Aliens in America: Day 22

Light of Restraint 

‘As aliens, live in reverent fear’ (1 Pet. 1:17) 

Only one day till the election. Like you, I struggle to read another poll or soundbite (‘He said WHAT?’ ‘She said that, again?’).  

I am reduced to an alien language: prayer. Thanks for praying along with me and the DSM staff. You have agreed to disagree yet here you are, still reading and still entrusting this election to God.  

I have learned what matters to me in these days. My priorities, informed and refined by faith, are neither exhaustive nor infallible. The wells I draw from are not wholly yours. Thanks for tolerating our differences of emphasis and self-expression. 

I’m still disinclined toward both candidates. Prayer helps. I have come to appreciate the phenomenon of Trump: a DC outsider who beat the system in ’16 and may do it again in ’24. A bright and fair journalist from the New York Times summed up Trump best: uninhibited. Donald can’t not say whatever he wants and sometimes he hits the target, the zeitgeist: ‘Yeah, that’s what I often think…’  

We tend to distrust vanilla politicians who excel at strategic inhibition. For just saying whatever he wants (and his instincts can be as correct as they are awful), Trump may win the election.  

Pray for that tyrant/hero. The uninhibited tend to age ungracefully. One thing is sure: he will go to his grave his way.  

In prayer, I marvel at Kamala, too. If she used her vibes to promote a healthy anthropology (pro-life from womb to tomb), I’d vote for her in a second. Right personality, wrong positions. Prayer helps me uphold her dignity as a woman who has pioneered with fortitude in a man’s world.  

If she wins, I will appreciate her composure and (compared to Trump) cooperative spirit. I will mobilize to be a voice crying in the wilderness of her Life-defying positions. At the very least, I will insist that a just America grant full access to people seeking healthy alternatives to birth control, abortion, and resolving sexual identity confusion.     

A light dawned on me: restraint. In trusting neither candidate, I can put some trust in American democracy. Implicit in our system of checks and balances is a good inhibition. Political leaders’ best intentions and worst motives are refined by others, and I shall pray for that. Would you pray with me for godly restraint for Trump and Harris, come what may?  

‘Father, we lift Donald, whom You know and love, and ask for strong voices he trusts around him to empower the best and inhibit his worst tendencies. Restrain decisions that could unnecessarily hurt millions. Have mercy on this ceaseless source of ideas and words. Refine both before they become action.  

We also lift Kamala, whom You know and love. Empower her to do the near impossible as (potentially) the first female president ever. Surround her with wise counsel to refine and empower decisions that serve the common good. Restrain advances of the culture of death.  Inhibit all measures and appointments that promote a false witness of humanity.’   

‘Jesus, You are the King, and we are first citizens of Your Kingdom. Would you free us for You in this election season, not to hide but to shine? You’ve always asked nothing less from Your elect whom You have made ‘strangers in a strange land’ (Ex. 2:22). Here we are, a people who don’t know what to do but who look and listen to our King.  

“Father of all holiness, 

guide our hearts to You. 

Keep in the light of Your Truth 

all those You have freed from the darkness of unbelief. 

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.”’ 

Amen 

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