So, Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. On the day that he won, I was in a state of shock and elation the whole day. The enormity of the occasion as well as the daunting task that lay ahead for the then President-elect Obama penetrated deeper into my mind as the day progressed. Every people group across the globe are pinning the fulfilment of their hopes and dreams of a better world on him; he will be expected to straighten out the economy of the US and assist with stabilising the global economy; he is expected to bring an end to the war in Iraq, close Guantanamo bay, sort out the war in Gaza, keep an eye on Pakistan and Iran’s Uranium purchase; the list goes on and on. Not to mention the very real threat of assassination by those who did not want to see him take office in the first place.
It dawned on me that quite possibly, in the history of mankind, no one individual has had more expected of them than President Obama. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think even Nelson Mandela was under this amount of scrutiny and pressure when he became the first black President of South Africa all those years ago, another incredibly moving occasion. Maybe he was; but in the post 9/11 era, there are threats and dangers today that didn’t exist in the Nineties so things are radically different for this new president.
Since President Obama’s victory, I have found the most bitter and extreme displeasure to this event in the once place I never expected to find it – the church.
There are those who are considered leaders and prophets of the Christian church as a whole, such as Dutch Sheets, who have gone on record as saying President Obama’s victory was not God’s desire, while others have stated that he is the anti-Christ spoken of in the Book of Revelation in the bible. They have taken this from Revelations 13, in which a charismatic figure has the whole world following after him for a period of time.
Now don’t get me wrong, I understand if Republicans are upset that a Democrat won the election and it goes no deeper than that. The church by and large is Republican. But from the conversations I have had and read, I don’t think that the issues people have with the president is solely his political affiliation. Google Barack Obama and the church or Barack Obama and Christians and see what you think.
I’m a Christian and whilst I don’t know the bible like the back of my hand, I know it says about leaders. Speaking to the church in the book of Titus chapter 3 verses 1 and 2, Paul the Apostle says this:
“Remind them (Christians) to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men”.
Again it says in the book of Romans Chapter 1 verse 1 to 7:
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (bold script mine).
And lastly in the book of Timothy it says:
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority (bold script mine), that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”. (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Such is their contempt towards this new president that some of those who are classified as prophets and Christian leaders to the nations seem to have ‘forgotten’ these scriptures. Why is President Obama exempt from the explicit mandates above as far as some of them are concerned?
I believe that God uses the right tool for the job, and this new administration is one of the tools He is using to bring to the forefront things in the church that had previously been hidden beneath smiles and “Christianese” i.e. religious sounding language. Whatever we think of the President and his stance on certain issues, we are called to pray for him and his administration. If there are things that we do not like, pray, God will hear and do as He sees fit. It is not the role of anyone, irrespective of the position they hold in various circles, to damn a leader/politician simply because they do not like them personally.
What everyone must realise is that this new administration is made of up of people who won’t always get things right, who will make mistakes and sometimes do things we don’t like. The fact someone is a hugely popular choice for a leader does not mean they are in league with Satan! It simply means that people are desperate for change and they chose the party that for them best represented that.
When all is said and done, whether we believe it or not, God is in control. He knew this day would come and He knows what He has created President Obama to do in this hour of our history. Let us not lose sight of that.