I've been hopping around between ChangePoint and Faith Community Church lately. I went to ChangePoint this morning, and I'm glad I did. Dan gave a very good reminder about something I rarely do, which is pray for the leadership of this country. It's easy to pray for a leader you're ideologically in tune with, isn't it? But what about when you're not? I've spent quite a lot of time over the last 9 to 12 months examining Barack Obama's record and how much he agrees with Marxist tenets outlined in The Communist Manifesto (feel free to read my blogs from last fall if you're so inclined). I am personally about as opposite of Mr. Obama as one could possible get. But do I pray for him? Should I pray for him? 1 Timothy 2:2 says that I should. In fact, when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, the king of the land was none other than Nero, a deranged sadist who was the first Roman emperor to openly persecute Christians after the Great Fire of AD 64.
This, from roman-empire.net: "Nero, always a man desparate to be popular, therefore looked for scapegoats on whom the fire could be blamed. He found it in an obscure new religious sect, the Christians. And so many Christians were arrested and thrown to the wild beasts in the circus, or they were crucified. Many of them were also burned to death at night, serving as 'lighting' in Nero's gardens, while Nero mingled among the watching crowds. It is this brutal persecution which immortalized Nero as the first Antichrist in the eyes of the Christian church."
And Paul instructed Timothy to pray for "kings and all of those in authority"??
Which brings me to ME. Barack Obama stands for very little of what I believe in. His first 100 days have been, in my opinion, an unmitigated disaster. He is pushing our country so far towards totalitarianism that it could take a generation to undo what he's done, if we can at all. But I am instructed to obey my leaders and submit to their authority (Hebrews 13:17). I am instructed to love my neighbor (Luke 10:27). And yes, I am instructed to pray for him.
And so I shall.
5 years ago
2 comments:
interesting topic for sure! the only thing I would add is to make sure you do it with love - not only for the sake of our country (because sadly enough we NEED it), but also for yourself - each one of us would move MOUNTAINS if we simply stopped, took a breath, and acted out of love FIRST ... difficult yes (much of the time), but completely worthwhile - especially in prayer :-)
Can you IMAGINE being a Roman Christian and told by Paul that God wants you to pray for Nero? Holy Schmoly!
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