About two years ago I was on my way to church in St. Louis. I was scheduled to help out and was running late. So I was speeding. Right at the worst point (just after the limit had been decreased) I was pulled over. The officer wrote me a ticket. I was a post-grad student with little disposable income and none that I wanted to give to a ticket for being late to church. Needless to say I arrived at church not only late, but also in a bad mood. As I tried to get ready for worship, I sat in church praying and a scripture came to mind: something about "there is no authority but that given by God." I felt as if God spoke to me saying submit to that officer as you would to me, because the authority his position holds is given by me. That was tough.
When Jesus was questioned about the authority of worldly rulers he seemed almost dismissive. "Give them what is theirs." I think it is important to support and pray for rulers, and to follow the laws; but that should always be secondary to the King of all Kings. I mean, my first citizenship is in the Kingdom of God found in the universal church. I hope with America and for it, but I place my hope in Jesus. What is cool about hoping there, is that Jesus is trans-national. Hoping in him ties me to people all over the world who are doing the same...just something I was thinking today. I'm going to go watch Obama's speech.
6 comments:
I am really liking our new President Obama. I like that he seems so thoughtful and measured. How he really seems to be empathetic and I love how he wants to extend a hand of friendship to our enemies. Sounds pretty Christ-like to me. It really bothers me that some Christians continue to claim that he is not a Christian. He confesses that he is and I heard him say that he believes that Jesus is the Son of God. You don't hear many world leaders even use the name of Jesus at all come to think of it.
And thinking of America -I love America because of the freedom we ALL have. Even the freedom to sin. Not because America is a Christian country - I don't really think any country is Christian. And to go against the right wing Christian thought, I personally believe that when Christianity becomes law, or involved in government instead of people's hearts, then it really gets all twisted! My husband had a great thought: Christians want to put Christianity in government but they can't seem to even put true Christianity in their hearts!
So I really like President Obama. And it seems just like out God to allow a black man with the middle name Hussein to lead this country of white class mentality.
Yes, very "Christ-like" of him for one of his very first priorities to be overturning the ban on using American tax dollars to fund abortions nationally and internationally.
I'm pulling for President Obama, and it seems unconscionable for any citizen to NOT pull for him at a time like we presently are facing. What prompted me to post something--my first blog post ever--was the Anonymous post who wrote sarcastically that president Obama wasn't very "Christlike" because of one policy decision.
I remember in the 1990's watching Bill Clinton being excoriated during his presidential tenure, and the language on the political right was unlike anything I'd ever seen. Rush Limbaugh ran his radio show introduction each day with the ominous voiceover, "America Held Hostage, Day Number . . " for each day of the Clinton presidency. The venom on the right-wing talk media was both unprecedented and brutal, and it even extended to the point where Limbaugh once referred on his syndicated TV show to then-13 year-old Chelsea Clinton as being "the White House dog".
Now we're presented with the same talking heads calling for Republicans to "stand together" against the new president, to not attend his White House Super Bowl party, and going to the sickening point, in Mr. Limbaugh's case, of publicly hoping for President Obama to "fail".
This is the same Rush Limbaugh that sells "Club Gitmo" t-shirts on his website, shirts that jokingly refer to waterboarding, a practice that even GOP nominee and former P.O.W. John McCain found to be torture. The same Limbaugh that is a thrice-divorced oxycontin addict arrested for having his maid illegally get prescription painkillers for him. The same Conservative, Right-Wing, "Talent On Loan From God" Rush Limbaugh that regularly uses the Lord's name in vain on his show, avoided the Vietnam draft, and has admittedly used marijuana. The same man who condemns drug users and welfare recipients while overlooking the fact that he himself has been on government unemployment insurance when he was out of work.
Please understand something--I am not condemning Rush Limbaugh for having a less-than-perfect personal resume, because mine's not so hot, either. But his struggles personify the image problem that a lot of politically conservative Christians are facing--that is, you'd better be very careful about labeling a rival party's political leader as less than "Christlike" when your own party's spokespeople and political leaders are equally distant from Christ.
Forgive my sarcasm. Would it have been better if I had said, "I don't think President Obama is very "Christ-like" because he's pushing the use of tax payer money to help fund the murder of innocent babies."? Of course, the use of tax-payer money is just a secondary grievance to the bigger issue of murder. I'm not going to give any political figure a pass when they do something that isn't right, be they democrat or republican. I will not gloss over this "one policy decision" because I believe this "one policy decision" speaks volumes about the soul of a person; the devaluation of human life is exactly what Satan wants.
We see that the devaluation doesn't stop with the unborn, but affects the elderly and infirm who are sent away to homes to die without disturbing the rest of the famly. They're humanely euthanized by allowing them to dehydrate to death. And if we're not careful I believe this country will head in the same direction as China and people in prison will be used as involuntary organ donors for people who deserve the organs more than they do; they are afterall only convicts.
I'm not sure what Rush Limbaugh has to do with any of it; you apparently listen to him more than the few time I have. Does he claim to be a Christian conservative leader or is he just paid to be "entertainment" and increase ratings for the station? From what I've read, Mr. Limbaugh wished for the failure of Pres. Obama's leadership of this country towards a more socialist nation. And in that wish for failure I, and I hope every American, would agree with him and pray for the continuation of our free republic!
You go through quite a laundry list of Mr. Limbaugh's downfalls, including him taking the Lord's name in vain, and if he has done that I can't agree with it. But I see you make no mention of Pres. Obama attending a church, every week by his own admission, where Rev. Wright preached "God -amn America!" Perhaps it's in a different context than Mr. Limbaugh meant it.
Hey, I just wanted to respond to Anonymous. Not a "Oh, yeah? You're a JERK!" response, but just to clarify something.
My whole point wasn't to blindly defend Pres. Obama, nor was it to trash Republicans. What triggered my post in the first place was your implication that Obama wasn't very "Christlike". As a guy that usually votes Democratic, that's a sore spot with me, as a lot of Christians have tended to put the Christian stamp-of-approval on the Republican Party, which I find kind of funny. Unless party leaders are counseling their respective members to abandon all of their possessions, love and forgive America's enemies, and love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, I don't think either party is anything the Jesus would really endorse.
My original thought was that BOTH Democrats and Republicans routinely suffer from symptoms of "UnChristlike-itis", I think. We all sin, and with great regularity. My understanding is that God doesn't really have a hierarchy of sins, so in His eyes the murderer and the prideful person are viewed the same in terms of their respective sins.
I think the divisiveness and pridefulness that politics seems to bathe in are a great weapon for Satan, if you think about it. If he can get believers to fight among each other, then they can forget their commonality in Christ. If my guy does something, it's a great idea; if your guy proposed the same idea first, then it's a bad idea--that kind of thing. Then we argue over it over blog posts. Before you know it, we're going at it with baseball bats in the church parking lot, our wives struggling to pull us apart while the kids cry in the minivan.
I can see how blogs can be a great thing and a not-so-great thing. The great thing, obviously, is that we can communicate over a broader spectrum and spread the message of Christ's love. But a not-so-great thing might be the lack of intimacy that comes with it. It's too easy to try to read-between-the-lines, and since it's out there for public consumption, it's easy to have pride take hold when someone disagrees with you in print.
I love Christ. I like reading and talking about politics, and I really enjoy hearing different points of view. But I love Jesus. I really do.
I think I'd rather sit down with Anonymous and actually listen to his ideas instead of trading posts. So, Anonymous, if you ever want to sit down and talk, write me at swimseminole@hotmail.com. I love you, brother (sister?), and I hope you have a great day.
And if you are a sister, then I really need to re-think that whole parking lot scene. Too disturbing.
You're awesome! I love you too. :)
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