As a Christian, I had never spoken out on politics. I just didn’t get too fired up about it. I was more concerned about making it to church on time and taking care of my own family than stressing over which bill was bogged down in Congress.
But then someone asked me to talk on the radio about Obama and evangelicals. I said, “Sure, why not?” I had no idea what I was getting into.
I found out after accepting the interview that many Christians don’t like Barack Obama. It’s not because he’s African American; it’s because of abortion, his views on same-sex marriage, war, and a whole lot more. But then I said the Bible gave two clear concepts for relating to our president: pray and submit.
People didn’t like that. They wanted me to call Democrats the devil and lead a movement to impeach Obama and make Jesus president. But I didn’t.
So now I’m the bad guy.
I get hate mail, hate Facebook-mail, hate email, and hate-blog comments—mostly from Christians.
Let me be honest for a minute: that just sucks. Jesus said A) love God, B) love your neighbor, and C) love your enemies. I don’t consider Obama my God nor my enemy but he’s my neighbor (not literally, but I’m originally from Indiana, so close enough). So I love Barack Obama. If you’re a Christian, pick options B or C and do likewise.
Then pray for him. He has a tougher job than you do and if he does blow it, it won’t help any of us. Plus, if you keep making Christians look stupid, we’ll eventually become the bad guys (we often already are) and people will ignore us completely instead of listening to our ideas to make this country a better place.
You don’t have to vote for someone to love them.
But if you’re a Christian, you have to love Barack Obama.
Whether you like it or not.
DILLON BURROUGHS is a writer on issues of spirituality.
He also serves as a social justice advocate for World Vision.
Dillon lives with his wife, Debbie, and three children in Tennessee.
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1 comment:
That deffinately hit the nail on the head. There's a difference between supporting a president and agreeing with what he supports. I'm just as pro-life as the next guy, but if you're reading the same Romans 13 I am when you don't pray and submit to the existing government you're disobeying a direct command from God. I'm glad someone put in writing what i've been thinking since the election.
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