I find it interesting that some people turn everything about President Obama into a witch-hunt. I would like to challenge every person, and especially the religious community, to change that mindset.
Actually, I think witches may be treated better than President Obama by some folks.
See, it’s not about whether you agree with his policies or not. I don’t agree with many of his policies either. However, if I saw witches on the street, I would not agree with their witchcraft, but I would still encourage them. Witches can be depressed too. They need encouragement, and the love of Jesus, too.
If I saw the President on the street, I may not agree with his policies, but I would still encourage him. The man has authority over the strongest country in the world, which happens to be my country. I honor him. I’m commanded to do so by God himself, just because he is my leader and authority.
So what would have happened if Chattanoogans had turned out to honor President Obama, instead of protesting?
What would have happened if someone had said, “Mr. President, we honor you as our President. Your authority was given to you by God, and we pray for your safety, success, and wisdom in every area.”
What would have happened if the protesters held a prayer meeting instead?
What would happen if we speak blessings over our President, instead of cursing him?
Wouldn’t that have been what the Bible actually says to do? And as such, wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect that we would have had better results, had we done that?
Could that have opened a door for President Obama’s visit to Chattanooga to be a catalyst for good? To calm the fires of discord in Washington? To begin discussion of bipartisan, reasonable policies, and civil teamwork—not bickering and name-calling?
No, you say?
How would you know? We’ve never actually tried it.
Proverbs 11:11: "By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked."
Jamie Rohrbaugh
Chattanooga
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While most people do not bear any ill will towards Obama personally, and many find him to be a likable and engaging character, he is a politician. He works for us and is accountable not only to those who support him but also to those who oppose his agenda. Americans who believe Obama is unqualified to serve in his current position, and that his policies are designed to change us into a socialist nanny state, have no desire to "encourage" him.
To us, he has been entirely too successful. When we point out differences between us and him, we are not criticizing the man. We are trying to slow him down in hopes of restoring the country to her former level of greatness, when the world envied our economic and military strengths and our citizens valued self-reliance over government dependence.
During this administration, we have fallen into a state of little hope for ourselves and pride in who we are. Obama punishes high achievement, encourages low productivity, and seeks ever-increasing reliance upon government through redistribution. He has weakened us by uncontrolled and unproductive borrowing and spending. He has been hostile to Christianity and Judiasm, cornerstones of our democracy, while he has been tolerant towards the hostile beliefs of radical Islam and actively supported immorality such as abortion and gay marriage.
To "encourage" Obama is to hope that his quest to turn the United States into a second class, declining nation continues to be successful. Great societies in the past such as ancient Greece and the Roman Empire followed similar paths and failed when they overspent and lost their moral guidance in favor of "anything goes". His profligate spending of taxpayer money for his own elaborate vacations and pleasures is reminiscent of Nero and the other Caesars who lived extravagantly at the expense of his subjects.
I prefer to "discourage" Obama in hopes of stopping what appears to be his relentless quest to leave America weaker, poorer, and more divided than when he entered office. It may sound silly, but I truly believe those who oppose Obama are trying to save the country.
What is most amazing to me is how Obama feigns no responsibility for the damage he has done and that his supporters do not hold him accountable for his failures. Other than continuing the policies to oppose terror attacks he inherited from the last administration, his leadership has been pathetic -- even worse than Jimmy Carter's. History will hold him in a dim light for the leftist path he has led us upon. It is sad that so many Americans have been blinded to the slow decline he so successfully has engineered. The country those who follow us will inherit will never recover from his vision of what our country should look like.
This is why I cannot "encourage" Obama. Hopefully it will be easier to "encourage" the next.
Jim Nichols