Vol. 21 No. 51 | December 23, 2019
I haven’t been following the Democratic debates, but for some reason, I watched the last one (possibly because I couldn’t find a good basketball game). For the better part of three hours, the seven candidates went back and forth in the typical “attack, destroy, and self-promote” fashion.
As Jason Russell put it in a Washington Examiner:
The last question of Thursday night’s Democratic debate had nothing to do with public policy. Instead, it was a great test of authenticity. In short, it’s the holiday season, and if you could give any other candidate a certain gift or ask any of them forgiveness, what would you do? Sadly, all of the candidates failed the test.
I agree with Russell’s evaluation. For a brief moment, I hoped I’d hear an honest answer, but that didn’t happen. Not only did they fail the test, but they also had no idea how to respond.
Sadly, a sincere, honest answer to a question that might make them vulnerable is too much to expect in our current political eat-or-get-eaten environment.
But even though none of the presidential hopefuls answered the question, it still resonated with me. If I could give any other person a certain gift this holiday season, or ask one person for forgiveness, what would I do?
And this is what I came up with:
I would give you my promise that in the days I have left, I will do my best to be the person whom God has called me to be, and whom I claim to be.
And I would ask all of you to forgive me for the times (way too many to count) when I failed to live up to my calling and be who I claim to be. And I would ask for forgiveness if and when I fail again.
May you be blessed with love, joy, and peace this Christmas season.
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