Sunday, October 5, 2008
Imagine Hope? Nope, I already have it.
I have some new thoughts today. This morning in church I believe God revealed a lot to me. I have been struggling a lot this election. Struggling to see why so many people are following Obama in flocks of people. Saying that they believe he will change the world. Obama himself stating that he believes he can "remake the world" as it should be. Telling people to Imagine Hope. And all the while claiming he is a Christian. I don't understand. I am a Christian and and I already have hope. As a Christian shouldn't Obama be telling people the same thing? I would hope so. But he is not he is telling people that he is their hope. He is telling people that America has failed them and that he is going to change that if they give him their vote. The sad thing, people are believing it. The God that I serve teaches me to put my hope in Him. He is the only one I need and He is the only one I will worship. I think I have realized why this populist, hope, change, imagine message works. It does wonders to win you votes. It does nothing to win souls. Our society has become so entangled with material possessions that we are seeing God disappear out of the picture. People believe their life will be better if they have a house, if they have health insurance, if they have enough money to be able to do this or do that. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying there are not people in need in the U.S. I know there are. And as a Christian I know it I am called to serve and minister to those people. God tells us in the Bible " there will always be the poor amoung you". And I believe he has a purpose for this. But I also believe that when God talks about the poor in the Bible and commands us ( not the government) to care for them, He is referring more to their spiritual poorness than physical poorness. God made it clear that He wants us all to be poor in possessions because possessions distract us. He wants us to be free and He knows that earthly things do not free us but take us captive. But I see our society becoming slaves again. We are becoming slaves to possessions, to earthly securities, to insurance policies. We are being told we do not have enough. I fall into this trap as well. I think it's hard not to. But I strive every day to know and believe with my whole heart that God is all I ever need. I have never been physically poor. I had a good upbringing God has blessed me with generous parents who have always worked hard to make sure I was taken care of. But even though I have never been physically poor, my life has not always been easy. In fact I have had times in my life where I have wanted to give up and there was not one thing on earth that could have changed my situations. We all have earthly burdens to bear. And thank God we do because without them I never would have come to know the One who bears my burdens for me. I would contend that stirring up discontentment does a lot of win you votes but it does nothing to win souls and that is what as a Christian I know really matters.
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2 comments:
I think that you might have a wrong idea of why people are finding hope in Obama's message. I am a Christian who supports Obama and I find hope in what he is saying. Am I finding my ultimate hope? No. Am I finding my security in what he says? No.
But I do hope that one day I can have health care I can afford for my wife and daughters. I don't place my security in that, but it does bring peace of mind. I'm certainly not the poorest of the poor, but I think that people who don't struggle financially, and who have good insurance policies, and who don't live paycheck to paycheck (despite working their tails off), don't really understand what's going on here.
You say people are wrong for thinking that life would be better with a house or insurance policies, etc. I think I know where you're going with the thought that only God can make life better, but I do believe life would be better for thousands of Americans if they had insurance policies. Have you ever had to choose between going to see the doctor or buying food? As a special education teacher, I work very hard to build into our future generations, but I don't bring in much money. I have not been able to afford a dentist appt in about 3 years. I can't afford the 100 bucks a month for dental coverage and I can't afford to pay out of pocket because a teacher's salary doesn't go very far supporting a family. Would my life be better with affordable insurance so we could all go to the doctor when we needed to? You bet! I need the government to step in and either cut the spirally costs of health care or make insurance more affordable. Those industries aren't going to regulate their costs on their own. Is government the perfect solution? No. But I certainly don't have hope in a system obsessed with profits.
I get where you're coming from as the viewpoints you share are the same I was raised on, but I think I have seen a whole different side of things. I understand God didn't call the government to fix problems and I don't think it will ultimately do that. But it can help the process. I am voting for Obama, but I'm going to continue to support poor children around the world. I'm still giving to my local church. I'm still supporting missionaries here in the states. But I am excited as well that my government wants to help meet physical needs of the poor too(which I believe Jesus finds incredibly important). So basically, I would ask that you please not put Obama supporters in an idol-worshiping box.
Pete, I appreciate your views and your honesty. I am basing my post on conversations that I have had with many people Christians and non- Christians. I am not saying we should all be satisfied with not having anything. I understand the need for health insurance but I also see people putting their hope and support in one person to change this country and change this world. I am not saying this is what you are saying. But I have heard that from numerous people. I do not disagree that we have a problem with health insurance in this country. But I also think we have to look at what the ramifications of what univeral health insurance are. The financial crisis we are in today has a lot to do with trying to tap into socialistic pressures. The intention was good, to get people into houses, but look what's happened. The same thing will happen with health insurance. I am all for having healthcare for everyone but I think we can look at history as well as other countries and see how socialistic programs are not the answer. It sounds good but in reality it doesn't work especially in a country as large as the US with so many immigrants, etc.
I appreciate your honesty but as I mentioned this is a blog where I am attempting to get my thoughts out. I am not trying to put Obama supporters in an "idol worshipping" box. I am not sure what in my post gave you that idea. i aplogize if you took it that way Like I have said I am just trying to get my personal thoughts out in the open. And it's meant to be more for me than for anyone else but it's nice to know that people care enough to read.
I understand your frustrations with health insurance. I agree that you should make more money as a teacher. I thank you for your honesty in sharing. And no I haven't had a problem with health insurance so I can't completely know where you are coming from. But I ask you to look at where I am coming from too. My husband and I weren't able to have children. We adopted one child and it cost $35,000. We had to spend all of our savings in order to have a child. And it is extremely hard and painful to think that even though I always wanted more than one child, there is a very real possibility that we can't afford any more children. That is an extremely painful thing for me. So I am just asking you to consider that we all carry some burden. We all have frustrations about money. But I am just trying to remind myself that God calls us to be content despite our circumstances. Sure you could make the point that life is "easier" with money, with insurance, with owning a house. Would life have been "easier" for my husband and I if we had been able to conceive children and not to have had to pay $35,000. I guess you could make that argument. But that was not the life God had planned for me and my husband. And for that I am thankful because He taught me that my daughter is priceless. And my daughter was part of God's plan for us.
I am not trying to say b/c you are a Christian and supporting Obama that you are woshipping an idol. However I do see a lot of non Christians who are putting all of their hope in him. That's really the point I was making. As Christians we are called to help others. God makes that clear. But as we help others we are supposed to point them to the only One who can truly be their hope and light in a dark world.
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