Vote Faithfully

No one can tame the tongue…. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.   (James 3:8-10)

Last Tuesday, on Delaware’s Primary Election Day, I served as an election judge at the polling place for my neighborhood. This was the third time I’ve worked an election, and each time it’s been a really good experience. It's no joke that participation is not what it should be.  But even a primary election feels like community earnestly coming together to make decisions that will affect all of us.

It’s also no joke that we live in politically divided times. As a nation, we’ve been here before, but it has been decades since the degree of polarization has seemed so severe. The ways we communicate contribute to our problems. Words that previously might have been shared in private conversation or moderated by social norms of modesty and politeness now ricochet across the internet unchecked, accelerated by social media algorithms designed to provoke outrage. 

The writer of James knew human nature, and his observation about the power of the tongue to utter both blessing and curse seems spot on.  Same with the power of texting thumbs. Who has never said words we come to regret? Words spoken in anger or embarrassment or carelessness or ignorance.  Who would want to be judged by the worst or dumbest things we’ve ever said?

James isn’t offering an out for rude or thoughtless behavior. At the end of the letter he cautions, “Let your ‘Yes’ be yes and your ‘No’ be no.”  In other words, speak with integrity! Also with self-awareness and humility.   

Last Tuesday, it occurred to me that we would do well to listen this same way. Just as the tongue has surprising power to do damage, so might the ear.

Sitting in that polling place all day long, I heard the party affiliations of every voter. Learning that a neighbor was from the opposite party than I expected was often humbling and convicting. Just like some of the words that come out of our mouths, neither does party affiliation reveal everything there is to know about any of us.

James was right! If we are to repair the divisions in our nation, there’s room for all of us to speak about and listen to each other better, with integrity, self-awareness, and a little extra humility. 

May God watch over us in the final weeks of this election cycle and may our words as well as our votes be a blessing to our neighbors.

Pastor Sue

The General Election is November 5, 2024. Are you registered to vote? Register by October 12 to be eligible to vote on November 5. St Stephen’s will host 2 more voter registration drives, conducted by the League of Women Voters: on Wednesday, September 18 from 5-7pm and Thursday, September 26 from 9:30-11:30 am.