Monday, May 14, 2012

President Obama and the Black Church: Politician or Preacher?

I love my POTUS! Yes I do!  I was one of many African Americans that campaigned vigorously to have this man elected to the highest government office that this country has to offer.  I will never forget waking at 3am in the morning with my mom in tow, standing in line to cast my vote for President Obama.  I sang all the way to polls and back home, “We Shall Overcome!”  I was proud to have been able to vote in such a historic election.  I was even prouder still that African Americans had their FIRST African American president elected!  What a day of jubilee!  I still feel pride when I see my POTUS and the first family, a class act indeed.  The black church played an integral part in getting this young man from Illinois elected.  However, now the black church is having a cow over what the POTUS has said recently.

Last week, President Obama announced that he was in favor of same sex marriage, but he feels that it should be up to individual states as to the specific laws they may or may not adopt.  Meaning, GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender) couples may be able to marry in one state, but may not be able to marry in another.  Okay, that makes sense to me.  It doesn’t bother me.  I know that my denomination does not allow me to perform same sex marriages and I know that we don’t condone them either.  Fine, I am okay with our denominational stance.  My personal stance is the same as my denomination’s also, but not in the reason some people might think.  Mine comes not from prejudice of a group of people; mine comes strictly from a biblical standpoint.  President Obama’s comes straight from a politician’s view.

Last I looked the POTUS was and is a politician and not a preacher.  His goal is to get re-elected and not to be a shepherd over a congregation.  The world of politics is like one of chess.  You have to move and strategize in order to win.  You have to use your pawns and the POTUS did a very good job at doing that.  In chess there is a move in which you sacrifice your queen and your opponent makes the mistake of moving key pieces around to win.  However, the purpose of sacrificing your queen is to flush out your opponents flaws so that you can checkmate them later.  In sacrificing your queen, your opponent has to rethink their strategy, which usually ends up in a bad move for them. 

The POTUS is playing chess.  He is doing what he does, which is being a politician.  The GLBT vote is huge.  He would be correct to go after that vote.  How dare we be hypocritical about his announcement!  Whether we want to admit it or not, homosexuality has been infused in the black church since forever.  Homosexuality has been in our pulpits as well as the pews.  Don’t get on the POTUS for being a politician.  That’s his job.  Pray for the POTUS. Looking at all the yahoos out here running for office makes me like him that much more.  If nothing else, “Don’t be mad at the playa, be mad at the Game!”            

5 comments:

  1. Amen! I agree. Obama is the President of ALL America not the Pastor of Christian America.

    ReplyDelete
  2. We have whores, lyres, gamblers, molesters, thieves, and verbal murderers in our AME pulpits every Sunday. They are Ordained in some cases by the same type people. What right do they have to judge or to even make stances on anything? I am sick of it. This whole country oversteps its boundaries. Everybody is so concerned about somebody's personal business. Who knows God? Who was there when they crucified Jesus?

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. President Obama and I attended the same church in Chicago. Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright never took the Lord’s name in vain from the pulpit as was shown on national news.

    I think Rev. Wright used journalistic license to grandstand and call attention to himself in that instance. Rev. Wright is no angel. Rev. Wright is an Honorably Discharged United States Marine.

    Most of his critics in the media and in congress never served the United States armed forces for a day. I believe Rev. Wright has earned the right to employ freedom of speech. I do not agree with the content of his conversation but he is a United States Marine!

    Sin is sin. I believe the AME doctrine is sound. We all should follow the advice given in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

    I suggest we should use the Word of God to base our decisions on and not rely solely on the desires of the flesh.

    Go in peace with God.

    If you think God would not be pleased with what you are doing there is you answer!

    Praise God!

    ReplyDelete