On the President

Internet Monk nailed it:

Christians: What are you saying about the President? by iMonk
When Mr. Obama was elected, I told some of my friends, "This is going to be difficult for some people." And, unfortunately, not only was I right, I was right on the money as to who would have the most difficult time seeing a black Democrat take the office of President. For the past two months, almost daily, I have listened to too many- not all thankfully, but many of the evangelical Christians around me say untrue and hateful things about President-elect Barak Obama.
As Inauguration Day grows closer, the rhetoric is getting worse.

"I will not support a man who hates our flag and hates our Bible." This from an educated adult.

"He's not even a Christian. He's a Muslim." I have heard this over and over and continue to hear it.

"He's not my President." This from all kinds of people.

"I hate Obama. I'd like to get in his face." And worse. This from a child.

"We shouldn't allow our children to watch the inauguration." From an adult.

"I can't wait till he's _________ed." I'll skip the word so my blog isn't sent to some FBI list. This from teenage boys, of course.

I could go on and on and on with these quotes. I hear them and hear of them almost every single day I am around my fellow Christians. I did not vote Barak Obama. I barely voted for John McCain. The choices this year left me unenthused to say the least. Obama's solutions to political, foreign policy, social and economic policy all seem wrong to me, and I'm concerned about his lack of experience. I'm hopeful that he will be a good president because I think he knows that he is a historic leader coming to power at a critical time. I believe he's made many good choices for cabinet positions. I think he is smart and I understand he doesn't suffer fools and divas gladly. I'll pray for him. Scripture tells me to pray for my leaders. They are ordained of God. (Romans 13, I Timothy 2, I Peter 2) I am to pray for all those in authority. I am to submit to them as authorities established by God. I am to pay my taxes, obey the laws and avoid doing what is illegal. As much as it depends on me, I am to be a peaceful citizen of this country. Should my President ask me to do what I cannot do without violating the law of God, then I must be faithful to God.
Let me say this again: Scripture is clear that those in authority are to have my obedience, my prayers and my cooperation in all things that do not violate my loyalty to Jesus Christ. These commands were all written to first century Christians who lived under hostile, pagan, anti-Christian, often actively persecuting Roman governments. No group of Christians in the first three centuries of the church every lived under a Christian ruler. Yet all these Christians took seriously the command to "Honor the King" and to "submit to and pray for" those rulers as much as possible.
If you are an evangelical Christian adult, please hear me out: You are sinning- badly and boldly - when you publicly denigrate and lie about the President. You have no basis to do this. Surely you know that this is wrong. You can state your opposition to the President as you choose, but it is wrong to say that a Christian should not watch the Inauguration, pray with Rick Warren and pray for President Obama when he puts his hand on the Lincoln Bible. You can oppose him in every way, but to speak threatening, hateful, hostile or untrue words is wrong, and it makes Christians appear, once again, to be hateful, hostile, unconcerned with truth and selfish to a fault. To speak this way in front of children and to pass this kind of rhetoric and attitude on to them is no different from passing on the worst kinds of racial or religious prejudice to our children. Our children trust us and believe what we say. When we say "Obama hates the Bible and hates Christians," we are brainwashing our kids with untruths and paranoid mythology. I know that many of you will be firing back at me saying that abortion and gay marriage and other social issues outweigh the Biblical commands to pray for, submit to and obey this particular
leader. I agree with you that his policies in these areas should be opposed- legally and without hateful personal attacks and untruths.
But I cannot agree with your abandonment of what the Bible clearly teaches. And I deplore your choice to speak these words in front of unbelievers and young people. You need to repent, and if necessary, apologize. As we approach January 20, please read the Bible's many
commands to Christians regarding our attitude toward the civil government. Remember that these commands were written when everyone knew that Jesus was executed by the government and every government was set against the belief that Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord. Nero was
no friend of Christians in the first century. Neither was Domitian.
Today, the commands of scripture apply to Christians in China, in Iraq, and in India. They apply to all Christians living under hostile governments. Jesus lived under a cruel Roman governor, yet he submitted and obeyed that governor, even to the point of death. Let us speak the truth in love. Let us love those we may not agree with. Let us leave the right example for children and young people. And let's not engage in blatant sin, and then excuse it, in the name of politics.