As a man of faith, I tend to draw from the foundations of my
beliefs in times of crisis, hurt, and despair. I instinctively begin to pray
when there’s something unsettling in the atmosphere. I see a car broken down on
the other side of the highway and I pray that God will send the resources needed
to improve the situation. I keep a list of people on my phone and pray for each
person on the list daily. I add to the list as I hear about someone’s need for
prayer. I edit my list based on information I receive about the improvement of
people on my list and sometimes the lack of improvement. I strongly believe in
prayer and know from my own experience that it is a powerful tool. It has been
a useful tool for those who have prayed for me. It is my connection to my
creator and the lifeblood of my spiritual being.
Although I don’t ascribe to the belief that you HAVE to go
to church in order to have a relationship with God or to make it to heaven, I
go to church. I attend regularly. That’s my choice. It is my way to engage in
worship. It works for me. It is another tool I use to connect with my creator:
God.
It is only natural for me during this pandemic to use the
best tools in my toolbox to cope with my current situation. I find myself
praying more. I enjoy attending church virtually on Sundays. Honestly, I think
I like it better. I find myself attending several service on Sundays now. I
visit my friends and family’s churches without leaving my house. How cool is
that?
What I find interesting as I attend these virtual services
is the position pastors take as it relates to leadership during this pandemic
and in general. I hear various pastors and clergymen/women say things like, “we
have to pray for our president” or “Pray for our nation”. Now, I agree we
should be praying for our nation. We might even need to pray for our president.
But what are we praying FOR? I’m pretty sure (and I have witnessed firsthand) that
these pastors and clergy are leaving the pulpit and talking with their friends
and families about how 45 is not fit to be president. They are talking about
what a disaster he is and how evil he is. So why don’t they say that in the
pulpit? Has their need for church membership and the financial benefit of
membership clouded their ability to see what is right in front of their faces? Where
are the faith leaders of the Old Testament that prayed against evil rulers and
made no distinction between their evil practices and who they were as
individuals?
Let’s just be honest with ourselves; 45 is EVIL. From
pretending not to know who David Duke is, to calling Mexicans “rapists”, to
seeing “very fine people—on both sides” in Charlottesville, to calling women
“nasty” and referring to particular women as “dogs” and coddling dictators like
Putin. Please don’t forget him bragging
about grabbing women by the pu**y even before the election. I could go on and
on.
How, in the name of the God I serve, could an Evangelical
Christian support such evil? How can any person who considers himself a
Christian or person of faith not speak directly to the evil that sits at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue? Even more chilling; how can Evangelical Christians support
such evil?
Can you imagine how unhinged he will be between the election
on November 3rd and the inauguration on January 20th? Too
bad the Republican senate didn’t’ have the courage to remove him when they had
the opportunity. I’ll never forget the words of Susan Collins of Maine when she
said, “I think the president has learned his lesson”. Really? Does she really believe that? Adam
Schiff warned us at the time that he will do it again and even worse. I tend to
fall in the camp of Adam Schiff.
It’s time to be
honest and call it what it is. It’s time to stand up against evil. Pray for our
country? Absolutely. As we pray for our country, let’s pray that God will
remove the evil from leadership just like he removed evil leaders in Old
Testament days. He’s the same God. We have not because we ask not.
