Is Obama really the problem?
Posted by appolus on September 4, 2009
Years ago a friend of mine, Robert Holmes, saw a vision of Christians
leaving the Harvest field to go and join in with a “Civil War”. They were
leaving their primary mission (the gospel) to go and make war against their
own countrymen. What does it mean and why would they do such a thing? -This
was unclear.
IS OBAMA REALLY THE PROBLEM?
By Andrew Strom
Years ago a friend of mine, Robert Holmes, saw a vision of Christians
leaving the Harvest field to go and join in with a “Civil War”. They were
leaving their primary mission (the gospel) to go and make war against their
own countrymen. What does it mean and why would they do such a thing? -This
was unclear.
Like a lot of you, every day I get bombarded with the latest emails against
Obama – and what he is up to. I can truly understand this.
Unlike a lot of overseas Christians who can’t comprehend this kind of
American political partisanship, I truly get it. I lived in America for four
years, and one of the things I saw clearly while living there is that
America is at WAR with itself. And it is getting worse. Right against left,
liberal against conservative. And there is no doubt that as an evangelical
Christian, I am truly a “conservative” myself. But there is a lot that
troubles me about what is going on.
When the US conservatives elected Bush, a lot of the world could not
understand it. I understood it completely. America is at war with itself and
Bush seemed like the most robust campaigner against the liberal agenda. It
did not matter that he was not the “smartest” guy. He was strongly on “our
side” in the culture war – and that is what mattered: Homosexuality,
abortion, taxes, health care, and so-on. To a lot of US Christians, politics
has become THE main arena where they fight and take a stand. So if I am a
conservative myself, why am I so troubled by a lot of this?
Well, let me ask you some questions and hopefully you will see why:
-Is “Politics” the arena that Christians are supposed to be putting so much
time and energy into fighting? Is that what the early church did?
-Aren’t we supposed to be more passionate about prayer and the gospel than
we are about pulling the “liberals” down?
-Couldn’t this be a total distraction from our real mission?
-Doesn’t a lot of it amount to a giant “smear” campaign of rumor- mongering
that should be beneath Christians to participate in? -In other words, isn’t
the way we are speaking often gossipy, slanderous, mocking and ungodly?
-Why are prayer and the gospel taking a backseat to Obama-baiting?
-Is the Christian community in any country supposed to become a “voting
bloc” for one particular party?
I think those are pretty important questions. And I think a lot of
Christians may have trouble answering them.
The fact is, I get more “political” anti-Obama emails from US Christians
every day than ‘spiritual’ emails. What does this say about conservative
Christians? It says they care more about politics than the gospel. That is
the conclusion I have to come to. And I believe this is Idolatry – pure and
simple. Politics has replaced the pure milk of the word for a lot of
Christians. They are on a “campaign”
alright, but it is not a campaign for Jesus. And they devote hours and hours
to it. They are feverishly checking out the “latest dirt” on Obama every
night and hungrily devouring Fox News (which makes more and more ratings
dollars as it drives every fresh controversy).
They love it! There is only one problem: It is not Jesus, it is not the
gospel, and a lot of it is simply not godly at all. In fact, it is replacing
Jesus and replacing the gospel.
If I was the Republican Party or Fox News or Talk Radio (each hungry for
more ratings and dollars – these are not Christian organizations at all)
then I would absolutely LOVE the fact that the Christians are so easy to
whip up into a frenzy of Obama-rumors and Obama-trash-talk. But none of this
is godly, is it? It is not remotely Christian. The early church would have
renounced it utterly. They took no interest in politics. They only cared
about Jesus and His simple gospel. And that is still the only thing that can
save America today. We are being sidetracked.
But the frenzy continues. “Did you hear the one about Obama being likened to
Hitler?” ‘Did you hear the one about Obama’s birth certificate?’ ‘Did you
hear the one about Obama’s “death panels”? ‘Did you hear that there are
really demons in the Swine Flu vaccine?’ (canned laughter please).
A lot of this amounts to a kind-of Christian “smear” campaign. In politics
much of it would be considered in the ‘dirty tricks’ category – the kind of
thing you do when trying to ruin someone’s reputation with sick rumors and
innuendo. No matter if it’s true or not. As long as it does the job of
“smearing” the person. Is that the kind of thing Jesus would want us
involved in?
Here is the truly major thing that I believe the devil is trying to do in
America today:
-He is trying to create division so bitter and so extreme that both sides
literally start to fight one another with guns drawn. He is trying to tear
America apart.
-He is trying to sidetrack the one group that truly has the answer.
He is trying to wrap them up in fighting politics, so they will forget that
the pure GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST is the only real hope for America today.
I believe the devil is truly succeeding in both of the above aims.
To conclude this article, I would like to ask some questions of the
Christians who spend so much time on this “Obama War”:
-Do you spend as much time spreading the pure gospel as you spend spreading
stuff about Obama? Why not?
-Is your mind and your energy and your passion more focused on knowing
Christ – or defeating Obama and the liberals in politics?
-If you were asked to turn off Fox News and delete the “Obama”
emails and turn off Talk Radio, etc, could you bear it? Or are you
more-or-less an “addict”?
-Do you really think it is right for this to be the big focus of your life?
I truly believe these are huge issues and huge problems in the American
church today. I guess I can expect a wave of angry disagreement in response!
God bless you all.
Andrew Strom.
A Call To The Remnant 
hindfeet said
Andrew – Thank you for this article. I think you have asked the right questions, and come to the right conclusions. It’s disheartening to see so many professing Christians vilifying Obama. The Word of God instructs us to pray for our leaders, and all this Christian “smear” campaign against Obama is of the devil, and against the will of God.
God bless you!
timbob said
Good afternoon. This is a topic that troubles me as I was once enfatuated by the political arena. It was like we had to defend the nation against the evil Democrats and I would waste (note the term “waste”) hours on end pondering such venues of thought. The Lord has delivered me from this so completely that today, such rhetoric literally causes my stomach to turn. I’ve been there. There is absolutely no life in that conversation and no power to transform one who is in desperate need of Jesus.
Once again, you have posted a very important writing that addresses a widespread problem. Andrews comment on how he gets more e-mails from Christians concerning political issues than spiritual issues is an ominous revelation. Thanks so much for posting this.
Blessings always in Jesus name.
timbob
appolus said
Dear brother, I am so glad that you were delivered from that, very few get delivered.It seems to be a complete entoxicant which “lulls unsuspecting sailors onto the rocks.” It is uniquely American problem. I think that the greater the threat then the greater the distraction that is needed……..brother Frank
wallwatcher said
Andrew,
Finally someone has spoken out against this darkness. I’m an American Christian, who is also conservative. But this sin in the name of any viewpoint is sin–no ifs, ands, or buts. Whatever happened to screen our darker impulses through the light of Scripture!
1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:1-2,5,10)
appolus said
Amen sister, some of us have been speaking out about this for years. GThis was an especially hard issue during the Clinton and Bush time, but the truth nonethe less…………………….Frank
Mannyr said
Frankly I see this as same old same old. Yes the sister quotes the scripture right but–Who votes? God or you? We have a man so full of contractions and surrounded by some hooligans who are taking this country apart. Yes, yes, let’s all be good quite Christians never mind who is running the country.
Abiding in Jesus is all important–but lets do so as informed, clear thinking Christians. Take a thought about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran minister who warned and publicly fought against Hitler, it cost him his life.
Let me say this, at a recent town Hall meeting with Senator John McCain(held in our church sanctuary) issues were discussed and yet we came away with the feeling —that our Representative really did not care.
Sound familiar?
appolus said
Hi brother. I have yet to see a President or a politician that was not full of contradictions. Their promises are made to be broken. The way to change the world is not through Washington. The great awakenings and revivals of the past that changed nations and communities had nothing to do with politics. When Christians remove their one foot from the world, when they turn from their wicked ways, then maybe then the Lord will hear from heaven and heal their lands? It is so much easier to look out there for the root cause of all of our problems, when in fact, the biggest problem in this country is not the state of politics, it is the state of the chruch. ……….Frank