THE ELECTION OF 2016

Election night 2016 and its aftermath was a revelation writ large. The final result was in. The last hurrah was done. In the epicenter of the Democrat Party, to quote the poem, "Casey at the Bat," "There was no joy in Mudville, the mighty Casey had struck out."

At that moment, when the realization hit that Casey had struck out, it was then that the revelation became apparent: men and women were visibly shaken. More people than one could count were crying, tears chasing themselves down their cheeks, real tears. Profound grief had opened the floodgates. Mourning, no not just mourning, but intense mourning had begun. There were those who went home and literally shrieked their disappointment, putting their histrionics on YouTube. Others yelled in public without restraint and without even a modicum of dignity, while some sat so stunned and so stricken, they were unable to move or speak.

Some celebrities were emotional train wrecks; their tongues fell mute, frozen (for once). Those who weren't reacting with tears began to respond to the news with white-hot anger. People on the streets began to riot, destroying property, smashing windows, toppling cars, and starting conflagrations.

Those in front of television cameras had a difficult time doing what they usually try to do--explain things to those of us among the unwashed herd. Their disappointment was manifest in their expressions, both facial and verbal.

WHY?

Why all this hysteria?  What in the world was causing adults we thought were mature and who should know better to carry on like what we witnessed back in the election aftermath of 2016? Their behavior was worse than the toddler whose parents have just informed him that the family trip Disneyland had been canceled.

I would suggest that what's happened to them is that they have come to look upon THE function of government as being that of providing people with happiness. None of our Founding Fathers believed that idea. They saw government as providing the framework for protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but they recognized that government can't provide it. But those who were emotional wrecks on that election night and thereafter had come to look upon the government to provide their happiness by forcing other people to do what they want them to do.

IS IT ONLY "THEM?"

However, are Bible-believing Christians losing their way, having been infected with the same disease, thinking that if MY candidate gets elected, he (or she) will be the source of my happiness and make other people do what I want them to do? You might think so if you listen to believers consumed with politics after dinner, consumed with politics at church fellowships, consumed with the politics of make-me-happy on social media. What's happening is that the world-system is squeezing the believer into its mold (Cf. Romans 12:1-2).

THE RESULTS OF MAKE-ME-HAPPY

This government-please-make-me-happy-attitude has produced politicians in both parties who make outlandish promises based on what they know the masses want to hear, promises we know (and they know) in our (and their) heart of hearts that they're not going to keep. The masses then become fodder for manipulation.

THE FINAL WORD

Jesus jolts us by teaching us that the highest good isn’t our marital bliss, finding ourselves, or the success of my chosen candidate. Happiness comes as a by-product of being a faithful follower of Christ. Happiness doesn't come by looking for it from the government; it's a result of faithfully becoming a disciple of Christ and making His will the command center of our lives and, just as important--meeting regularly with other followers of Christ who, of course, share a communal purpose.