So the 2020 election is finally behind us (for the most part). I am so glad to not be enduring any more political ads on TV, most of which I had memorized unintentionally. So what’s next?

I am sure there are many folks on both sides of the aisle who are prepared to keep fighting each other. Well, count me out. I’m tired of the constant fighting and belittling of each other. I’m tired of everyone being so critical of each other. (It’s one reason I quit writing blog posts until after the election.) But it begs the question: can we move on from this type of attitude toward one another?

Can we really have a merry Christmas AND a happy new year? Can 2021 be all that people want it to be? I think it’s possible. But it will certainly require great effort, especially on the part of the believer.

Last week my wife and I addressed Christmas postcards to send to around 150 of our closest friends and family. It’s the second year we have taken on a mailing project of that magnitude. I have discovered that I rather enjoy addressing those postcards. You see, as I go through our list and as I write each name, I certainly entertain memories of that person or family. And, most of those memories are nice and friendly. I emphasize the word “most” because it is impossible to get along perfectly with anyone ALL the time. Yet, we remain friends.

Years ago I taught a Bible Study class in a Baptist church in Mississippi. It was a wonderful class with a diversity of viewpoints. At one point on a Sunday morning, one of the class members and a dear friend of mine, in response to a subject (I have forgotten the subject), blurted out, “Well, you know, people are different!” As you might imagine, our very tight-knit group never let him forget that statement. Every time a controversial topic arose in the class, someone would say, “Well, you know, people are different.”

The statement “people are different” may carry more meaning today than it ever has. That is one reason our public elections have become so contentious…because people are different. And yet, people have always been different. It just seems like those differences have been brought to the surface in dramatic fashion this year.

So is it possible for people who are different to coexist without all the angry back and forth that has become characteristic of the political arena in our country?

I would like to share a personal example of how that has happened between a close friend and me. I asked my friend, Kenneth, if I could use his name and tell this story. He agreed.

Kenneth and I are different in many ways. We come from different backgrounds. Without a doubt, our biggest difference is our political views. Kenneth leans to the right in his views. He almost always votes for the republican candidate. I lean to the left in my views. I almost always vote for the democratic candidate. And yet, I consider Kenneth one of my closest friends. How can that be in this divided age in which we live?

I have given much thought to this question and I asked Kenneth for his input as well.

I suppose one thing that helps is that we have gotten to know each other. So much of the political drivel that comes our way is from anonymous sources on social media or one of the talking heads on the TV or the radio. In other words, we get so much information from people we don’t know personally and will not ever be able to know.

However, in my experience, if you get to know someone, you are likely to discover why that person chooses to think the way they do. You are likely to gain a different perspective on issues. If you allow, your worldview will be expanded.

After getting to know someone, it becomes easier to accept the truth that “people are different.” No one is going to have your exact background and your exact thoughts and views on everything. And that’s okay. It doesn’t mean that one of you has to be right and the other wrong. Just different.

But there is one other “ingredient” in this mix. Once you get to know someone and realize that people are different, it’s a matter of having respect for the other person’s viewpoint. When I asked Kenneth his opinion as to how we are able to get along, his first answer was that we had a mutual respect for each other.

We know there are some hot button issues where we will just have to agree to disagree. And we know there’s no need to try to change each other’s minds on some topics. But that does not keep us from being very dear friends. And we’ve also learned that we have much more in common. Our shared interests by far outweigh our differences.

And when all is said and done, Kenneth will tell you that he is not nearly as far to the right as he was before we became friends and I will tell you that I am not nearly as far to the left.

So there you have it. One way that people with differing opinions can be friends. It’s certainly not the only way and it may not be your way. However, as followers of Christ, we are to be intentional about bringing peace into this world.

I suppose that’s been one of the most challenging aspects of this contentious political season…the vitriol and hateful rhetoric flowing from the mouths of those who profess Christ. My brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not the way it is meant to be for us.

I am reminded of the passage of scripture from James on taming the tongue. Consider the following part of that passage:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.  But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth.  Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish.  For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

James speaks of a wisdom that gives birth to gentleness – wisdom that is pure and peaceable and gentle and willing to yield and full of mercy. Let’s be upfront with each other. That type of wisdom has been scarce in 2020.

Can 2021 be different? Yes, it can. But it will take great effort on the part of believers everywhere to lay down the mantle of divisiveness and harshness and an unyielding spirit that refuses to show mercy.

That’s not an easy task and, unfortunately, it’s not very popular these days. But if we really want to have a happy new year, something needs to change. Maybe that change begins with each of us as we consider the folks within our circles of influence with whom we have differences. Can we get to know them, accept that we are different, and have respect for them? Can we live our lives with the wisdom from above that James describes?

Some might call it “taking the high road.” I call it “being Christian.”

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and yours.