It’s official. Mudslinging season is winding down to a close. During the next few days, emotions will run high, opinions will be shared and votes will be tallied. Don’t make a mistake. Our children are watching us. I know, it doesn’t seem possible that our own kids can comprehend complex issues involved in national and local elections. They probably don’t.

But, one of the perks of teaching five year olds is that I get to enjoy hearing some of the most adorable, creative, uninhibited attitudes. Most of the time, when kindergartners are talking about the elections, they mimic the adults that they have heard. Sometimes, they even sound like radio or television commercials.

The bottom line is that they are learning about our own perceptions of truth. Children are not paying as much attention to what we say as much as what we do. They are constantly looking for our actions to match our words. This is a hard challenge to meet. Regardless of how well we reach any attempts to be good examples, they base their primary opinions on what they see.

"Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence," (1 John 3: 18-19 NIV).

Have I sought God’s guidance as I prepared to vote? Have I shown respect when discussions revealed that I disagreed with someone? Did I really listen? Have I allowed the election to separate me from others? If I have, how can I help heal this wound? Will I be a good witness when the results are announced?