WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

Jason here. This blog is about to get slightly political, so if you’re here today for a healthy dose of pictures of the cutest kids in the world and fun stories and anecdotes you may want to skip this post and read the new one immediately following. That being said…

I am a Christian and I voted for Barack Obama. I know, I know…I’m asking for it. I recently saw on another blog where a good friend of ours made an even lesser confession than this. She made the audacious assertion that perhaps we as Christians should have concerns beyond the issue of abortion. Maybe we should also be concerned about which candidate will better care for the poor and marginalized. Maybe being pro life extends beyond the unborn child to those suffering from extreme poverty and those dying as a result of war. This person made very clear that they were an undecided voter at this point and they were merely asking questions, yet from that point on she was vilified by the other people leaving comments. Her character and intelligence were called in to question as people espoused the most radical viewpoints about Obama and the infamous “liberals” (accurate or not). All while invoking the name of God.

Now before folks get all hot & bothered let me be clear about a couple of things. I am pro life. I am fundamentally opposed to the practice of abortion. I appreciate the Republican view on the issue and I was glad to see the Democratic party add to their platform their desire to reduce the number of abortions taking place in America. I do however, like our friend, favor an expanded definition of pro-life. I believe a person has to seriously question the death penalty, particularly with the number of convictions of death row inmates that have been overturned based upon DNA evidence. I believe that no one should lose their life due to lack of food or proper health care. My heart breaks for the unborn child and those losing their lives in an unjust war. That goes for our troops, the Iraqi Christians that are being killed and persecuted due to our presence and all the Iraqi people regardless of religious beliefs. (**Note: A person can support the troops and honor their sacrifice without approving of a war that was entered into under false pretenses**). I also believe God has called us to care for the poor and oppressed, to seek justice and be good stewards of His creation. I also believe that there is an EXTREME issue when being a Christ follower automatically means you must vote for a particular party, regardless of which party that is.

I know that there are people who disagree with me on some of these issues. There are people who disagree with me that are intelligent and have a high degree of character and integrity. If someone claims they are a follower of Christ who am I to question this because we have differing political opinions? This extends to the candidates as well. I’ve heard it suggested that Barack Obama would lead this country while being led by something other than the Holy Spirit. Contrary to what your e-mails may say, Barack Obama is a Christian. While I’m sure that president-elect Obama and myself have some different viewpoints when it comes to religion, my understanding is if you are a Christ follower you have the gift of the Holy Spirit. If Obama claims to be a Christ follower then he is my brother and I will not judge his relationship with God.

Also, we all need to realize that neither Obama nor McCain (who I have a great deal of respect for) were ever going to solve all of our problems. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that no president has ever lived up to everything they’ve promised in their campaign. You can have hope in candidates but we need to take a step back & realize that God is in control regardless of who is in the white house or what political party is in power.

I could go on for a while but let me sum it up like this. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” If people listen to our comments in regards to politics will they see love or will they see hatred & judgment? This goes for both sides of the political spectrum. Maybe it’s time we turned off Rush Limbaugh, Bill Maher, Sean Hannity & Michael Moore and their ilk and talk to each other rather than yell at each other. If you want to have a respectful discussion over the issues by all means do so, but let’s do so with GRACE & PEACE.

This blog will now resume it’s regularly scheduled programming.