Let’s get it out at the start: Barack Obama will be (Lord willing) my president on January 20, 2009. But I guess that begs the question: Is it the Lord’s will that Obama was elected president?
Increasingly, over the last 6 months or more, I have heard many prayers concerning our nation, and specifically about the election. We prayed that God’s Will would be done in this election. And I have to wonder, was it?
Now don’t jump ahead of me here. Let’s think this through. There are at least two options. One: Barack’s election was the fulfillment of God’s will. If that is the case, we could speculate several reasons why God might want Barack to be our President at this time in history. He may want to do great things through Barak’s leadership… or He might want use Barack in the same way He used Pharoah as the opportunity to bring judgment against the nation. It makes me wonder….
The second option; Barack’s election was not according to God’s will. We will struggle with this one a bit, because we typically think that God is in control of everything. And I sort of think that’s true. God is in control, always. But that doesn’t mean that God controls everything. You understand the difference don’t you? You and I know this truth, simply because we know that when we choose to disobey God, He is not controlling us at that moment. Maybe God’s will was that McCain should be president, but We the People (OK, them the people, if it makes you feel better) choose to go their own way and elect Barack.
The truth is, I don’t really know the answer here. Was it or not, God’s will for Barack to be elected? Maybe time will tell.
But… maybe there is a third option: God might not have really cared who got elected. Does that trouble you? Could it be possible that in the divine scheme of things it really didn’t make any difference? Would it have really mattered who Captained the Titanic after it struck the ice-burg? Again, I don’t know. On this issue, (to quote from the movie, Rudy), “I know two incontrovertible facts: There is a God, and I’m not Him.”
But there is a third thing that I do know without a doubt, and that is what God’s will is for me. I am to honor God in all things. And that will manifest itself in being a law abiding (think: “Render to Caesar”) citizen in so far as I am not compelled to disobey God, for Lord trumps President! It will also show up in “giving honor to whom honor is due” – and that means to President Barack Obama – even if he wasn’t my choice. I was very ashamed during the term of President Clinton to read a bumper-sticker on the back of a car in front of me that read: “Pray for Clinton – Psalm 109:8-9”. (Psalm 109:8-9 says, “Let his days be few; Let another take his office. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”) The shameful and ungodly ways people who claimed to be Christians treated and spoke about Clinton can never be accepted, and should not be repeated during the next 4 years.
Barack Obama is my President, and Jesus Christ is my Lord. I am certain it is God’s will that I give each of them the honor that is due them, with Grace, Compassion and the Integrity that is of Christ.
3 comments:
I understand and agree with what you are saying about needing to respect our president even if we don't agree with the decision, because he is our president regardless. Thank you for helping people like me who are struggling.
I'm just still struggling with the fear of the direction our country is going. It's not just the president, it's mostly that a huge majority of "us" (USA as a whole) wanted this decision. Also the fact that there is no prayer/pledge at our schools, can't talk about God but can talk about Gay in our jobs, that there's even a ballet now for allowing gay marriages, (thank goodness it didn't pass this time in AZ)...
Every one keeps saying "Give it to God". But even good godly people die/suffer as a consequence to the countries bad decisions. Because God doesn't jump in and save every ones life all the time. And once you have kids, you start thinking about their generation as well and what they'll go through based on current decisions. So I think we SHOULD care and all stand up for what we believe is right. It's not over, it's over for the next 4 years, but what happens then? If we just stay quiet and ACT like we are proud to have things the way they are, nothing will change. Or some thing bad will happen that hopefully would change us, but then that's where I'm struggling and it's hard not to be upset that (in my opinion) this country has now put us in that possibility.
Can you please continue to help me further on this? I would appreciate it as even though this is how I truly feel, I do want to be able to be happy and take care of my family but also make a difference in this world how ever I can! :)
Like you, I don't know if it is #1 or #2. But with regard to #2, I am reminded of 1 Samuel 8:5-22.
"...The elders of Israel...said to him (Samuel) ...appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."....The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for...they have rejected Me from being king over them...you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them."...So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king (warning them)....Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles"...The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and appoint them a king."
Especially stiking is verse 18 "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day."
Clearly God gives his people choices and he allows us to make decisions that are not in our best interest or in His.
"For my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord"
Our job is to worship, give praise and serve our fellow man. Somewhere along the way it became a pastime of some well meaning but misguided group of souls who felt they could divine the Will of God by examining social issues and nit pick candidates
into two categories, God fearing (ie believes just like me) and Godless (doesn't believe like me) I once belonged to a fundamentalist "Bible" church that believed that George Wallace was the closest to believing in the principles of "our Lord" and that his beliefs on segregation were not against God, but were an issue of "State's Rights". When I took issue with them they said Martin Luther King should concern himself with worship of the one true God and not worry about this Civil Rights thing, he is too focused upon the human condition.
Needless to say that was the end for me.
If you are so focused on issues that divide you from people, and exclude you from humanity and make you stop caring about their plight, THAT is not from God. It is not for us to keep score. If it is about keeping your social order the way it is because it has always been that way, THAT is not of God. What you believe may not be God's way. Just because your Seminary professors and the commentaries and the rudimentary ancient language courses you took have you interpreting them a certain way, you are using Western logic to reason with. You make it all this or that. Eastern thought which permeates the entire scriptures is very comfortable with the idea of paradox, ie sometimes both sides are true. Genesis is both an allegory, and Truth and I mean literal Truth. Both. Not either or. That makes no sense to us. But by faith it works. Salvation by Grace makes no sense, but it is Truth. Some believe it isn't. It doesn't matter, because the outcome is with God alone.
But we are all taught to be mechanistic. To us It is all cause and effect. Yes or no, black or white. It would be easy if God were like that. Why wouldn't it be better to use Paul's argument; to sin more so that more Grace could abound? It's not about that kind of logic... You cant reason God's ways out, or else we could easily do that. The sad mistake is that some clergy teaches that you can. That is just wrong. Every person who tries that will fail. Those that think they have easy formulas will create a trap just like the church I mentioned before.
Don't fall into the trap of becoming a "Holy Country Club" where conformity is the issue. Think this stuff out completely... Look at the fruit it produces.
Issues like prayer in schools etc, are SOCIAL CONFORMITY issues. They have nothing to do with loving God. They are about people with their eyes on each other and what they do. Those sorts of things are like push ups, if that is what you do, do them. If you don't it is not up to you to make everyone else do them. It is a voluntary thing, but "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." Remember Hitler was afraid of Gays, and wanted them all killed. If you do not incorporate awareness and love for everyone, you are no better than that, and in your heart you become a murderer. Is it sin? I have been a physician for almost 30 years, and have never had a single patient confess they were once Gay because they were sinning and now have given it up to be attracted to the opposite sex. Sadly, it is a biochemical thing that starts in utero. No one would ever on their own choose a life with that much persecution on their own. No preaching will change it. Only pray that God leads YOU in the best path. We are supposed to draw people TO our faith, not turn them away by spurning them. Stop being so xenophobic, and start loving God more!
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