I love rivers.
Knowing this, a friend gave me a canoe paddle inscribed with a Bible verse about a river: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God" (Revelation 22:1)
A crystal river!
But even the prettiest river can flip your boat. Once my husband and I went hiking beside the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Narrow canyon walls squeezed the river, creating unpredictable currents deep below the surface. Sometimes, the water boiled up as a whirlpool. Sometimes, it erupted in violent standing waves.
Ed said maybe we could put a canoe on the river.
I said, "No way." The conflicting currents made me uneasy.
I feel the same way about our election season. Tempers are boiling up. Violent opinions are being expressed in attack ads and on social media. I've had to snooze Facebook friends – Christians – on both sides of the political spectrum who think derision is an acceptable form of debate.
Even if we are careful with our speech, we may still harbor hostile thoughts about friends or relatives. "How can you believe that?" we may wonder. "Who are you?"
Perhaps we could benefit from hearing the next verse in Revelation: "On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, . . . and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).
We need healing in our nation.
For John of Patmos, who wrote the Book of Revelation, the tree of life represents God's vision for the world – peace and plenty for all people. The imagery harks back to the tree in the Garden of Eden from which Adam and Eve ate. Eating from this tree banished them from Paradise.
But eating this fruit, John says, brings an entirely different outcome. People experience healing. Paradise is restored. Eating from this tree grants salvation and eternal life.
How might John's river and tree of life help us deal with each other in a heated election season?
I find a clue in the last phrase of the first sentence of Revelation 22, which says that the river flows "through the middle of the street of the city" (v. 2a).
When we put Jesus in the middle of our lives, asking for God's grace to flow through our hearts and our streets, healing can begin – healing of relationships, communities, and nations.
A Christian psychologist and marriage counselor suggests how we might open ourselves to healing. In his book, Never Fight Again…Guaranteed, David Hawkins says that many people have an "adversarial" relationship with their mates. "I don't like what you're saying or doing, so I set out to prove you wrong. I may cloak my words in something nice, but make no mistake, I'm out to win. And where there is a winner, there must be a loser."
Have you ever experienced a win-lose dynamic in an important relationship?
"When we're in a conflict state," Hawkins explains, "we slip easily into a right-versus-wrong or good-versus-bad mentality. We shift into extreme thinking that distorts what we're saying to each other. In a few short moments our helpmates become our adversaries, our lovers become our rivals. We're no longer interested in seeking the highest good for our mates, but in winning."
I think Hawkins' description of marital conflict also applies to the political arena. Hawkins calls for a change in our way of thinking and our patterns of behavior. "Once we uncover our hurtful patterns of fighting," he says, "we can replace these patterns and tactics with healing actions. We cultivate an open heart, accepting that things won't always [go our way]."
We give up the desire to win at all costs because this desire breaks the bonds of love that hold us together.
Change of heart is not easy, though. The stakes feel high. Our differences go deep. In the heat of passionate conversations, I've messed up many times. Ask my family, who've had to call me out. They have reminded me of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
The Golden Rule could be applied in an election season as: No name-calling. No finger-pointing. No demonizing those with whom we disagree.
A better approach might be to cultivate curiosity: Can you help me understand why you feel that way? Where did you get that information? What experiences led you to that conclusion?
How we engage each other in the political sphere is spiritual work. If Christians, who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus, cannot model civility and love in the public arena, how will anyone else desire the salvation that is in Jesus Christ?
This work is so hard that sometimes I'm tempted to avoid political activity altogether. I just want to go out to the woods and stay there until it's over.
Yet we must take the risk to do our part to bring the world closer to God's vision of peace and plenty for all. I think about early Methodists who worked to abolish slavery. I think about Nelson Mandela, who persevered in prison twenty-seven years to bring down apartheid in South Africa.
Sometimes we must speak out or take action even when we expect to be met with anger.
So, I do my small part. I put up yard signs and pray that God will guide and bless the people who see them. I fill out my ballot, asking God to guide and bless me. This fall I'm serving as a poll worker, hoping to help keep elections accessible and fair.
What do you feel called to do?
What we do may not be as important as how we do it.
In 2015, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and His Holiness the Dalai Lama met for a week of conversation in Dharamsala, India. Both of these Nobel Peace Prize recipients had suffered much at the hands of enemies. Yet they were not consumed with anger. On the contrary, says Douglas Abrams, who described their meeting, these two men were full of joy. And, during their week together, they spoke over and over of the need to have compassion and understanding for persons who have hurt us or with whom we disagree.
"We need unbiased love toward entire humanity irrespective of what their attitude is toward us," the Dalai Lama said. "Your enemies are still human brothers and sisters, so they also deserve our love, our respect, our affection. That is unbiased love. You might have to resist your enemies' actions, but you can love them as brothers and sisters."
Resist with love? Impossible.
But what is impossible for us is possible for God.
Resist actions. Love people.
This election season and beyond, when I have conversations with friends or relatives, I will say in my mind, "You are my beloved sibling in Christ, no matter who wins the race." If someone misunderstands or attacks me, I will say in my mind, "You are my beloved fellow citizen, even when we disagree."
May the river of God's mercy flow through the middle of our hearts and streets. May we eat of the fruit that makes for peace.
Scripture: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." – Galatians 5:22-23a (NRSV)
Playlist: "The Gift of Love," Hal Hopson, 1972.