Yesterday was an unusual one for us Charlotteans:  snow day.  This gave us the opportunity to sleep in a bit, and keep the TV running most of the day to catch the important parts of the inauguration activities (the parts in between the anchors’ commentary on fashion, crowd size, and which door Obama might come out of).  The prayers were–uh–interesting (Rick Warren thinks those in glory would turn their gaze away from Christ and be wowed by a milestone in human history??).  The speech was about what I expected, and the crowds were eerily Obama-maniacal, of course.  How people do need a hero.

Like almost every American watching this historic event, I am rejoicing that Americans can elect and install an African American president, and do it with very little visible protest from bigots.  I rejoice for what this means for black Americans, and for our nation’s history.  I welcome this needed sense of healing from the profoundest disease of its early days. 

I would so love to believe that a changing of the guard can accomplish what Obama supporters believe it can.  And I think it will, to a limited extent:  the world may just give us a fresh hearing, African Americans and perhaps other minorities will take courage and press on in the face of bigotry, and legislators will have to curb their more blatant acts of partisanship and pork, at least until our antennae go back down.  But human nature being what it is, Obama’s honeymoon will soon be over, and he will face the same sticky no-win situations men of similar character and more experience have faced before, and failed.  He will have his failures too.

So, if I could send a message to the new president, it would be this:  Congratulations, Mr. President.  I have already been praying for your protection and wisdom, and will continue to do so.  But I hope that the groundswell of approval and welcome, the tears of joy on the mall, and the heady first night of sleeping in the White House won’t make you forget the promise you made to those who did not vote for you:  “I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.”  For my part, scripture tells me to show you respect (I. Pet. 2:17) and to pray for those in office (I. Tim. 2:1-2), and I will do that.  That means no snide or uncharitable remarks, even when I disagree strongly with you.  George W. Bush may not have been the most effective president ever, but it pained me deeply to hear followers of Christ speak of him disrespectfully, even hatefully.  I pray that I won’t forget that during your term in office.

I have another prayer today, the day between inauguration and the anniversary of Roe v. Wade:  that somehow God will turn the heart of this president to compassion for the unborn.  News articles and blogs abound chronicling Barack Obama’s alarming comments and actions that suggest a great blind spot in his otherwise compassionate agenda.  His focus has always been for the rights of the mother as opposed to any rights of an unborn infant–or, in the case of his extreme opposition to the Infant Protection Act, some born infants. 

The issue of abortion legislation is tricky and not one I intend to tackle here.  I believe that the state has the responsibility to forbid acts of violence against any human life except when violence is absolutely necessary for the state to restrain evil, and I believe that life is sacred from inception.  I know the issue is not as simple as that, but I think those are two foundations to stand on when weighing the rights of one human against another. 

That’s why I find Obama’s words to Planned Parenthood so disturbing:  “…look, I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old…I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.  I don’t want them punished with an STD.”  Hidden in there is a pretty clear statement about the value of a human being conceived unintentionally as opposed to one conceived intentionally:  a human’s worth is measured in its value and convenience to other humans.  We decry denigration of a race of people, we decry disregard for the suffering of a continent, and rightly so.  Should not our compassion extend to those who are undervalued and brutally murdered because they are not convenient to their parents?  May God have mercy on us.

I find it encouraging that pro-life and most pro-choice proponents, including Barack Obama, agree on one thing:  the high numbers of abortions in this country should be reduced.  I hope at least that we can find some solutions that we can agree and work together on.

20 weeks from conception

20 weeks from conception

I also find it encouraging that polls seem to suggest that the young-adult generation is actually less tolerant of abortion than the preceding one.  In the words of Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, “Every recent poll shows that America’s emerging generation is embracing a culture of life and desires an end to the violence that has resulted in the deaths of over 50,000,000 innocent children and wounded so many women.”

God grant that this tide would turn in the coming years.  May the inaugural words of our new president truly apply to ALL Americans:  “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”