Politics and the Will of God have always been on collision course. Politics is an unkind beast. Politics knaws at people with integrity. Politics has been known to consume persons of impeccable, unquestionable, and admirable Christian beliefs. I do not envy any Christian who has chosen by the people or commissioned by the Lord , to confront the practices at the palace.

Elijah was a prophet, not a politican; his assignment from God was to confront Ahad, the politician at the palace. The prophetic confrontations caused Elijah moments of disillusionment and disappointment. The palace turned against him and sought to shorten his assignment.

Prophet-palace confrontations are never nice and are always complex. I am not suggesting that President Obama is on a prophetic assignment. I do however believe that he has come into the kingdom for such a time as this. I do believe that the Lord is on his side and President Obama’s assignment will be ordained with a grand measure of success.

His endorsement of same-sex marriage has met with applause on the left and appall on the right. The facebook, twitter, news media and chatter from the streets has ranged from delight to dismay. Who expected anything less? The President made a political decision. Because I know him to be a God-fearing man, I know his decision was not made without days and nights of restless tension in his soul: do I do what I believe in my heart to be the will of God or do I do what I need to do to ensure my assignment?

Before we assert the former, I challenge each of us to put ourselves in his shoes. I remember hearing or reading somewhere, “never criticize a man’s choices until you walk a mile in his shoes.” I suggest it doesn’t take a mile walk; just spend a day sitting in the Oval Office in the West Wing.

On an individual basis, how many times have we as Christians been faced with choices, which have no gray area. It’s a clear yes and no, according to what “thus saith the Lord.” The Word of God has no blurry standards, no double standards, no difficult standards.

Jesus says, “His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” 1 John 5:3 declares, “His commandments are not grievous. There is no guarantee the Will of God would be easy in application, implementation or practice.

President Obama's recent political position does not make him a bad man or a heathen. It just shows the quapmire of the assignment and the ferociousness of the beast. It gives us additional reason to pray for his strength and wisdom to finish what we endorsed him to start.

Keep in mind the hypocrisy and the dual standards that characterize this Presidential election. The right wing conservatives are now appalled by President’s Obama’s endorsement. Yet, they say this is a Christian nation. Christians believe in the personhood of the Lord Jesus Christ as the only begotten of the Father.

Christian theology affirms there is only one God. (Deut. 6:4, 1 Titius 2:5); that Jesus was and is Almighty God from everlasting to everlasting. He is the creator of all that exists and is ‘firstborn’ over all creation in the sense that He is the Preeminent originator of life and the universe (Mic. 5:2; John 1:1-3); and that only those who accept His sacrifice and surrender themselves to Him (Rom. 10:9) will receive the benfit of Jesus’ death and resurrection which is forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43) and salvation (Rom. 3:24).

This is what a Christian nation believes and embraces. It’s the Word of God. It’s what the Bible says. It is Christian doctrine and apologetics. In your spare time, delve into the fundamental teachings of Mormon religion and theology.
The God we love has grace to keep perfecting his saints, even when compromise and political pressure prevail. Thank God for grace and mercy that is not through with President Barak Obama --- neither is grace and mercy through with us.

So the eyes of the nation and the voting populace are upon President Obama. But the eyes of the Lord are upon us all.
Would you make a good politician with your holy, righteous self who stands in judgment and criticism of those whose political expediency pushes them into unpopularity stances? Would you be a godly politician who never has to compromise?

Something to think about, isn’t it? Remember, he is our President, not our Pastor.  Furthermore, the disappointment of the Lord may be greater toward those of us who stand in the pulpit than with those who stand in  the palace.

Written by Craig Melvin Smith, D.Min.