A Christian Defense of Barack Obama...and my personal soapbox.

I wrote this a few months ago, but I still feel the same way today. So here it is.

This is not a political issue.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been witness to more than one attack on Barack Obama. My problem is not that people are critiquing his performance as the president. I think that’s great. My problem is that Christians are saying disrespectful things about his character...saying things that they would never say about another human being that they know personally.

First of all, this type of name-calling shouldn’t have a place in anyone’s life, especially not a Christian and especially not from one Christian to another. Barack Obama has consistently declared that he is Christian. He says that he believes that Jesus is the Savior of the world. For Christians, this places him in a different spot than he was before. We are to treat him as a brother in Christ. I’m not saying you have to agree with what he does. You probably don’t agree with the person who sits next to you on Sunday. But wouldn’t you afford them some grace anyway? At the very least, I doubt you’d call them names.

I believe that Barack Obama is misguided on several issues that cause him to make decisions inconsistent with Christian values. But guess what? Without even realizing it, you and I are too! If we think we’re going to get to heaven and find that our understanding and application of Christianity was right on target…well, we have another thing coming, don’t we? Barack Obama will have to answer for his decisions and there is no way around that. But being impatient, rude, and condescending is not an acceptable way to treat a fellow brother in Christ.

And on another completely different line of thought, Barack Obama has placed his life on the line to serve us. I’m not saying his motives for becoming president are squeaky clean (you’d almost have to be a narcissist to want to be president, but that’s my soapbox again), but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that everyday he works to serve us and does so at a personal expense. That type of thing deserves respect.

Please don’t misunderstand. I believe we all have a right and responsibility to speak out when elected officials aren’t doing what is right or what we want them to do. Free speech is one of the best things about being American. But let’s not squander the freedom by using it to demean another person’s character. When we disagree with someone’s policy decisions, it’s our responsibility as democratic participants in government to speak out against them (and vote against them). I think it was important to speak out against torture that George Bush allowed, and I think it’s important to speak out against the abortion policies that Barack Obama supports. I don’t think it’s OK to demean either one of them on a personal level. It’s not right.

You owe Barack Obama respect as president—he is the elected leader of this country, he risks his life for us, and he is making the best decisions that he can. He is NOT out to deliberately mess up the country. Who would be? He is doing what he thinks is right. Some presidents abuse their power to gain money for themselves, or push personal agendas thru congress. All presidents make decisions that cost human lives. Sometimes they make the right decisions, and sometimes they make the wrong decisions. It’s OK to call out a president and question their decisions, or even their motivations. It can, however, be done in a way that respects the office they hold.

You also owe Barack Obama respect as a fellow human being. No one deserves to be called names or treated like some people treat him. Respect for all human beings (and all life) is central to the life of a Christian. It’s what Jesus taught. Jesus never treated another person without respect. You would never call someone names to their face, insulting their intelligence and calling their faith into question… yet because it is socially acceptable to do so concerning the president, we don’t hesitate to drag his name thru the mud. I was outraged about the torture allowed by Bush. I spoke out against it. It was wrong. I will speak out against the policies of Obama that I don’t agree with. What I will not do is allow myself to hate either one of them.

You owe Barack Obama respect as a Christian. The Bible never teaches us to question another person’s faith. He has spoken—at length—about his Christian beliefs, in direct, concrete terms. That alone is worthy of respect. We all disagree about matters of faith—and I disagree with Obama on some very big ones—but these constant, snide comments are tearing someone down who reads the same Bible we do, kneels before the same cross, and trusts the same Savior.

“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.” 1 John 2:10