Are You Not Much More (Than This Election)?
A Brief Word of Comfort for an Anxious Election Day
According to one recent survey, more than 60% of Americans fear corruption in government.1 Another 40% are very concerned about potentially violent attempts to overturn the results of the presidential election. One in three voters are worried that local or state officials may attempt to stop election results from being finalized.2 And worry isn’t limited to politics. 55% of us fear economic collapse, 48% worry that they won’t have enough money for the future, 40% are too afraid to walk one mile from their home at night3, and 6% of us dread clowns.
We live in an age of fear, which primarily stems from uncertainty. And so much feels uncertain right now. The confluence of political polarization, the news and social media feeds invigorating and sensationalizing said polarization, and the anxiety-ridden voices whispering or screaming at us from inside our own heads have created an untenable situation. And in the midst of all of that, right at the center of a day like today, as we find ourselves glued to our televisions watching states flip from red to blue and blue to red into the early morning hours, Jesus says this:
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. - Matthew 6:25-34
Twice, Jesus uses the phrase, “much more.”
“Are you not much more valuable… than the birds?”
“Will (God) not much more clothe you… than the flowers?”
“Much more” was a common Jewish rabbinic teaching method called kal v’hmer, literally meaning “light and heavy.” What sounds in the English like an extreme black and white admonition—“don’t concern yourself whatsoever about what you’ll eat or drink or wear, or about your life at all”—is in actuality a nuanced yet soberingly clear reminder about the nature of reality. Kal v’hmer was a way of saying, What applies to a lesser thing applies so much more than a greater thing.
If God cares enough about the birds to feed them, how much more will he feed you?
If God cares enough about the flowers to clothe them, how much more will he clothe you?
Believing this takes a lot of faith. Not an academic, intellectual belief that knows much about a subject matter; but the embodied trust sort of faith, that lives much. This is the kind of faith a kid has in her dad when she leaps off the bed into his arms, fearless and free, unafraid and absolutely certain that she’ll be safe and sound. Frederick Bauerschmidt reminds us that, “Faith in God is not the affirmation of a neutral fact about the world, like asserting that there is an as-yet-undiscovered planet orbiting beyond Pluto. Rather, our faith in God is, like our belief that we are loved by our parents, something upon which we stake our lives.”
Trusting the much-moreness of God toward us means to live in and into the reality that we already have what we need most—the love and care of God—and that we can’t earn or ever deserve that which we already have. It’s a gift freely given to any and all who desire it and have open hands to receive it. But to open our hands to receive, we must open hands to release and let go. This is why the Apostle Paul tells us that,
[Love] does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
And why is it exactly that love isn’t and can’t possibly be these things?
We fear that we’ll never have enough. We’re afraid that if the election doesn’t go a particular way, the societal cards will continue to be ever stacked against us, that we’ll be staring up at the 1% forever, perpetually stuck in our lack. But love does not envy because it, the love of God, is all we actually need and it’s already ours. No matter who leads our country from the White House these next four years, the love of God is ours now and forever.
We fear that we’ll never be noticed, that too much governance or not enough governance or this bill or that bill passing or not passing will inevitably and always mean that we’ll be the forgotten ones, left behind and kicked to the curb. So we find ourselves tempted to kick and scream, post and tweet, loudly and proudly, because we think we must be heard at all costs. But love does not boast and love is not proud, because love means we’re already seen, we’re already heard, and we’re already known.
We fear the other, those on the other side of the political aisle, that crazy relative who can’t seem to take off their tin foil hat to think straight for a moment or two, the insufferable liberal wagging their finger, the intolerable conservative waving their flag, anyone and everyone who celebrates political victory while you mourn political loss. But love does not dishonor and love is not self-seeking because love reminds us of the reality that whoever wins or loses, we’re secure. Someone will be President for a while. Christ reigns as King, forever.
We fear being wrong, cheated, and taken advantage of. If the election doesn’t go our way, if our candidate of choice doesn’t emerge victorious, we believe it’s a surefire sign that the next four years will be disadvantageous to us in almost every way. There will be an enemy in the seat of power and we will be under her or his boot. Outrage and defensiveness become our posture. But love is not easily angered and love keeps no record of wrongs because love reminds us that regardless of political twists and turns, no matter who sits in the governmental seat of power, we’re safe. Earthly thrones come and go. Heaven’s throne has been and always will be and there is only One who sits upon it, and he is for us not against us.
As we head into Election Day, and all of the potential fallout, stress, animosity, anxiety, and tension of the days to come, may you rest in the reality that you are much more than this election. You are much more than your political leanings and ideologies. You are much more than what does or does not happen. We don’t know what will happen. But we know what has happened and what will happen—Christ has come and Christ will come again. And all will be well.
I’ll leave you with these selected words of comfort from the psalmists.
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. - Psalm 29:11
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. - Psalm 34:4
I call to God, and the Lord saves me… Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. - Psalm 55:16,22
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you… in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? - Psalm 56:3-4
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows… God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing. - Psalm 68:5-6
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves. - Psalm 68:19-20
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. - Psalm 94:19
From where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1-2
When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. - Psalm 138:3
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need… He renews my strength. - Psalm 23:1,3
https://blogs.chapman.edu/wilkinson/2023/10/20/the-top-10-fears-in-american-2023/
https://apnews.com/article/ap-poll-democracy-elections-results-violence-3016f595faea0dfc81c487e856aafb04
https://news.gallup.com/poll/544415/personal-safety-fears-three-decade-high.aspx