Pastor’s Heart OP-ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
The nearly completed election cycle here in the United States, as many individuals would say, has been a hard-fought race. In the varied levels of the race, a great number of individuals entered. Some lost out on the first round in the primaries, but others persisted a while longer.
Thirty presidential hopefuls entered the race on the Democratic side, but only President-Elect Biden got to the finish line. He selected Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, one of his competitors in the primary, as his running mate. Together, they could be declared victorious.
Of note is that apart from President Trump and Vice President Biden, 1,214 other candidates ran for president. They ran outside the representation of the two major parties. While the current president and the president-elect ran as party standard-bearers and recited what is contained in their party platforms, many others ran on their interests. Some ran on a single issue; they wanted to get legalization of cannabis. Others were against abortion, while others were interested in a single aspect of social justice.
In contrast, others ran just for the sake of running. Some ran to get the attention, making it clear to their neighbors that they could run. One person registered in two states and asked that people would write her name in 38 states. From the analysis given, some who ran came by some extra money and used it to run. Some ran to say, “I ran.” They ran just for the sake of running – To say to the neighbors, “I ran” – Just getting a little community attention.
The cost estimates of the amount of money spent in this 2020 election cycle are between $11 billion and $14 billion. It is not over as yet. In thinking of the amount of money spent, the words of the prophet Ezekiel come to mind. “‘They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean. Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’s wrath. It will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs, for it has caused them to stumble into sin.” (Ezekiel 7:19 NIV)
The amount of money spent in the elections did not always correspond with whether one won or lost. I wish I could linger, further, on the significance of what is being said by the prophet, but let’s keep the focus on the election race, a little while, yet.
For example, the coronavirus upended the model of the election race. It made it nearly impossible for people to gather in large groups, at least on the one side. While President-Elect Joe Biden was hunkered down in his house or a hotel room in Delaware, there was a different reality from the other side. The critique might be very harsh, but it is being said, the stubbornness, recklessness, and recalcitrance of President Donald Trump allowed him to hold “super spreader rallies” throughout various states.
Now the country is facing a cruel reality of an upsurge in the COVID-19 cases and deaths, which are in part due to the rallies. The issue here is not whether Mr. Biden won or Mr. Trump lost; the point takes note of the fact that the discipline and care that was taken on the one side was not observed on the other side. In terms of the spread of the coronavirus and its relationship to the race, the whole country is suffering losses.
Yes, winning and losing is part of the game of elections. Polls, ratings, caucuses, primaries, facts, fiction, are all used to motivate people to go out and vote. After the polls closed on election day, the votes were counted, and a winner has been declared. As is being played out before our eyes, accepting defeat and bowing out gracefully is not satisfactory to everyone. As President Trump and many of his supporters are declaring, the results need to be contested in the courts. The honesty of many election supervisors is being questioned by Mr. Trump and some who support him.
Apart from the above, there are many practical lessons that we might learn from watching the election race. Here are seven things that I mention:
1. Keeping focused – What is the purpose of running? With all of the conspiracy theories that were being peddled, it was easy to get distracted.
2. There is a high cost of getting distracted. While in the race, Mr. Cunningham of North Carolina permitted his mind and fingers to wonder, by sexting. A race that he probably could have won spiraled in the other direction. He lost.
3. Perseverance pays.
4. Patience wins.
5. Determination leads to success – Mr. Biden lost three state primaries before won the first in South Carolina. From there, it was the victory of capturing the presidency.
6. Dedication makes for effectiveness – Those who won or lost – the sacrifices they made, the times spent on the road, the loss of sleep, go to their credit.
7. Discipline – The most significant difference in some of the campaigns between winning and losing was discipline. Could campaigners stay on message? Could they get their staff not to stick by the script? Could they hunker down when they needed to? A variety of questions might be asked here.
You might find where I now turn a surprise, but my interest is not to speak so much of the race concerning the election, as much, I want to ask you to reflect, as the biblical authors have done, on the race that is set before every person born on the planet. We are all in a race. Are you aware?
This is what the authors in First and Second Testaments have said. In biblical times, people would run as they carried messages from city to city. Some of the prophets would run around the cities as they warned about the threats of danger or the coming disasters. Then, there were competitive races for maintaining health, most prominently reflected in the Greek Marathon. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul encouraged Christians to learn a lesson from the Marathon runners.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he says: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
In writing to the Galatians, the same apostle states: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?” (Galatians 5:7)
In the book of Hebrews 12:1, which some Bible scholars attribute to the same apostle, we find the following: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
I am arguing that we can learn a lot of lessons from the election race or the marathon race or any regular race for our spiritual journey. All in all, it is about winning. On our earthly pilgrimage, we want to win, which is the sign of success. Of course, sometimes we lose, and we need to learn many lessons from losing. Among them is the need to accept our losses with humility and grace. But we should not want to lose on our spiritual journey.
We need to understand that on the spiritual journey, we all have a chance to win. It is up to us whether we are willing to do due diligence. As the apostle James says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)
I hope that you will enter the race, stay in the race, and win.
