False Idols

Something here strikes an uncomfortable cord. Like the looming discomfort that grabs you right before you buy something you're about to regret spending the money on. The thud in your gut of buyer's remorse before the transaction has taken place. Such is the candidacy of Barrack Obama for the Presidency of the United States.

Watching the spectacle of American politics develop over the last 20 years, one would hope that the process couldn't get much worse. But it seems that every new Presidential election becomes more surreal, incredibly shallow, and crushingly disappointing as we witness the degeneration of our national elective process, our common conscience, and our identity as a people and as a nation.

Deeper and more disturbing however is the danger of politics becoming something frighteningly different all together, global sycophantic celebrity worship.

We are witnessing the inception of this in the nomination of the Democratic Presidential candidate Barrack Obama. Pay any attention to the presidential race in the mainstream media, online news, blogs, or otherwise and you become keenly aware that for some, this is not so much about electing a qualified individual for the most powerful office on earth, but the envisioning of a savior who will produce final peace. What Mr. Obama himself calls "a nation healed, a world repaired." With elevated speeches and sweeping oratory, he tells us that "we are what we've been waiting for!" or that he himself has "...become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions." He tells us that "he is the way" to the end of all our problems. Yet without any form of tested leadership, accomplishment, or otherwise to provide a basis for this belief, people are flocking without rational explanation to adore Barrack Hussein Obama.
A man whom many seem to be labeling a savior.

The Hard Truth is that neither Barrack Obama nor any human being can produce on such a promise of peace and prosperity or rise to the level of savior.

The truth is that there is only one Prince of Peace. One savior for all mankind. The only one who can bring about the end of war, famine, hatred, and all that ails the world. He is that man who lived the perfect life, deserves all our adoration, and died to bring us real salvation. Rising back to life on the third day after being crucified (an experience worthy of praise and worship,) he proved that he had defeated death, atoned for the sins of every one of us, and paid our debt to a just and righteous God.

Jesus Christ is that savior. Jesus Christ is that messiah.

To worship any man or woman, celebrity, politician, pope, or king above the Lord Jesus Christ is to commit the greatest sin there is. The sin of elevating anything or anyone above God Himself. This is called idolatry. And God has said there shall be no other gods before Him.

An important election year side-note from our discussion of the Hard Truth.

Beware of worshiping false idols. Mr. Obama is a man like any other, and as we all know, men make mistakes. We live, we grow old, we die. And we sin. Every single one of us. When we fail to recognize this and instead lift up individuals to greater than human standards, we suffer the consequences in the form of dictatorships, monarchies, and tyrannically oppressive governments. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It would be prudent to think about electing a leader who shows the humility and experience to question himself and his motives before making decisions that have global, national, and very personal consequences to you and your family.