I am often amazed by how emotionally caught up in the presidential races we Americans get. We sometimes act as if our very future (eternal) hinges on who is in the White House.

This is sad in so many respects. First, as a Christian, putting so much faith in a man in an office, and acting like who is there will affect you eternal salvation is, as pastor Perry Noble so aptly stated, a slap in the face of our sovereign God. (Read that post. I couldn’t agree more)

Second, I’m tired of the attitude of many believers in my area thinking that one party has an exclusive lock on God. God isn’t a Republican, just as he isn’t a Democrat either. There are great believers on both sides of the isle, and even though the Democratic Party has in recent history distanced themselves from “religion”, there are indications that this is changing, and with the openness of Obama about his faith, we may be seeing the emergence of the “Religious Left” into the public eye.  (Be watching, as I just finished reading ‘The Faith of Barack Obama’, and will be posting a review in the next few days.)

Finally,  I find it so ironic that so much emphasis is placed in the Presidential Position, when most of the political decisions that affect us day to day are made at much lower levels, i.e. State, County, & City.  You are probably more affected by poor roads that your county commissioner is responsible for, or the school and city taxes you pay, than by decisions the man in the Oval Office makes.  I’m not saying that there is not impact, but it is less than the attention given would indicate.

I’m not saying I’m a huge fan of Mr. Obama (or that I was a fan of John McCain either), and there are many political opinions of his that I don’t agree with.  But I am proud to live in a country where we can have these large scale changes of power in an orderly fashion.  The people have spoken, the democratic process has worked, and it is time to move forward (at least until the next presidential campaign starts, in about 5 minutes).  Let’s be in prayer for all of our leaders, and especially President-Elect Obama.  May faith play a big part in the decisions he makes.