The stage is set. The characters are rehearsed and primed. Around the country we'll dramatize next Tuesday's results with thumbs-down grimaces or thumbs-up applause. We all know it. Next week is going to be the Academy Awards of Drama 2020. I'm praying that I'll be in the audience observing the theatrics and not be one of the drama kings directing the action. That means I'll need to take come kind of chill pill before voting results are announced. And, you know I'm not talking about a medical sedative or tranquilizer or something in a shot glass. That which calms my spirit and eases my quickly inflamed temperament are moments in the Word of God and prayer.
Two realities are operative here. One is my very short fuse. It's rarely ignited as a result of people interactions. Usually my anger explodes at inanimate objects---the smart watch I can't seem to manage, the telephone that dictates so much of life, the thermostat that heats and cools at its own auto setting, and, of course, the car, television, alarm clock, and coffee maker. They are all wired from the factory with some sort of free will mechanism that aggravates and annoys me. You know. We purchase these tech toys and expect them to follow our directions. Wrong. They do their own thing and we can't manage them.
The other truth right now involves my political preferences. This Christian worldview and conservative upbringing tilt my politics to the right. Tuesday I'll vote a straight ticket and will expect that to be the prevailing mindset from sea to shining sea. If not, I'll need to have prayer meeting with myself and wonder how that many Americans could be so wrong. Anyway, my short fuse and personal voting preferences will meet when results start being announced. No, I won't take any calming medicines. No chill pill here.
It flashes a memory across the screen in my head. Just as I was preparing for twelve hours of surgery for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder my blood pressure was relatively low. The surgeon and anesthesiologist expressed concern, remarking that human blood pressure typically rises somewhat before such occasions. They were fearful that I might have taken a tranquilizer, which wouldn't go well with the anesthesia prescribed to keep me out for so long. After they persisted, I told them that my blood pressure was low because I had the peace that passes all understanding. They didn't say anything else and everything went according to plan.
For me, and I hope many other Americans on either side of the aisle, that's what will keep us off the drama stage next Tuesday and the days following.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy
of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and
seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4: 5-9, ESV
It's the biblical remedy for anxiety, disappointment, fear, and all the other human angles on life---anger, envy, jealousy, lust, greed, and all the rest. It's the inner chill pill I always need when my emotions are inflamed. It's peace. I pray it will be ours next week.
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