Rich Gifts: Christ

I was visiting Esthermay at The Heart of a Pastor's Wife and she had a wonderful post entitled "Can A Born-Again Christian Support President Obama?" I encourage you to read it.

This post is not meant to be about Obama specifically but he makes for the perfect example.

This quote from Esthermay's post caught my attention.

"I’m rooted in the Christian tradition,” said Obama, who has declared himself a Christian. But then he adds something that will not sit well (at all!) with real Born-Again Christians: “I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as
a people.”

I used to work in collections. I never worked for collection agencies but worked in companies and doctor's offices in the A/R and credit departments where I was responsible for collecting monies owed. At one company, my supervisor was extremely tough (understatement). I have to admit that I learned a lot from her, some good, some not so good things. One thing I learned was hearing what people actually said and not what they implied. For instance, if I called on a past due invoice, someone might say to me that checks are cut on Friday. That implies that the check is being mailed on Friday but it doesn't actually say it. If a company is juggling their finances then they might cut checks on Friday but then hold them for a period of time before mailing them. So I learned to ask when the check would be mailed. I found that most people (not all) would be honest when asked a direct question.

So what does this have to do with the quote? Everything if you're paying attention. In this quote Obama doesn't say that he is a Christian. He says that he is rooted in the Christian tradition. The fact is, that is a true statement. His mother taught him about many religious traditions including those of Christians, so he does have some roots in Christian traditions. But being a Christian is not the same as tradition. A Christian, a disciple of Christ, is one who learns from and follows Christ. There is lots more that can be said on the matter but that sums it up in a nutshell.

Let's look at his next statement. "I believe there are many paths to the same place,". Well, I do too. There are many paths to the same place. Even spiritually speaking, there are many paths to the same place. That place is called hell in the Bible. Notice that he did not mention Heaven.

Next statement - "and that is a belief that there is a higher power,". I also believe that there is a higher power. There are higher powers among people. Satan is a higher power, demons are a higher power, but God (Jesus Christ) is the Highest Power. Obama did not state which higher power he was referring to nor did he say what he believed about that higher power.

Final statement in that sentence. - "a belief that we are connected as a people.” This one is a no-brainer. Yes we are all connected as a people. It is called the human race. According to the Bible we are all sinners and headed for that place called hell if we continue to follow any higher power other than Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us not to be deceived.

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you." Matthew 24:4

"Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words." Colossians 2:4

"...and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:10

The Bible tells us to be shrewd.