Joy to the world in the midst of a political mess.
I have developed a practice with Facebook that has a way of increasing my joy. I regularly and ruthlessly dump political posts that appear on my Facebook feed; usually I like what's left a whole lot better. So when Mark Galli's CT opinion piece calling for the removal of President Trump and Franklin Graham's response to that editorial both showed up, it was almost like hitting a home run being able to delete them both; twice the joy in half the time!
In fairness I need to say that I respect both men. And I would not deny that there is a place for godly prophetic input into the political dialog of the day. But the reminder that neither Galli nor Graham has quite found that place is a reminder that we still live in an imperfect world. Neither I nor my Facebook friends have found that place either, and the attempts can sometimes have an unintended effect. The fact, for example, that both Galli and Graham should seek to support their contrasting convictions by referring to the heritage of Billy Graham is at least mildly amusing.
Lots of my friends from every part of the political spectrum find social media an appropriate vehicle for their political views. That I choose to dump their posts does not diminish our friendship; in fact it might even protect it. I think I'd rather focus instead on that which unites us.
In this advent season I find myself glad that Jesus came as a baby and not as a politician. I have tried in vain to imagine Jesus using Facebook to try to inject his kingdom into the strange and strained political environment of his day. Perhaps you can wrap your head around that; I, however, can't.
So once again I'm collecting Christmas cards and dumping political posts, and finding joy in both disciplines. If that seems strange to you, perhaps you ought to try it. Go ahead; start with this post; I won’t be offended. You might just enjoy dumping it enough to have a merrier Christmas!
😀
