I must admit something.  I have not always honored the office of the Presidency of the United States, or I guess I should say, I haven’t always honored the person holding the title of President.  You see, I have great esteem for the leaders of our land.  One reason for that is because I love this country and all she represents, the other reason is because we are instructed in the Word of God to do so.

When Former Pres. Clinton took office, I was one of the unhappy ones.  I had followed his record as governor, I knew the scandal that followed him, and I felt he would not be a good representation of our country.  Even with my feelings about him, which proved to be right, I still tried hard to honor his position.  At times, I would catch myself sharing in jokes which were not appropriate, but after some self- chastisement, I would repent and move on.  What was the fall out of those eight years though?  Another eight years of shameless slamming of a man who was living right, leading well and trying to help his country recover from an incredible devastation.I am in no way saying that President Bush was perfect because he was not, but he loved America and all she stands for and he held the office of the Presidency in high esteem. Now, here we are again.

I remember the night of election 2008 so well. I am sure my children will never forget it either.  When the election was called for Obama, my heart sank within me. I cried like I have not cried in years at the death of my dreams for my children. I knew that with this election, the America I love so well would never be the same.  I could see the writing on the wall.  The kind of change that would come with Obama was not what this great land of ours needed.

Throughout the election process, we tried  to teach our kids to honor the President.  That has been hard since we can see the slippery slope we are on, but they pray for their leader and then ask a lot of questions about what he is doing. We try to answer with truth, but respect.

I have been reading a book by John Paul Jackson titled Needless Casualties of War. In it, Mr. Jackson writes that “Courtesy is the hallmark of God’s kingdom”.  That thought struck me deep.  With passions flaring and fear rising, there are many Christians like myself who have been speaking out loud and clear for all to hear.  We need to do this, but we need to do it in a way that glorifies God.  That is the only reason we are here.  It made me stop and think about how Jesus would handle the current crisis we are having.  My thoughts immediately went to Matthew 4 where Jesus was tempted by the devil himself.  How did he respond?  With scripture, patience and respect.  He held to the hallmark of God’s kingdom.

As I thought about this, the ploy of the evil one started to become very clear to me.  Over the past 20 years, we have been diminishing the Presidency of the United States.  As we dig up all of the conspiracy theories about past presidents and as we tear down the current ones, we are feeding right into the hands of the oppressor, for as long as we are divided, we will fall as a nation.  The Presidency is the hallmark of the democracy and the representation of the republic in which we stand.  By showing disrespect to the office of the Presidency, we diminish the value of the office thereby creating a vacuum that invites totalitarianism and socialism into this land of the free and home of the brave.  Is this what we want?

I am a fighter, so I am not at all saying we should sit back and take whatever is handed out to us.  That is what got us into this mess in the first place.  What I am saying though is that we need to be “slow to speak and slow to anger”.  We need to emulate the only man worthy of our devotion, Jesus Christ.  We need to allow God’s Word to do our speaking.  Our own words are mere morsels to be dropped to the ground and stomped on, but God’s Word will not return void.  If the Scripture was good enough for Jesus to turn away the devil, why would it not work for us?

If you love Jesus, then you are a mighty warrior of the Most High God. You were put here for a purpose.  Who knows, maybe you were put here “for such a time as this”.

The good news is…..there is still good news in the USA today.  We still have the freedom to worship.  We still have the freedom to stand up against what we do not believe in.  We still have the freedom to vote.

If you want to see change, start with you.  Then begin raising up elected officials who care about the people, all of the people, of this great land.  And if you really want to see change, share the gospel.  It is the truth that never changes.

Decide today to live within the hallmark of God’s kingdom!  Your destiny is waiting!