Today at noon Barack Obama becomes my President. His historic inaugural speech is expected to be in many ways a call to account for Americans regarding the “anything-goes” mentality. He will no doubt use this time to help define for many Americans “the moment we are in”. I expect that definition to include the call to serve others.
I did not vote for Barack Obama, which has nothing to do with the man personally, and I determined long ago that whoever is President will be my President and I will lend my support to them. I admit I’ve spent more time post-election in offering any support than I did to get anyone elected, I’ve always thought elections were a bit overrated and over dramatized. But I digress.
I compliment President Obama on not shying away from a rhetoric of accountability. I think we as Americans need to hear it, even if it hurts. Americans have grown a scapegoat mentality that blames the government (example: Bush administration) for all the problems, when the fact is that their are millions of individual choices that have been a major contributor to the place we are today. I read somewhere that two-thirds of the American economy depends on consumer spending (which is different than buying things on credit, an entirely different problem). That seems scary enough. Our American lifestyle choices have put enormous pressure to systems like health care. I am guilty of making choices that have helped to lead to these problems.
So as I have prayed for our incoming President I have prayed that he would use this platform to call us to account, I hope Obama would be such a President and leader. But I have also prayed for our country. I have prayed that others would see their own guilt, as I have, and then do something besides merely vote, but actually get involved in serving others and making a difference every single day. I’m a firm believer that our over-indulged lifestyles are remedied by a healthy dose of reality.
Yesterday I talked to a 56 year old woman. Her only parent, her dad, is on life support, and her daughter who is 18 is very sick, to the hospital regularly. The women is uneducated, yet has not used it as an excuse, she has worked instead of choosing a lifestyle of dependency. She has even recently taken steps toward a GED. She was recently laid-off, told that the economy was bad. She is living in an apartment that has no furniture, she had to move from her furnished apartment to a lower rent unfurnished. She has no bed, not even a couch to lay her own head. She has been given a heavy load, a load that I’m not sure I could bear. She represents a reality that few Americans want to acknowledge, and if they do, many will line up to cast the first stone. We have to put down the stone and see ourselves in people just like this, and then show generosity that goes beyond any program. We need a reality check.
Obama is our President, the nation has spoken, many are truly inspired by Mr. Obama and there is no denying the historical milestone his presidency represents. I am concerned, however, that people will use him as their sole motivation to get involved in service and volunteering. We actually have a chance to make a difference every single day, just as we have had the past eight years, and our society cannot require political phenomena to stir it to action. We must render to Caesar what is his, but let us not confuse Caesar with our true Lord and God. Secular motivations to good works are vain and often dependent upon the next news cycles, we need a much deeper generosity rather than pep rallies around the mere idea. You see, a great number of government programs would not even be necessary if we truly lived the generosity of which we are capable under the grace of God.
President Obama is on the right track regarding this issue of individual accountability and the need for Americans to recapture the spirit of generosity and service. I just hope that this spirit is deeper than any man and I hope this spirit has not left America only to be replaced with a government program.
However, President Obama is on the wrong track with abortion policy, which is eliminating one in five future citizens and he cannot duck the argument of hypocrisy regarding his policy on abortion and the call to personal accountability. We need to hear our parents, “One bad decision doesn’t have to lead to another.” Abortion is simply another symptom of the “anything-goes” mentality of Americans. Obama should be held accountable for when his rhetoric doesn’t match his policy. But let’s remember that the American people are largely responsible for this issue, more than anyone. Let’s also remember that we the people have the say on how well our country and society work. I’m praying and hoping for a better country and a better society, not because of a President, but for the sake of finding our ultimate joy, which isn’t found in men but in the Lord and Savior of men, Jesus Christ. In him do we go and find the unending satisfaction that goes beyond personal indulgence and over-consumption. Yes HE can!
Click here for a great example given by Dr. Mohler of how to pray today and in the days ahead.
amen brother spence