pride is keeping them far from the Lord. And that the Lord cares for, and is close to the humble. And he exalts the humble.
Psalm 25:9 says, "He leads the humble in justice. He teaches the humble his way."
This is me just kind of thinking and processing out loud before you and with you, encouraging you and my own heart to constantly pray. Lord, keep me humble. Keep me humble.
And so my question for me and you today is how will you humble yourself before the Lord today?
How will you ask him to say, "Lord reveal my blind spots." Because we all have them. Are your words and your actions and your attitudes, are they marked with humility or are they marked with pride?
I do quickly want to speak to humility and insecurity. I'm not talking about being unsure of yourself or being insecure or not saying anything or being too quiet. What I'm talking about is a spirit and attitude of remaining humble before the Lord. And constantly asking him to lead you to truth. And then, boldly stepping into that authority and walking out that, in humility, before the Lord. I think it can be confusing because we tend to think humility is weakness. Humility is insecurity, and there's nothing further from the truth. Humility is humbling yourself before God, and then stepping into the authority that he purchased for you on the cross.
Okay, I feel like I could go on a tangent there. I'm going to stop and I'm going to move on to the third thing, which is wisdom.
#3: Wisdom
The third thing we desperately need today is wisdom. The third thing I desperately need today is wisdom. And one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is James 1:5.
And it says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach. And it will be given to him. But if any of you lacks wisdom,”—who of us lacks wisdom? All of us, none of us have the amount of wisdom that God does. If we're humble, we know there's still more wisdom to be had—“let us ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach. And it will be given to him."
This is one of those few parts of the Bible that's a guarantee. If you ask God for wisdom, it is guaranteed. According to scripture, he will give you more wisdom.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
I take a lot of comfort in this verse. At the time of recording this podcast episode, I have no idea who is going to be our next president. While you're listening to it, you might not know either or maybe the election results come back and you're listening to this the day after the election and you know who our next president is.
The bottom line is, God is in control.
His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. "For as high as the heavens are above the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
We can take comfort and peace in the fact that God is still on the throne, no matter what happens.
Going back to wisdom, we constantly need to be asking for wisdom. When we ask God for wisdom, it's a guarantee for him to give it. That's not just a one-time thing. I asked for wisdom from God about certain situations, about my parenting, about my work, about my home. In the years I've been walking with the Lord, I feel like I have come to view the Holy Spirit as having the key to, basically, unlock any problem or decision that I have to make in my life. Because there is this guaranteed verse that says, "When we ask God for wisdom, he will give it." This also applies to our political beliefs. We constantly have to be asking him, "Give us more wisdom." We have to be measuring them against the word of God.
And guess what? If something in the scripture speaks to us, if there's something said in the scripture that we don't like, or that makes us uncomfortable, that doesn't mean that we step away from it and we make our own political beliefs. That means we lean into it and say, "God, give us wisdom about this. And we need to apply our hearts to your truth and your scripture. And let you lead us in this."
John 16:13 says, "When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come."
I think this verse is so powerful and so fascinating. And honestly, as I'm reading it out loud, it feels like a lifeline, that I can grab onto right now, in the political climate of today. "When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth."
If you are asking God for wisdom and humility, he's going to give you that wisdom and humility, and he will guide you into all truth. If you're still wrestling with some political beliefs and you don't know which way to turn, stay in scripture, stay asking the Lord. He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears from the Father, he will speak. And he will declare to you the things that are to come.
We can know if we walk in the spirit of truth, the things that are coming, and we can have peace that God is in control. This is straight from the Bible and it's beautiful, and it brings me so much peace in this time of, honestly, it just feels like unrest and division.
Do you know what the enemy loves more than anything? He loves division. He loves to divide the family and body of Christ. He loves to sow discord and create anger. And he loves to divide us. That is what he's all about.
There's a scripture in Proverbs 6, it says, "There's six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him." So there's six things God really hates, but then at the end, he adds on this seventh thing, that's even worse than hate. Okay, the Lord hates these six things, but all these six things, plus this one thing, it's so detestable to him.
I'm going to read them to you, "The Lord hates haughty eyes." Again, pride. "A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies." And guess what the seventh thing is? "A person who stirs up conflict in the community." Division, he hates it. And I have seen so much division and oh, today, I just want to encourage you.
It's Election Day. It's just going to feel divided today. It's going to feel that way, maybe, for a little while after that. There's a lot of differing beliefs out there, but I just want to encourage you.
Let's choose our words carefully, let's embrace humility and let's beg God for godly wisdom.
I believe if we do these three things, we will be able to move forward. We can put our trust in God and know that he is caring for us. And when I look back at the founding of our country, I see measured words, I see humility and I see wisdom, and I think as our country was founded, and as our country stands today, those three things are things we need to cling to, so that we can move forward in unity.
Work and Play Cornerstore
Now, it's time for the Work and Play Cornerstore, which is where I share a book I'm loving and a thing I'm loving. I'll get a small commission for anything bought through these links, which help me to continue to bring this podcast to you every week. But the price is normal for you, so it's a win-win.
Today, I'm going to be adding the book Framed for Posterity: The Enduring Philosophy of the Constitution. Now, this book sets out to recover the enduring principles, purposes, and meanings that inform the Founder's Charter and continue to offer us political guidance more than 200 years later. Now, I read it in my 10th grade honors constitution class. One of my favorite classes I took in high school, shout out to Mr. Han. And while it's been more years than I'd like to admit since I took that class, one thing remains: I have incredible respect for the men who didn't just spend a few hours writing our Constitution or even a few days, no, they spent their lives working toward penning this document that guides our country today. And they were willing to die for it, too.
I think, it'd do all of us good, as Americans, to read the Declaration of Independence, again, to read the Constitution in its entirety. And then, read this book to become better citizens and to have a better understanding of it.
All right, the thing I'm loving is our American flag. A few months ago, well, actually when we moved into this house, Will bought an American flag. We're always flying an American flag and we love it. But the first one we got, just was weathered and tattered pretty quickly, just by the rain and the normal weather outside. And so, we replaced it with this flag that I'm going to put in the Cornerstore, which is way more vibrant. It's more expensive, but it's better quality. And it hasn't faded at all since we got it. We absolutely love it. So I wanted to make sure, if you need an American flag, that you bought a flag that isn't going to fade on you, but will last for a really long time.
I'm going to close with words from the Declaration of Independence,
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Thanks for listening. And I'll see you next time.
