Posted Nov 09, 2020 by Michael L. Brown

Joe Biden spoke of it during his victory-claiming, Saturday night speech. Time Magazine has now made it their new front cover. It is, we are being told, “time to heal.” But will it be that easy? And can a party with strong, radical elements lead the way in healing?

Of course, we still do not know the final outcome of the elections. There are many court cases to hear and many challenges to review. And Christians around the country continue to pray fervently for God’s will to be done.

But if it does turn out that Joe Biden is our next president, with Kamala Harris as vice president, can he (or she) lead the way in healing a very broken, fragmented, angry nation?

He said Saturday night, “Let’s give each other a chance put away the harsh rhetoric.” Yes, he urged, “Stop treating our opponents as our enemies. They are not our enemies. They’re Americans.”

I truly appreciate those words. I applaud those sentiments. And I believe that there is just as much hatred on the left as there is on the right (and probably in the middle too).

We don’t simply differ with each other these days. We despise each other. We loathe each other. We demonize each other.

Would that it were as easy as saying, “Let’s stop being enemies.” Would that we could simply come together over shared, common values. Would that we could simply love our neighbors as ourselves. I pray that it would be so.

But as long as there are strong beliefs that the election has been stolen, there will be no healing in sight.

Conversely, should the courts overturn the current vote, there will be no healing.

And when crowds dance in jubilation at the defeat of Trump, there will be no healing.

And when BLM and Antifa remain as radicalized as ever, there will be no healing.

And if Biden becomes our next president and seeks to enact many of his promised policies, as his constituents would expect him to do, there will be no healing.

And if Biden and Harris continue to advocate for the legal of slaughtering the unborn, there will be no healing.

And if Biden is serious about making transgender rights the civil rights issue of the day, there will be no healing. (Note his specific mention of “Gay, straight, transgender” in his speech.)

Even with something as simple as a national mask mandate, it would only deepen the divide.

I personally believe that 8 years of the Obama administration brought great disunity, rather than healing, to the nation.

The next four years of the Trump administration exponentially deepened those divisions and poured salt into the wounds.

And now, with the most divisive, volatile elections since the Civil War, our divisions and suspicions are even deeper.

On the left, people like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez are attacking their fellow Democrats for not being radical enough. Towards the middle-left, the “moderates” are criticizing people like AOC for their radical positions. And the further you go to the right, the more the left is perceived as the number one, existential threat to the future of the nation.

That’s why both Republicans and Democrats claimed that this election was about “the future of America” or “the future of our democracy.” Everyone recognized what was at stake.

And should Donald Trump somehow emerge victorious to serve a second term, I see no hope of healing coming from him either, barring a change that would be even more miraculous than his reelection.

What, then, can be done?

To be sure, we should pray that the duly elected, next president will be a unifier rather than a divider. He can set an example of civility while maintaining his convictions. He can be a man of courage without savaging his opponents. That would help in part.

But the onus of bringing healing must fall on those who claim to know the Lord. Those who believe in His values. Those who truly believe that we are called to stand out from the rest of the world, marked by our conduct and our character.

We can stand firm and immovable without being nasty and petty. We can vote our convictions without engaging in partisan political mud-slinging. And, with God’s help, we can even love our enemies. We can actually bless those who curse us. It is a beautifully freeing and transforming experience.

At the very least, we can practice such conduct among ourselves, among our fellow-believers, even in the midst of our inevitable differences and conflicts.

As Paul exhorted the Colossians, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14).

If you’re a Christian, this is a command, not a suggestion.

And while the healing of a hurting, angry, divided nation is a seemingly impossible task, we can seek to bring healing one life at a time.

We can reach out with grace to an offended loved one. We can send a kind-hearted (not compromised) note to an angered friend on social media. We can forgive from the heart. We can humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness where we have sinned against others.

To quote Paul again, “ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).

Again, I appreciate any effort by a political leader to sound a conciliatory note and to reach out across the aisle. I simply realize that with the nature of the divisions that are tearing us apart, true healing will have to come from another source.

May each of us lead the way, not moving an iota from our deeply held convictions and not ceasing to fight for what is right. But walking in love and living as decent human beings.

Can I count you in?

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Comments

Swkh310 posted a comment · Nov 10, 2020
Dr. B sounds like a 5-year old: I’ll be nice to you IF I get everything I want.
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SteveW posted a comment · Nov 10, 2020
Remember that the Lord said "turn the other cheek", so do it, but He did not ask us to "offer up your necks". That is what the disingenuous Biden is expecting of you, so that he can decapitate you.
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RAS posted a comment · Nov 09, 2020
Love your enemy, indeed, it is commanded. However, be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves. As nice as the healing message sounds, and as appealing as it may be to the desire, there is an underlying meaning here. Coming from the left at this time, the message to the right is, surrender, allow socialists to run roughshod over you and you put on your chains voluntarily and in silence or you are a hate filled trouble maker. Where was this message from the left over the last 4 years? Huh? The hate of the left isn't going away. No way the left will give up their relentless quest to cast down the truth, destroy America, and silence the people and the Word of God. But now they want healing while every freedom is taken from us? Healing while every day the web masters of the universe manipulate information, decide what we can see, hear, and say? Healing while they are actively silencing the voice of truth and the people of God? If you are going to tell me to heal, don't do it while you are still cutting me and plan to continue cutting me until you have hewn me in pieces. I can treat people with respect that I strongly disagree with, but don't tell me to shut up and call it healing if I do, or call me a dangerous extremist if I don't. I won't shut up. Jesus didn't come to bring peace on earth, he came to bring a sword; he came to divide. A now people are crying, "We demonize each other" Really? What am I suppose to say or do if you really do have demons? Jesus had some pretty strong words for the leaders and rulers of his day; did he not?
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neptune posted a comment · Nov 09, 2020
Brown wrote: "Of course, we still do not know the final outcome of the elections. There are many court cases to hear and many challenges to review. And Christians around the country continue to pray fervently for God’s will to be done." That's the key part here. He also wrote: "But if it does turn out that Joe Biden is our next president . . ." Frankly, I don't think this kind of speculation honors God. Are Brown’s prophetic colleagues, like Lance Wallnau, engaging in these “what if” scenarios?? NO. As Joyce Meyer once put it: "Stop complicating your life by trying to figure out everything. Just admit that you don't know." Instead of wasting time with idle, fruitless speculation, let's spend that valuable time praying for God's will to be done instead.
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Betty posted a comment · Nov 09, 2020
Biden's sentiments are very nice; however, his words are totally meaningless without action. What is he going to DO to mend broken relationships and assuage the pain of those who voted against him? I didn't hear his speech. Did he mention anything concrete? He could have proclaimed a day of reconciliation and given examples of what he and others are prepared to DO as a sign of unity. Without any concrete examples, I'm afraid he's saying that one side needs to acquiesce to his way of thinking.