Facebook is a social networking phenomenon that you are familiar with I'm sure. One aspect of facebook is the ability to join groups with a particular interest or concern. I've joined the "Stop the hate directed at President Obama and his family" group along with many others. Why would I do this?
Before I answer let me give some background. As a citizen of this country I excercised my right/privilege to vote for the candidate of my choice. I did not vote for President Obama. The simple reason was I disagreed with some of his major policy proposals. If someone even hints that it was racial they are showing total ignorance of me personally besides showing their own prejudices. In fact, my personal choice would have been Condoleesa Rice as President of this country. I think she has more character, political wisdom, and perception of proper diplomacy than anyone I have seen in some time.
I expressed my views on occasion which is the right/responsibility of every citizen regardless of political party, particular race or religious creed. It is the American thing to do. It's called being a good citizen. But the race for President is over. I lost my vote but found who my President is going to be. My President is Barach Hussain Obama. His wife is Michelle Obama and their daughters are Sasha and Malia Obama. Some of those same policies with which I disagreed are now being debated and even passed. It's called political life in America.
Now I speak as a Christian not just as a citizen. Being a Christian gives me a personal perspective that not all citizens of this country share. You see I am now more concerned with people as people than as politicians or office holders or even their policies. There will come a time when I will again express by ballot my potitical views and it could be a vote for someone other than my present President. But now I view him in a different perspective because of my allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord of my life. This places President Obama as a man [and his family] for whom I will genuinely express my love and will pray for on a regular basis.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 records Paul telling Timothy [under inspiration] to pray for.."all men; for Kings [Presidents] and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." Earlier he had said the "end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart" so if I understand what Paul is saying correctly, my life [As Timothy's] is to reflect genuine love that results in real prayer for people, including in context, those who are leaders in the government over us. My allegiance To Jesus as Lord of my life mentioned earlier will, therefore, mandate that my attitude toward the person I did NOT vote for be one of love and prayerful interest regularly. So be it. Besides, I've found that love and hate CANNOT flow from the same heart and I've also found that you will love, not hate, ANYONE for whom you genuinely pray.
A final word on why I joined such a group as this. I joined this kind of group when George Bush was President too. I loved/love President Bush, his wife Laura and his daughters. I prayed/pray for him in the same fashion.
My prayer for peace, honesty and godliness hasn't always been granted the way I had hoped under President Bush nor under President Obama. But since my confidence is in the One who knows the end from the beginning and who understands real peace and godliness, I will trust that in His time He will do His will with regards to such things. I DO know, however, His will for me is that I not only join a group to "Stop the hate toward President Obama and his family," but that I stop it in my heart first whether the person is a President or even happens to be named Bush or Obama.
I read this on some one else's blog. I've slightly adapted it for use here...
Dear Lord Jesus, This morning I pray for Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha Obama to come to know you if they don’t already. I pray that President Obama would become the best President this nation has ever known. Guide him, protect him and help him to seek your wisdom and guidance as he faces difficult issues. I pray for his cabinet and administration and for every decision he will make for my country today. My confidence is not in Presidents or leaders but my trust is in you. Amen.
Paul B.
16 comments:
Good for you, brother.
There should be no other attitude among those who claim to be followers of Christ.
Period.
The fact that it is rare indicates something about Christianity today; I don't have a clue what, but I know for sure it's sad.
One of my Facebook "friends" posted yesterday that "Obama says we can't pray today.." and I corrected her on it. The ridicule she and her friends threw my way was surprising.
Not that I cared. Or even tried to offer a rebuttal.
Like I said. Sad.
HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Word Verification: imbclog!
Bob,
"HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Word Verification: imbclog!"...only you would find that as a word verification. ;)
Paul,
Do you believe your prayer could have been prayed by hundreds or even thousands of Germans for Hitler?
There’s a wide line between looking for ‘hate’ and looking for ‘truth’.
Truth needs no defense; it only needs to be heard, but it can be silenced by claiming it is hate.
Rex,
I know truth and I know hate. The only truth I'm interested in is that which is against a backdrop of love.
Truth against a backdrop of hate is a brand of truth that holds no interest to me.
Paul,
When Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”, was he referring only to truth against a “backdrop” of love?
When Gentile widows complained of lack of food or Jews complained of death camps, would that truth be against a “backdrop” of hate?
Now I believe sometimes truth should not be told when all it accomplishes is harm…like not telling a dying mother from a car crash that her children were also killed.
God withheld the truth from Jesus that He would not be with him at Calvary as shown by the belief of Jesus in John 16:32.
Paul, this “backdrop” deal is a new one to me. Would you explain? As it is now, it looks like a can of worms.
Rex,
Yes. 'You shall know the truth..." That's the backdrop of love I was referring to. The 'Truth' is a person. The truths of scripture are truths about the one who is Himself the 'Truth.'
"You shall know..." is a referrence to an intimate knowledge as in relationship..'Know' as Adam 'knew' his wife and she conceived. Intimately related to the person who is Himself the Truth is always a love relationship.
Any truth that isn't from that intimate love relationship isn't truth that interests me.
It could just be the proverbal "one man's trash [can of worms] is another man's treasure"[Truth against a backdrop of Love] and I'm ok with that.
Paul,
This is a great blog! Hate towards the president isn't productive. Petition, protest peacefully, write letters, vote for someone else when the time comes are all better options then hating. You even have the option to move to another country. Its extreme but an option.
Hating in general is bad and something I'm trying to work on myself.
I enjoy reading your ideas and opinions! You should post a blog about your favorite birthday or ball game or something. I love your stories! :)
Have a great day!
-Mrs. Austin
Mrs. Austin,
Thank you, You've given me an idea for a future post.
By the way, I LOVE your pictures, two of which are hanging in my home. ;)
Paul and Mrs. Austin,
Ahhh…the word ‘hate’ can be thrown at ‘dissent’ of anything.
If a husband says, “These potatoes need a little more salt.” The wife could start bawling – “You hate my cooking!”
I heard the story of my mother-in-law being told the biscuits were so hard the dogs wouldn’t eat them. She grabbed the pan, threw them out and reported: “The dogs didn’t mind at all.” (I’ll admit that story doesn’t fit.)
A better story would be when Wade was a member of the IMB and was told after the board voted, there would be no dissent. The board didn’t say that dissent was hate but I believe it was implied.
Mrs. Austin, I agree with you saying, “Petition, protest peacefully, write letters, vote…”, but I believe some try to paint those as ‘hating’ the president.
You said, “Hate towards the president isn’t productive.” How do you define ‘hate’ towards the president?
Is asking Obama to produce his original or a copy of his original birth certificate an action of hate, or simply showing dissent in him not doing the right thing to start with? What he shows is a ‘doctored’ birth certificate.
Paul, I’ve always thought “the truth will set you free” referred to all truth and not only as Jesus being the “truth”. I was taught to tell the truth.
You said, “Any truth that isn’t from that intimate love relationship isn’t truth that interests me.”
If I translate your words correctly that would mean you’re not interested in the truth of history, math, physics, etc. I’m having a hard time deciding what you mean.
Rex,
I realize you may not understand what I'm talking about. That's ok with me.
I do believe in the truth of historical facts. I also believe in the truth of math facts.
Now..if someone who demonstrates what I consider to be hatred toward the Jews tries to tell me historical facts about the Jews, I do not accept their facts. I would find the "true facts" from another source.
If someone who demonstrates what I consider to be hatred toward the hispanics tries to tell me the facts about the number of illegal hispanics in America, I do not accept their facts. I would find the 'true facts" from another source.
If a group declares themselves a Christian group but does not demonstrate what I consider to be the love Of Christ, such as the group from Wichita, and says that homosexuality is a sin I do not accept their view of homosexuality. I would find the "true view" from other sources.
Now to use your example..If someone says they are Christian and demonstrates what I believe to be hatred toward the President and states that his birth certificate shows he was born somewhere else, I don't accept their fact. I would find the "true fact" from someone else. This does't mean I don't come to know the truth about anything important. I just am as concerned with the source as I am other things.
A non-christian who demonstrates respect and phileo love is more important to me as a source than a preacher who demonstrates disrepect and hatred as defined by me.
I'm not oblivious to truthfulness in facts, I'm just discerning about the source of truth for me. It keeps me from making "truth" a god instead of "the Truth" who is God and the One I really know intimately.
Paul,
I appreciate your explanation of not trusting ‘truth’ from a bad source, and I agree with your logic. I would not send my children to learn the Bible from a Muslim school.
On the other hand, I hope I have enough good sense to judge (also using knowledge from other sources) what is said from any source to know if it’s true. What I’m saying is if a Muslim says God is love I won't disagree with him because he is a ‘bad’ source. Even the high priest in wanting to kill Jesus said, ‘It’s better for one man to die than the whole world perish.’
Once I was criticized for quoting: “Our wretched species is so made that those who walk on the well-trodden path always throw stones at those who are showing a new road.” I was criticized because the quote was from Voltaire – an atheist.
On the “example”, you said, “If someone…states his birth certificate shows he was born somewhere else, I don't accept their fact. I would find the "true fact" from someone else.”
I agree with you, but how do/will you find the “true fact” when the person will not show a copy of his original birth certificate?
Since the law says a person driving a car has to show a driving permit and the law says the president must be a natural born citizen why is one exempted from proving their status by not providing a copy of their original requirement?
On the point of trusting the ‘source’, what do you make of Obama’s wife saying on youtube, “When we took our trip to Africa and visited his home country in Kenya, we took a public HIV test”?
If anyone wants the link of her statement, it may be found on Wade’s blog Wednesday May 5, 210 on my comment that no one has touched with a ten foot pole. Sometimes I wonder what America has become and I think of one person in history was asked why he carried a burning lantern in the daytime. His reply would be, “I’m looking for an honest man.”
Maybe I’m in a bad mood today because yesterday I nearly got my arm broke through stupidity. (I had two locating screws holding a hoist and had forgotten to add four lag bolts. I was raising the goal from an 8 foot position to a 10 foot position when the screws broke and a 150# basketball goal fell one foot and pinned my arm on a ladder I was standing on. Finally I was able to reach a crowbar and pry the goal off my arm.)
Looking for sympathy here – can’t tell my wife – she would make me quit. :)
Rex,
Let's take the important thing first. BE CAREFUL. You do have my sincere sympathy and, unfortunately, I know how things exactly like that feels. It's something I would do.
Second, you are using the terms "good source" "bad source" which are not the terms I've been talking about. "love" "hate" are my terms. Even an un-believer's love [phileo] is acceptable to me. [Read respect, civility, kindness, etc.] But hate in the source is unacceptable. [Read disrespect, incivility, etc.]
Third, one of my sources for the birth certificate issue is here...http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/kenyacert.asp. There are many others. But issues like that where people say things of that nature, the love/hate source thing, as I've defined it, is very important to me.
I really think I've said all I wish to say about this if you don't mind. I don't think we have to fully agree on it or even fully understand where the other is coming from on it. We can go on to other issues since my blog is not for debating purposes anyway. It's for sharing of views and we've done that.
Stay off ladders if you can. When you can't be careful on them. I hope you heal quickly my friend.
Rex,
President Obama IS a U.S. citizen. Do you not think there are background checks before you can become president? How much paperwork do you think it takes just to run for president let alone fill out when you are president? Do you know how exhausting it is to get a passport? I'm guessing that applying to become president would be a lot more intensive than just getting a passport.
Just be logical about this. The background check(s) doesn't even include the simple fact that there are birth announcements in Hawaii in the local papers the year he was born. Not just in one paper but two! And that the people that work with birth certificates of Hawaii have said that they have seen his birth certificate.
To sit there and say he is not an American is ignorance at the greatest level possible and you know it!
Paul,
Thanks for the concern and advice. I'm glad to be called a friend.
I checked your Snopes.com reference. I’ve never heard of any fake birth certificates before. I guess there’s always crooks trying to make money. My concern is not the fakes but the original that he has when he went to a Muslim school at a young age that he won’t show. But like you said this is not a debate and as my dad would say, “All the tators are dug in that field.”
Mrs. Austin,
One way to show people are ignorant is misquote them and then argue how wrong the misquote is.
Where did I say he was not an American? Being an American and being born an American are two categories. Like Paul, in the Bible, told the commander he was born a Roman citizen whereas the commander said he had to pay a lot of money for Roman citizenship.
About a half a dozen lawsuits have been filed (an kicked out of court) to make him show his original birth certificate. Why won’t he show it?
Google the name: Lt. Col. Terry Lakin and see why he could go to prison for refusing to obey orders, or here his story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea9JVnck_-E
I believe he will never be court martial because he would have the right of discovery…meaning his defense team could compel the president to produce his original birth certificate.
But then there are some that say, ‘My mind is made up – don’t confuse me with the facts.’ I hope you’re not one of those.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BarackObamaCertificationOfLiveBirthHawaii.jpg
Stop putting your judgments of the president before the facts. Even the awful Fox News has said that he was born in the US because the FACTS clearly show that!
And its people like you who are given facts, ignore them yet can't understand why our educational school system in the U.S. is just awful. Facts are something you cant choose to believe or not. They are simply true. The earth is not flat...you can say it is all you want and you can believe it is but doesn't change the fact that it is not.
And as for that military guy, he should be suing George W. Bush for starting the war. He simply doesn't like that he is taking commands from a Democrat.
Let us not forget who couldn't keep our country safe from our own planes, started wars in two different countries, set our economy down a death spiral, and took some of our freedoms away with Homeland Security/Patriot Act.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
P.S. This is all I am going to say about this even if you respond Mr. Rex. I've made my point and feel just like Paul that this debate is over. May you have a wonderful day.
Mrs. Austin,
I can’t think of a ‘soft answer’, so I’ll say your logic is revealed by your saying, “And as for that military guy… He simply doesn't like that he is taking commands from a Democrat.”
Hmmmm - Was Clinton a Republican?
Oh, well, nuff said. Glad that's over.
Post a Comment