Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I will not be silent anymore

I have a confession to make. I'm a conservative, and am one of about seven black people in the US who voted for McCain. Was I upset when Obama won? Slightly. Was I surprised? Not at all. Am I worried about how he'll lead the country? Far from it.

See, while I am a conservative, I am a Christian before anything and everything else. So while I'll vote and root for the person whose views are closer to mine, I won't forget that God is sovereign and that He puts the people in control that He wants in control. Romans 13:1 tells us that we are all subject to authority, because there is no authority that exists except God and those that have been instituted by Him. So, as much as I want to piss and moan that it was the liberal candidate that won, as much as I want to throw around words whose sole purpose is to make people feel guilty, as much as I want to use "terrorist" or "socialist" or any other "ist" that other conservatives throw around like a rubber ball, I still will look to the Word of God and say, "Not my will but Your will be done."

I usually try not to be divisive or offensive, but I can't be silent anymore.

To you who make jokes about assassination. To you who call our country's president-elect a terrorist, socialist, babykiller. To you who refuse to stand behind a man that you disagree with because of those aforementioned terms.

I want to remind you that God is in control. While you're not coming out and denying it outright, what you have said is evidence enough of what it is you truly believe. And I can tell you right now, God's will is better than yours. It may not seam so, but He knows better than you.

8 comments:

Michelle Renae :) said...

I appreciate you so much. Thanks for this post. It's so refreshing to see a Christian truly represent their view and remember who comes first. I was absolutely shocked and appalled by the responses of those who are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thanks for the refreshing blog post, J-Ra.

Anonymous said...

J-Ra, Thanks for your post! I have been frustrated too by all the negativity. The election was discouraging... yes, but no reason to put labels and spread fear. We need to strive to represent Jesus... and I don't think he'd be saying what many brothers and sisters in Christ were saying. Let's move forward and do what we can to know Christ and make Him known!! :-) Tena

Anonymous said...

I don’t argue that God has put into power who he wants.

But many times in the book of Judges, God puts Israel into the hands of an evil king, and in my opinion it is for the same reasons America has been handed over to Obama.

Judges 2:17"...They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the LORD; they did not do as their fathers."

And many times does Israel cry out in pain/anguish/fear. I know it’s assuming, but I think it’s safe to say that they weren’t unifying behind the evil king, or that they weren’t muting themselves because "God knows what he is doing." God did know what he was doing, and it wasn’t pleasant for Israel.

And yes I'm sure you could use the "It is the Old Testament" argument. But is it so hard to believe that this could be the same situation?

So while I will listen to the bible, and I will submit to the authority God has put over me, I wont and don’t have to be happy about it. I won’t mute myself to my opinions and feelings. I will share them with God, and with the rest of the world.

I do trust Gods plan and Gods word. And I know that I could be so very wrong in my speculation. I know that despite what you think, what I think, or what anyone else thinks, the only person who knows what is really going on is God.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11)

“How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” (Romans 11:33-34)

Randall said...

So because i say obama is a baby killer (because he is) and a terrorist (again because he is) means that i dont believe God is in control?

So because i express my views/feelings it means i dont believe God is in control?

Because a man such as obama scares the hell out of me that he is leading our country, means i dont believe God is in control?

Well im going to keep calling a terrorist a terrorist, and a baby killer a baby killer. Say what you will about my faith, cause i know that only GOD KNOWS, exactly how much i trust him. Only God knows exactly how much i believe he is in control. And im not afraid of his knowledge of my feelings, because i know how much i trust him.

Randall said...

Should german christians have united behind hitler?

God is in control, so they should have united behind hitler, and not called him a killer, and not got outraged that he wanted to kill millions people right? They should have sat back peacefully while it was all happening and said "well, god is in control, so we should "Stand Behind" this man, even though he is completely wrong."

Susan said...

I agree with you, J-Ra. Thank you for this post. I am extremely sick of all of the name calling, too. God's will above our own.

But...I am also an independent who couldn't choose a candidate, so I'm not quite sure I count... ^^;

Unknown said...

Anonymous: I agree that God sometimes puts people in power that we won't necessarily agree with. But we are too short sighted and finite to realize what it is God is planning on doing. All I'm saying is that God put Obama in power for a reason. I couldn't tell you what reason that is, but I can't tell you a lot of why God works the way He does.

Randall: Abortion is murder and is flat out wrong. I'm not going to argue with you there. But voting for abortion does not make someone a babykiller. I invite you to read KT's post to take a glimpse into the other side, to look at how a person can actually see this heinous act as the lesser of two evils (the other evil putting the mother at much greater risk). As far as terrorists go, I have yet to see Barack Obama do anything that would put himself on the same level, or even near the same level, as Osama bin Laden. And no, I don't think that Christians should have rooted Hitler on while he mass murdered a people for no reason, but (1) that does not mean that God did not have him in power for a reason (what reason, I couldn't tell you) and (2) Barack Obama is not Hitler. And don't compare abortion to the holocaust. Hitler took all the people who he didn't like (Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, blacks, etc) and ordered them to be killed. Obama has not ordered pregnant women by the thousands to march unwillingly into Planned Parenthood. Barack Obama hasn't even had the chance to mess up, and you are going on a holy crusade against him.
And as far as what you believe, I have no say. I can't tell what you, in your heart of hearts, believe about God. But your ranting and raving against someone who He chose to be put into the highest office in our country seems to scream, "I disagree with You."

Susan: Please, speak your mind. I'm not trying to stifle anyone's opinion based on how they voted or if they voted at all. I'm speaking my mind and want others to speak there's, even if I think they're wrong (and I am making a conscious effort to be more offensive/speak my however-unpopular mind more often, so if I think you're wrong, I'll say something.)

Randall said...

Again i will use hitler. So because he put hitler in power, despite the rants and raves of christians, that means it screams he disagree's with them too? It means the god disagreed that hitler was a killer?

I dont care that some people see the other side of the lesser of two evils. I understand why people feel that way. But i dont agree with it. And it is in no way the lesser of the two evils. If you have the responsabily to have sex, then you have the responsability to go through with its consiquences. If these mothers did decide to go through with abortion even after its been made illegal, then they will suffer the consiquences of their own choices. Instead of being heartless to the life of their child, they will have to put their own life at risk. And that alone will decrease the amount of american children killed. And anyone who practices aborting peoples babies will have to face getting caught, and being put in jail. Will it still happen? Yes? Murder, drug traffic, its all illegal. And it still happens. But that doesnt mean we should lift those laws just because it happens. We should fight for the lives of americans. We should fight criminals to keep america safe.