God Doesn't Give State of the Unions

Well, what do you know? Another year of the governmental calendar has been ripped off, and another boring state of the union address has taken place. I must say that I try to keep up with what's going pretty well, but I could not bring myself to watch a speech where I know in advance that the clapping will exceed the actual words. I must say that I do on occasion enjoy a well-put -together speech. When I was a kid, I would sit captivated with my parents to hear Ronald Reagan deliver a speech. I have also enjoyed watching footage of JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. Those guys really knew how to deliver a speech! Nevertheles, as I was speed-reading the transcript this morning of President Bush's speech, I couldn't help but think how a lot of these speeches don't really have a lot of substance to them. They are just uttering more fancy rhetoric about what they have already stated (which I guess is kinda like preaching, sometimes). I will try to stay out of the politics of his speech for now, except to say there were things I agreed with and things with which I did not agree. The thing that is important for anyone to remember, whether they agree with the president on everything or not: He is our president. What does that mean? Well, for followers of Christ, it means a couple of things. It means, first of all, that we pray for him. The Apostle Paul wrote that "requests, prayers, and intercession" "be made for everyone-for kings and all those in authority..." God also tells us that "the King's heart is in the hand of the LORD's; he turns it wherever he wants it, like the rivers of water." God is the King of the universe, so if we don't like the way things are going, we need to tell him, and trust him with it. Because, after all...I think that is why He's God. He is bigger than a band of terrorists, or a country with a nuclear bomb, or high taxes, or layoffs, or natural disasters, or a bankrupt social security system, or illegal aliens (I don't mean E.T.), or poor schools, or expensive gas. We should do all we can politically to be involved with the democratic system of our government (which is really a republic), but mainly we should be praying for our leader to make the right decisions, no matter what political party he represents. And then we should swallow an even tougher pill- we should thank God for our president. Some will probably imagine that I am clinically insane at this point, but Paul spells it out for us. Not only are "requests, prayers, and intercessions" offered up to God on behalf of the king and those in authority, but also "thanksgiving." If you're an avid "Bush-hater," I admit this might be difficult, but it is nonetheless your obligation. This, as well as any moral obligation, is not fulfilled through self determination or individual resolve. It must be done through submission to Christ and the power that is yours in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, I hope that your politics and your spiritual life are complementary with one another. If we regularly offered prayers and thanksgivings on behalf of our leadership in Washington, how might our world be different? Well, let's all be thankful that God does not give us a yearly update of how things are going, not that his control would ever be compromised, but that He would shred me and a lot of others for not doing our part on this terrestial ball.