My 5-Year-Old’s Thoughts On Joe Biden (A True Story)

“Mom, who’s that person? Can I meet them??”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve answered that question from my 5-year-old as political flyer after political flyer comes through our mailbox. Whether the ad is for our city mayor or our country’s president, Ryan always wants to know who they are and when he gets to meet them. (And seeing as he’s so interested, I’ve actually decided to dump the incredibly boring social studies book I purchased, in exchange for taking advantage of the times by simply focusing on how our country functions, who runs it, why and how vote, and who we are voting for.)

Now, my 5 year old doesn’t yet understand party lines or agendas. He doesn’t know the terms Democrat or Republican, Conservative or Liberal or anything in-between. And thank the Lord for that.

Because see, just yesterday, I was staring at Joe Biden’s Build Back Better ad (which, if you ask me, sounds more like a rebuttal to Trumps “Make America Great Again” rather than a thought out, original slogan). I read what Biden promised to accomplish in the White House and all I knew was, I wanted nothing to do with it. I read through the attempt to make his aspirations sound like something that would prosper our nation. The agenda on which his campaign is riding is something I dread to see come full fledge on our country. I looked at the front of the flyer and as I stared at Joe Biden standing there with Kamala Harris, faces masked and hands held high in premature victory… I felt angry. Angry at what these people wanted to do to our country, angry at what they stood for, angry at those behind the scenes whose agenda is being furthered by these two politicians, and angry at a lot of people in general for being so deceived by it all.

But that’s not all I felt. I felt something else. Something that crept in on my self-righteous pity-party… conviction. Conviction over the bitterness that was taking root in my heart toward these two humans made in God’s image and anyone else who held their beliefs. I knew my heart was wrong. I knew Christians cannot hold bitterness in their hearts while walking closely with the God we claim to serve.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31)

But even as my heart clenched with this realization… I wasn’t sure what to do in that moment. So I threw the flyer in the garbage and walked away. Not continuing to dwell on my frustration, but not praying for God to change my heart either.

So… fast forward to this morning. I was watching a music video someone sent me endorsing Donald Trump and Ryan crawled up in my lap to watch it with me. Then came his usual question: Who is that? Can I meet him?

I decided to take that moment to dig into politics a bit more and explain to him who the president was and how in just a few months, the whole country would vote to decide whether to keep our current president or bring in a new president. I explained that Donald Trump was our current president, but there was another man named Joe Biden who was running for the office as well (third party voters, sorry for leaving your person out, but Ryan’s five and I decided not to overcomplicate things).

I went on to explain to Ryan (who was actually listening with intense interest), that though President Trump is by no means perfect (I didn’t try and explain what Twitter is…) and he may not be a Christian, he has done many things while in office that align with God’s word (not all things, but many things) and we really appreciate that.

I then explained that the other man, Joe Biden, who is running against President Trump, hasn’t shown any sign of caring for the things of God or how God calls us to live, and we are very concerned about that. (I chose not to go into detail because some of what Joe Biden supports are not things I feel comfortable explaining to my 5-year-old.)

(I know everybody is going to have a slightly different take on all this, and that’s a totally ok! The beauty of living in America is being free to have differing opinions… at least for now.)

Anywho, I began moving around the kitchen, starting breakfast, ready to move on to other things. Social Studies lesson complete!

But Ryan had other plans.

“Can I meet him?”

“Who?” I opened the fridge and grabbed some eggs.

“Joe Biden.”

I paused and studied the inside of the fridge for a moment, thinking of how little desire I had to meet that man or for my child to meet him. But I held it together and simply said, “No buddy, he’s a bit busy and pretty far away.”

…a few moments passed…

“But, Mom, someone needs to tell him about God.”

I closed the fridge and stared momentarily at the genuine look on his little face. Ever felt as though you’ve been theoretically sucker punched by a 4 foot, 45 lb. little creature of unbiased perspective?

I sucked in some air, quickly recovered and pulled myself together enough to offer a kind, Christian sentiment.

“Well, bud, you’re right, someone should tell him but it probably won’t be us. We’ll just have to pray that God would send someone to tell him.”

Maybe I said it just because it seemed like the right thing to say. Maybe I didn’t really mean it, because, in my mind, we were done here. I put the eggs, bread and cheese on the counter, ready to continue my mission of egg sandwiches. I had no inclination to take this any farther or say anything more on the matter.

Then his little voice broke the silence: “Can we pray for him right now?”

Forget the sucker punch. He knocked me down and out with that one. And there was no recovery. There was no ignoring it. There was no moving on. There was no dancing around the topic. It was a yes or no question.

In that moment, I had a choice to make: to love or to hate, to intercede or to ignore, to sit in self-righteousness or realize that, but for grace, we are all the same, with the same need, before a holy God.

When I stop and think about it, I realize something: My 5 year old doesn’t understand what’s at stake. He has no idea that this election will impact his future in innumerable ways. He has no idea that the agenda on which Joe Biden is running would have gladly seen him dead in my womb without a single thought of regret. He heard me say that I don’t believe Joe Biden loves the things God loves… and he knows how important that is. Still, his first reaction was not to hate but to love, because by God’s grace in the heart of a child, Ryan hasn’t learned what it is to be bitter, to hold a grudge, or to truly despise another human.

And here’s what’s so neat: I didn’t go on to pray begrudgingly, just to save face in front of my son. In that moment, my heart was softened. I thought of my mental battle over that political flyer just the day before and I was ashamed of myself. I wasn’t ashamed of any righteous anger over the things God hates (we need to vocally and openly oppose all things that God despises), but I was ashamed of my self-righteousness, of my lack of thought to pray for someone so desperately in need of the same grace I need each and every moment of each and every day.

And so we prayed. We prayed for Joe Biden. We prayed for Donald Trump. We prayed for God’s work on both of their hearts. I took a moment to focus specifically on Joe. And I’ve heard it said that it’s hard to hate someone you’re praying for. And I’d say it’s true. Especially if I make a practice of such a habit. What if I prayed every day for him, and for anyone else I struggle against in bitterness? What if I prayed that God would change them… and change me?

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all… (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

No matter what you think of another human being, when you intercede for the salvation of a person before a righteous and holy God, you can’t help but realize that the only difference between you and that person is the unmerited grace that you’ve received in all of your own sinfulness. There is no room for self-righteousness. There is no room for hatred or for bitterness. We are all in need of saving grace. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

He is the propitiation [the one who appeased God’s wrath] for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Now, this doesn’t change how I’ll vote in November. This doesn’t change the hatred in my heart toward the things that God hates. This changed how I saw my own heart and the lack of love I found there for another human made in the image of our almighty Creator. Knowledge of a mans past and present made me despise him. Yet, in the eyes of my 5 year old, Joe Biden was just Joe. Not Creepy Joe, not Sleepy Joe. Just Joe. A man like every other, in need of grace, in need of prayer, in need of Jesus.

Our gracious God used the love of a child, to convict me of the hatred in my own heart. It’s funny… God has blessed me with children and has given me the job of teaching them so many things, yet more times than I can possibly count, I have been on the receiving end of some profound lessons, as God reminds me what it is to have the heart of a child.

And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2)

Children, they may be small, but God uses them mightily.

So there’s a thought for the day.

With love, from a 5 year old.