A Cup of Unity

I am sitting with a cup of coffee, Coldplay singing to me (yes, to me personally) and a dimly lit room. All of this to try and sort out a jumble of thoughts that have been floating around in my head for a few days.

Today I heard the quote that pulled all these random thoughts together: “Unity is holding both harmony and our differences in the same cup.” ~Shana Puckett

Tuesday was a funny day for me. I was really excited to find out who our country would choose to be the next leader. And I am not going to tell you how I feel about the results, that is another blog entirely. No, I was equally as interested in people’s reactions as the actual results. I got on facebook after it had been announced that Barack Obama had been elected and people’s reactions were heartbreaking.

There were two distinct reactions. Elation, relief, hope, and excitement. And then there was disappointment, disapproval, and hate. I was stunned by the lack of respect, the lack of kindness, the lack of love.

This is what I found heartbreaking: Many people I know who voted for McCain did so based on beliefs that stem from their relationship with Christ. Many people I know made a decision to vote for Obama based on this same relationship. I am not trying to say that there was a more “Christian” candidate, but what I am trying to say is this: the people who voted for McCain based on their relationship with Christ---which is love---acted against these same convictions when they responded in hate when they didn't win.

I think I may actually give you a little of my opinion so that you might be able to better understand what I am getting at. I am a moderate in the truest sense of the word. I can see both sides of almost every issue. Give me an issue, I dare you, I could probably make an argument for both sides. I took a quiz on ABC.com to see which candidate I was more compatible with. I was split 6 and 6. No joke, I warned you that I was moderate. I had a heck of a time deciding who I was going to vote for.

The last thing I want is to come across as judgmental. This would be heartbreaking to me as well. There are three things that make me cringe. Legalism, judementalism, and hypocrisy. Can I even say that words in a blog? I mean I really hate them. Let’s not think about the election for a second. Pretend that Christy's (my lovely roommate who should be given some credit for this blog coming together) boyfriend broke-up with her. She really loves this boy, and yeah, she is angry that he broke-up with her. But based on her values which are a result of her relationship with Christ, she chose to act in love and continue to love her ex even through her negative emotions. Now this does not mean that she would agree with his decision to break up with her. What if she spoke hatefully about him, would this bring her any peace, any relief from her hurt or disappointment? Because she loves Christ and wants him to reign in her life, she chose to continue to act in love, even when it was uncomfortable.

Let’s go back to that unity idea. What would the world think if people who associated themselves with Christ and the church decided to act in love, even and especially when it is uncomfortable? I think that would be irresistible and Christ would be honored. We don’t all have to agree. We each have a personal relationship with Christ which means that each of us are going to experience Christ a little differently. He created us to have ideas, convictions, and life experiences that cause us to see the world differently. And he did not expect us to all agree on who we think is better suited to be the president of our country. But he does expect us to love. He makes that more than clear. He does expect us to build one another up in love and hope and peace.

And he does expect us to be able to hold both love and disagreement in the same cup.