My Thoughts on (and hopes for) Barack Hussein Obama-- Part I

First off, let me give a disclaimer: I haven't talked about Obama much here if at all. But he is going to make history no matter what your opinion of him and therefore, I feel the need to blog. I blog, therefore I am. By the way, this is my rant, and not a political endorsement or policy of Eden Church or any of my affiliations. Okay, here goes!

I did not vote for Barack Obama. I know people who did and I am sorry for them. Joking! Okay, sort of. I find Obama a fascinating figure. His rise to nation renown is a stuff of legend. The fact that a person of mixed race who admitted to always finding it hard to fit in with either whites or blacks has risen above a rough past to achieve is dreams is something to find admirable.

But here is my issue with him. I am a follower of Jesus, or what is commonly called, a Christian. I realize a lot of my friends aren't really on fire with God, and that is partly a result of all of the hypocrisy in the churches. So I am the real deal. I want to show people that my faith doesn't end on a certain day to only begin again on Sunday. If my faith is the real thing, then it should consume me. "For I am crucified with Christ, and yet I live, but it is not I that lives, but rather Christ that lives in me!"

If my faith really consumes me, it is not compartmentalized, but rather makes up my life. My purpose is to make Jesus famous and glorify God in all I do, not just some of it. Barack Obama is part of what is being called the "religious left." That's just it, their religious but not Fully Devoted Followers of Jesus. I think that to support abortion by claiming that the evangelicals only care about the baby in the womb is STUPID AND VILE. I realize we have to deal with poverty and the issues that sometimes lead to a woman choosing abortion. And I concede that the evangelicals have at times been lacking in that area and we REALLY need to step up. But COME ON! So the holocaust of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto was okay because they were going to have a miserable existence living in the ghetto during the Third Reich? Ridiculous!

On dealing with helping others, the Church of Jesus has really been loosing focus. We need to advance the ball down the field here. Jesus talked often about sharing your possessions because in reality, they don't belong to you, but rather to God. Obama needs to realize something here. Jesus was all about the re-distribution of wealth, but only on a voluntary basis. Another thing, all these possessions belong to God, not to the government. I am convinced if the U.S. Government were to use the Book of Proverbs (even taking out the God parts) we would not be in this recession. I am not talking about a theocracy but rather using common sense and wisdom, bot of which God literally wrote the book on.

Obama is like a messiah to many people and this REALLY TICKS ME OFF! Even if he is a great guy, and I am sure he is and I would even like to just hang out with him, he is just another fallen guy trying to fix a fallen world with fallen methods. I know of people who have honestly stopped paying their bills simply because the think Barack is going to solve all their problems. In Obama's defense, lately he has been distancing himself from the extreme "Obama = Jesus" fanatics, but during the campaign he seemed to encourage this cult of personality. Democrat, Republican, Independent, or what ever, this is not a healthy thing. Nancy Pelosie said Obama was a gift from God. Huh? This statement about God's Will coming from a secular Catholic? Oh boy, let me pin that on my wall! Seriously, these people need to calm down and let the dude do his job.

I do wish Obama well and I will pray for him just as much as I did for George W. Bush, and maybe even more. I will follow up with more on this after the swearing-in later today.