Have you watched the news lately? The narrative from all sources is bleak. Everyone on this journey of life is part of a diseased bird. The left and the right are so intoxicated with bias that it seems we are on the precipice of self-destruction.

Bias with anything other than truth is damaging our society. There are two main forms of bias that are attacking the fabric of our nation and pose the greatest threat to us as a people. And all of this is supercharged during election cycles.

The two forms of bias that drive the present divide between a nation of people is conformity bias and confirmation bias. Conformity bias is the tendency to change one’s beliefs or behavior to fit in with others. It is the “chameleon behavior” of adapting beliefs and behaviors to fit in with a group. Instead of using their own judgment, they allow the group to determine what is appropriate.  Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek, process, and interpret data that is consistent with their existing beliefs. This form of prejudice against available information disallows a person to make informed decisions. This form of bias causes people to formulate faulty judgements and conclusions based on unfair handling of data.  

[I want to include a caveat here, because in the pursuit of truth, we must be diligent with the data we have accumulated. There can be bias present within the information that is available to discern. So, be diligent in your pursuit of information and handle it with integrity.]

The media mob and those who are taken captive by its “drug,” pandemonium and hate, are painting a picture of our future that is as black as midnight. “If we aren’t able to elect this man, or if this woman gets in…” WE’RE AS GOOD AS DONE!

[Enter another caveat- I have a 13-year-old and a 7-year-old boy(s), respectively. I have two nieces that are setting out into adulthood. I have family and friends that I want to see succeed and flourish. I want an economically stable and morally upright America as much as anybody!]  

As November 05, 2024 quickly approaches, I want to take a moment to urge you to civility and calmness. While elections do matter, and it seems that America is “On the Precipice,” there is a constant through the quagmire of political unrest, violence, economic ruin, and even bias.

No matter the outcome of November 05, three things remain unchanged. The past, the present and the future.

Now before you click out of this post because of the shock of the last statement, just hear me out. I have already stated that elections matter, and they absolutely have consequences. I am not ready to throw all in with the rest of the “doomers” that sang this song four years ago, and have every other election cycle in modern history (Maybe I was one of the “singers of doom” four years ago).

November 05, will not change the past. The past is behind us, and is eternally etched in the banks of yesterdays. We need to be fair and balanced with the memory of yesterday, and handle with integrity the data which can divulge the reality of its history. Have you been in a bind? Has the history of the last few years been difficult for you to navigate? Have you watched your retirement accounts recede and your wages shrink with the rising cost of living? Well, its in the past! You won’t change that on election day. You have made it this far which tells me that God has been good to you.

November 05, will not change the present. You may think I have lost all my marbles for making that statement. Maybe our perspective is the difference. You see, from the data I look over the course of some 6,000 years of human history, I don’t believe that the next American Presidential election moves the needle very much on the register of God’s overall agenda. I am not saying that the issues are completely divorced from one another, but I do believe that many are putting too much stake in the political arena. Never has a politician accomplished that which God has commissioned His people to do. Politicians won’t save a single soul by their policy!

We are given a great voice to vote for a platform which most closely aligns with godly principles. People should exercise that blessed right with great patriotism and with God in the forefront of their minds…but voting won’t save souls only Jesus can do that. It is sad when the child of God refuses to evangelize for Jesus but will campaign militantly for either side of the diseased bird. The oval office won’t save America, but the kitchen table can! Hearts around open Bibles and homes dedicated to living out their faith is the only hope for America.

So, November 05, will not change the future. Sure, one candidate might affect the price of “gas and groceries” and another might continue a miserable trend that has the nucleus of the nation writhing financially… But the Bible says, “I once was young and now I am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging for bread” (Psalm 37:25).

It also says, “The eyes of all wait upon thee, and you give them their meat in due season. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-16). The Bible is clear, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather works to please the commanding officer” (2 Timothy 2:4). Maybe God is less concerned about how rich and well off we can become as a nation, and more concerned about how we treat our neighbors and how we seek first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33; 1 John 3:16-18; James 1:27; Luke 12:13-21)?

Maybe God will use the financial demise of the most materialistic people to teach reliance on Him? Maybe God will bless America to climb new heights of greatness that we cannot fathom? In light of eternity, it doesn’t matter. Riches and prosperity will never afford people “a standing with God” (Job 36:18-19).

If we are “On the Precipice,” what are we on the precipice of?

The unchanging!

1. God’s love. God loves human kind. He loves man so much that He sacrificially gave to save us (Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16).

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

• God’s mercy. “His compassions never fail.” God is rich in mercy! “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us…” (Ephesians 2:4). His mercy will outlast any political figure. It is an unchanging, constant force in the lives of those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

• Gods’ presence. “Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord: In whom you are also built together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph.2:19-22). No matter what evil this present world may throw at us through, from either side of a diseased bird, we belong to the very idea of God. We are placed in that which is called the manifold wisdom of God (Acts 2:47; Eph.3:10). We are fellow citizens of the greatest, most powerful entity this world has ever seen (Eph.3:20-21). We just have to look up, instead of out!

Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). Not from the White House, but from He who sits on the Great White Throne. Pennsylvania Avenue is important, sure, but it’s not even worthy to be mentioned in light of our glorious King.

If we were as busy winning souls as we are fighting over the left side and right side of this diseased bird, we might find some balm in Gilead for it. God can heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14), but it won’t happen by accident. We need to get busy. Go to the poles tomorrow. Vote. But don’t forget that politician is not our savior. They’re not even the answer. Not even close.

God is the answer. Your personal commitment to Him. Start at home and reach souls from there. That’s how we’ll make a difference in 2025 and beyond.

God loves you, and we at the Eastside Church of Christ do too.