One for the History Books
Whew! Am I glad that is over. The election, that is. Since sometime in 2006, we have been bombarded with political junk and most of us have been sick of it since then. So now what? What does the future of this great nation hold? I’m not entirely certain, but I do know that God still reigns, no matter who holds the highest office in the land.
In the circles in which I travel, there has been much talk about our (“our” being Christians, Ministers, etc) response to Barack Obama becoming the President-elect. Most everyone agrees that following BIblical mandates regarding submitting to authority and also praying diligently for our soon-to-be president are good things. I’m with them. (The conspiracy theory nut in me has some other ideas, but luckily my wife keeps me grounded.) With that being said, I’d like to talk a bit about why I think people overwhelmingly, especially inside of Christian circles, voted for Obama and what I think that means.
It is no secret that Obama is for social justice. A look at his policies including health care reform, tax policies, and even closing the Guantanamo Bay Naval installment speak very loudly to the fact that he is very interested in social reform. In the Christian world, we’ve become enamored with social justice, which I think is funny because isn’t that what we’re supposed to be about anyway? So here is a guy who says he is going to do a lot of stuff for the people that we want to help. Cool! He is also not the president that almost all of us voted for in the last two elections, but since he is so unpopular we no longer want to associate with him. The only problem is that Obama’s social policies are not social justice in Biblical terms, they are social policies in governmental terms. I’m all for government. Small government that protects freedom and liberty among it’s people.
The problem I see is that we’ve become enamored with the idea of social justice but don’t actually want to do the work of social justice. We’d love for poor people to have more money. We’d love to pay less taxes (which under Obama (or McCain), you probably won’t…The Fair Tax would be the way to go). We’d love for everyone to have equal access to healthcare and education. But somewhere along the line we’ve bought into the lie that these things are better left to the government. Ask the good people in Africa how that is working for them. Ask the people in Haiti how that is working for them. Ask the people in Honduras how that is working for them. If it works so well, why do we use a lot of resources sending missionaries equipped with mobile clinics to heal these people? Why isn’t their government taking care of them?
The bottom line is that we need to be THE CHURCH. We need to stop building church buildings and programs and put our money where our mouth is. We need to be Gospel Incarnate and actually live out the things that we preach about. We need to respond when Jesus tells us that we are to care for the sick, widows, and orphans. We need to be sensitive to the needs around us and take action on them when we are able. If we aren’t able, I guarantee that we know someone who is able.
I might be preaching to the choir, but if that is so, then why do we still have Welfare, Food Stamps, and homeless people sleeping in the woods?
Just something to think about.
A thought provoking post. I wonder how many people look to government to solve their problems simply because they see that ‘The Church’ is failing to look after orphans, widows, and other needed people in society. Does the inaction of the Church to help others direct people to look elsewhere for real help? Does this then make them seek ‘salvation’ by another means than the one by which Christ has given us?
@Jeff, thanks for the comments. I was mulling over some of the same ideas. I think we are living in an unprecedented time where people are ripe for a Savior. Now is the time that we should be mobilized. Now is the time that we should be seeking to save the lost. Fact of the matter is, I think now more than ever before PEOPLE KNOW THEY ARE LOST! Half of the ‘work’ is done. I was thinking about doing a post on just this…but seems like we’ve covered it.
@Bill B You may be in a minority. I’m not sure. Neither candidate that ended up being our “choice” was the candidate that I would have chosen. I’m saddened that your son was told that. The religious right often gets a bit off kilter in their judgment calls. I’m guilty as well. I agree with you wholeheartedly about the mobilization of troops, so to speak. The question is how do we do it. One person at a time. If you and I can just get one person to think about the things that we’ve talked about here, then they get one person, and so on, the resulting multiplication is outstanding!
Thanks for the thoughts.
The church I attend is actually building a hybrid of a church building. We are partnering with a local non-profit, secular organization to build a day care. Part of the building will be our “church” and part of the building will be their daycare. A lot of space will be shared.
If more churches did this kind of thing and built homeless shelters, rec centers, parks, etc… what kind of impact could we have both for the community and for the Kingdom.
As far as Obama is concerned, I had a conversation with someone this past weekend who was almost sick with worry and depression over Obama winning. We have clearly placed our hope in the wrong places.