The Wrong Glass

We all know the old saying, right?!

"Optimists see the glass as half full; pessimists see the glass as half empty."

What with the recent roller coaster ride our economy has taken with the international markets and the election of a president whose policies will substantially different than the administration that preceded him, it would be easy to begin anticipating doom & gloom for our country.

On the other hand, many people see the election of President-elect Obama as an indication of racial healing in America - a much needed marker in the march towards a country where people will not "be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." They see hope in this change of leadership. (A few of us even think that the TN Titans 9-0 is a good sign, but that's not really what we're talking about, is it?)

But what if we're looking at the wrong glass? What if we're all staring at politics & economic policies & the future of our nation, trying to predict and/or guess whether this is good or bad... and we're focused on the wrong thing? Perhaps, just maybe, we need to be thinking "outside the glass":

If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or a civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment. (C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity)

So, those of you who are devastated by this election, take hope. A Democratic president is not the end of the world - in fact, if we really take the Bible seriously, it's just another government in a long line of governments that have had to contend with the power of God.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? (Psalm 2:1, ESV)

And those of you who believe this election will usher in a new era of peace & prosperity, remember that kings & presidents are subject to Christ, whether they acknowledge him (as does President-elect Obama) or not.

The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Psalm 33:10-11, NIV)

It might be a good idea if you checked which glass you're looking at...