OPINION:
You can tell a lot about a person and their worldview by how they handle disappointment, especially the results of this past presidential election that saw former President Donald Trump defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.
Videos on social media of emotionally distraught everyday citizens upset over Mr. Trump’s victory quickly went viral. From screaming “No! No! No!” or “How dare you!” to “This can’t be real!” and “Why?! Why?! Why?!” there has been no shortage of unhinged reactions.
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The hysterical outbursts beg the question: What’s triggering such irrationality? The chasm was wide between candidates. To be sure, political blows can be a letdown but meltdowns of the magnitude we’re seeing point to a much deeper issue – and a profound cultural problem.
The common denominator present in these titanic tantrums is that those having them have quite obviously placed all their hope in the hands of Big Brother. In other words, government, not God, is their savior. Politics is their religion – and they’re devout. For the radical activist, their dogma is not divinely inspired but legislatively drafted and crafted.
In this limited worldview, temporal elections hold seemingly eternal consequences. With that much on the line, it’s no wonder a loss is so devastating as to evoke such frenzy and rage.
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It remains to be seen how many will see the election as a wake-up call to shake free from the shackles of dangerous and dysfunctional policies promoted by the Left. A few have already boldly and introspectively spoken out. Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Tom Suozzi of New York are two of them.
A day after the election, Mr. Suozzi told The New York Times, “The Democrats have to stop pandering to the far left. I don’t want to discriminate against anybody, but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports. Democrats aren’t saying that, and they should be.”
Rep. Moulton agreed.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” he reflected. “I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
That “fear” is driven by those pursuing the promise of secular salvation. They believe the right government policies will save us and solve all our problems. This wager leaves no room for dissent and threatens to cancel anyone who disagrees. From abortion fanaticism to championing policies that celebrate sexual confusion Reps. Moulton and Suozzi criticize radicals who practice their political ideology with religious zeal and fervor.
As an evangelical Christian leader, I often quote the words of my late friend Chuck Colson. He famously observed, “Salvation will never arrive on Air Force One.” He was right. As a former White House aide who traded away his integrity for political expediency in the Watergate scandal, Chuck knew better than anyone the vacuousness of temporal political victories.
I might know Chuck’s words are true, but that doesn’t mean I’ve always followed his advice. Over the years, I’ve sometimes put an inordinate amount of hope in the outcome of cultural battles. I never regret rolling up my sleeves to engage. In fact, I believe it’s my biblical obligation to advocate for morally and ethically sound policies. But when I wake up in a bit of a panic when an election or vote doesn’t go my way, I know I need to readjust my priorities and perspective.
Critics of my worldview often accuse people like me of bringing faith into an otherwise secular discussion. Ironically, though, the agnostics and atheists I know spend a lot of time talking about God, too. I think the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal explained why when he observed, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator.”
All of us are on a journey searching for purpose and meaning. In the end, we’ll only find what we’re looking for when we put our faith and ultimate hope in Jesus Christ.
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Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family and host of its daily radio broadcast, heard by more than 6 million listeners a week on nearly 2,000 radio stations across the U.S. He also hosts the podcast ReFocus with Jim Daly.
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