Tag Archives: God’s will

Posted on

The Obama Nation v. The Hater Nation

Hello World!!!

The hate is thick! Since our first black president-elect was chosen on Nov. 4, hate , like the lava from a volcano, has been oozing out and I hope things don’t erupt…But on the other hand, I, like many other Americans I’m sure, didn’t expect the first black president to skate into the White House unfettered by the restraints of racism.

However, I am bothered by the response of some Christians’ response to Obama’s win because whether they want to admit it or not, they too, are racist. (Yeah, I said it. Shout out Michael Baisden, ha,ha)  Here’s the thing. I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I believe He arose from the dead. I believe that He is coming back again. Case closed. But I sincerely believe that these Christians, these Christians who have hijacked the Republican Party, sincerely believe that if you are not on their side, then you are on the side of the devil.

A friend of mine, Ms. D, sent an e-mail to me about this big time Christian’s response to Obama’s historic win. Apparently, this guy Dutch Sheets, who I had never heard of before last week, is a minister and prayer warrior known throughout the world. His printed response is Exhibit A in my argument that some Christians are just racist when it comes to their lack of support of Obama. (Actually for the purpose of brevity, I don’t have an Exhibit B, but whatever- it’s my blog. 🙂 )

Read his  written response here. Here are just a few snippets of some of the things Sheets said. First of all, he said that Obama’s win was not God’s will. He said that “as a nation we put on the blinders concerning Barak Obama’s background, associations, beliefs, and practices and set these causes (he was referring to abortion and other issues) back years, possibly decades. And in doing so we took another step away from God and His plans for America and another step toward judgment.”

First of all, I promise you that this guy spells “Barack” as “Barak” throughout the whole article. What is up with that? You don’t even respect him enough as the president-elect and as a human being to spell his name right. This seemingly small mistake points to a latent disrespect of the man. And it’s funny about this whole association thing that the Republicans tried to make an issue of prior to the election. For months, Obama was criticized for his association with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. I don’t say that I agree with all of Wright’s beliefs, but at least everyone could point to the fact that Obama had a Christian pastor. What pastor was McCain associated with? Since we are talking about beliefs, associations and practices? What does McCain believe? Who was he associated with? What were his practices? I won’t dredge up all of the issues of this past election season, but as someone said to me last night, when you would rather elect a known adulterer who shies away from any discussions of faith, than someone who you can identify as a Christian who has been the faithful husband of one wife and call that “God’s will,” then I have got to believe that another issue is really the real issue.

Then Sheets goes on to detail some of the judgments that Americans will face as a result of Obama’s presidency, “more economic woes” was at the top of the list.  Well, Mr. Sheets, if “economic woes” is a sign of God’s judgment, then God used President George Bush to usher in that judgment, and we all know that he is a true Christian as he is a member of the Republication party. (The sarcasm is dripping from my lips…) Actually, it is my belief that if Bush hadn’t been such an atrocious president, then Obama wouldn’t have had a chance to get elected. I wonder if that was God’s will too…

He then goes on to address any false predictions he may have made regarding the election and the resulting backlash. “Like many, believing I had many promises and confirmations that God would ‘grace’ us with a pro-life president in this election, I failed to consider strongly enough that all promises-even scripture are conditional 99.9 percent of the time…If this caused any harm or confusion, I apologize.” He said he was “somewhat angry at the nation in general and much of the Church.” You know what I say to that, stop writing checks with your mouth that your actions can’t cash…

And here’s the kicker. He compared Sarah Palin to women in the Bible. “I believe she is an Esther, a Deborah, with a huge mantle from God for reformation. God has great destiny for her related to this nation if she chooses to continue down this path.”  (Sheets haven’t you learned? Stop writing checks!) Goodness, I must have no spiritual discernment to miss that Sarah Palin is a Biblical woman reincarnated. If that is the case, then Bush is Abraham or maybe even Paul…Mr. Dutch Sheets, you may be “passing the dutchie” because you are sadly mistaken! And you know what else, I just think you are a part of the Hater Nation rather than the Obama nation. And since Obama will be the next president of the United States of America, it is with a special joy that I say this. “America. Love it or Leave it.”

I could say more, but I won’t because I want to hear from you…

Any thoughts?

Posted on

Crime and God’s Punishment…

Hello World!!!

After reading a newspaper story yesterday about the sentencing of former Georgia state Rep. Ron Sailor Jr., who was also a pastor, I started thinking about a topic that has often haunted me. Does God punish us when we do wrong, or do we just experience the natural consequences of our actions?

The 33-year-old Sailor was convicted of money laundering and defrauding the church where he once led. He will spend five years and three months in jail for his actions…Um, um, um, I wonder what’s going through his mind this morning. I remember hearing about Sailor when I was in high school. He went to a nearby high school and was talked about as a young man “destined for success.” It probably helped that his father was a prominent TV and radio personality at the time. Ironically, his father is also a pastor as well.

The fact that he was a pastor and his father is a pastor leads me to believe that he was probably raised in the teachings of the Lord.  At some point, however, he obviously decided to put what he learned aside and commit crimes. In this case, Sailor accepted money from who he thought was a drug dealer and promised to launder it. The drug dealer turned out to be an undercover agent. The agent struck a deal with Sailor and asked him to help in a corruption investigation involving other public officials. This deal was supposed to help in reducing Sailor’s prison time at sentencing. However, soon after the deal was made, authorities discovered that Sailor went on to initiate a fraudulent loan and used his church as collateral.  Apparently, he had large personal debts to pay off.

Is this sentencing indicative of God’s punishment as he is a man of God or did he just get what was coming to him. In talking about this subject with my father, he told me to look up two passages in the Bible – Psalm 103: 8-13 and Hebrews 12: 5-6. In the first passage, “the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” In the second passage, we are told not to “make light of the Lord’s discipline…the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.”

I have many friends who are on this spiritual path with me, and we often discuss our conception of God. Several of my friends don’t think that God is a punishing God; however, they do feel we reap what we sow. I remember a few years back, I was in the midst of applying for a job that I thought I really wanted at the time. I had already made it successfully through two interviews and was waiting to hear if I had gotten the job. While I was waiting to hear the news, I sinned. (I won’t tell you how. I’m into self-disclosure but this is the Internet.) I asked my father if God was going to punish me for my sin by not rewarding me with the job. He told me that God was not capricious and wasn’t going to zap me just because I did something wrong. Well, I didn’t get job, ha,ha. However, in looking back, the job wouldn’t have been the best (as in good, better, best)fit for me anyway, and God had a better job coming my way.

Anywho, I would like to know what you think about God’s punishment. When we do something wrong or outside of God’s will, should we expect to be punished or is what happens to us just a result of our actions? I am so quick to talk about the rewards of God – His Favor, His Protection, His Wisdom. But everyone knows there is a yin and a yang…

Any thoughts?