“Trump won. Americans must now prepare to live in a country led by a man who scorns this nation’s values and traditions.”
~David Frum / The Atlantic

The above quote is one of several items that greeted me on my iPhone the morning after the election. This was, in essence, the “loser’s limp” from a man lacking enough maturity to face reality when things don’t go his way. And boy did they not go his way!

I can understand disappointment. Many elections have not gone my way. For example, I didn’t like any of the three non-binding advisory questions on the ballot here in Illinois. The “Millionaire Tax” serves as a “gotcha” move by those who live with envy. And the Assisted Reproductive Healthcare Advisory Question is laden with controversy.

Look out for that one.

Overall, it turned out to be an election season full of surprises. The size of the win for Donald Trump caught a number of people off guard. His running mate, J.D. Vance, will now become America’s first millennial vice president!

And how weird was this? Both The Washington Post (WAPO) and the L.A. Times did NOT endorse a candidate — thanks to the paper’s ownership. And it seemed to freak out the underlings who write and editorialize for those papers. Of course, any casual observer could have predicted those columnists’ presidential pick. (It rhymes with “Paris.”)

In both cases, the ownership complained that readers were not being presented a reasonable way to get a balanced understanding of the political views and assets of each candidate. Dare we say their columns leading up to the election were rather one-sided?? We dare.

I’m not sure of all his reasoning, but did you see that one of the very, very few conservatives with WAPO, who gave them an occasional commentary, has now quit the Washington Post? Yessiree Bob. Hugh Hewitt has walked away. Along with two of WAPO’s “progressive” columnists, Hugh left during a discussion of Trump rhetoric around election integrity.

Next up is the number of evangelicals who either don’t know how to vote, don’t care about voting, or prefer “None” to those running. Choosing “None” seems to be in among Christians these days. In October, the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University (led by well known researcher Dr. George Barna) released a new national survey indicating that “voting enthusiasm is significantly lower than in 2020, and that a massive number of Christians who regularly attend church services were not likely to vote in November.”

The numbers quoted were disturbingly high. If true, as many as 104 million people of faith were unlikely to have voted in this last election. Among those, 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church didn’t cast their ballots. That’s a lot of unprotected babies in the womb missing much needed support!

Meanwhile, several states widened the door for more abortions.

Then there’s the ongoing question of whether “the church” should get involved in politics. Or, as I like to say, should we just keep our mouths shut and our views private about things like boys using girls’ locker rooms,  transgender and same sex education offered in school classrooms, and poor stewardship of tax dollars weakening our communities. I think not.

Not every pastor got the message on the church not getting politically involved. Nashville, Tennessee, pastor Pastor Ray Ortlund of Immanuel Church endorsed Kamala Harris. Next he tried to defend his position online and then took down his social media post containing the endorsement. He claimed it had been “misinterpreted.” (Ray’s son pastors in Naperville, Illinois.)

Among the heavily disappointed following the election is the governor of one of the few blue states that went for Harris: Minnesota. Of course, that Governor is Tim Walz — Harris’ running mate. At a fundraiser in California with Gavin Newsom, Walz said this: “I think all of us know the Electoral College needs to go.”

He likely assumed his team would win the popular vote. It apparently didn’t. (Final vote total still out.) So the U.S. Constitution looks safe for a few more years! And don’t expect any more talk about “packing” the U.S. Supreme Court for a while.

When all is said and done, winners should not gloat. And losers should not limp. And Christians of all stripes must be faithful to our primary calling. The Psalmist wrote, “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” (Psalm 133:1, NLT)

Harmony does not mean that we all agree all the time. It does mean that we carry on with civility and keep our focus upward, not outward.

You won’t hear that on “The View.”