Honestly

Warning: This post will be an honest one, and may offend some people. If you would rather not feel offended because you can't handle it, feel free to tune in next time.

Okay, I've had it. I am sick and tired of all the Facebook statuses that now say something to the effect of "Obama is not my president," and "I hate Obama, he is a Socialist who will ruin America," and "Obama is the Antichrist."

As a student at DBU, it doesn't surprise me that people have, in the past week, begun praying intensely for God's will to be done with regard to the election and the direction in which our country is headed. I not only support this, I encourage it wholeheartedly. We should pray for our leaders and our nation every single day.

However, I vehemently disagree with those who have proudly proclaimed to be praying for the will of God in this election and who are now complaining at its outcome. To me, this is evidence of a very serious lack of faith in God's ability to correctly decide just who it is he would have lead us for the next four years.

How can you honestly claim to have desired God's will when, as you see the results of the election, you assume that his will hasn't been done? 1 John 5:14-15 states that "this is the confidence we have in approaching God:that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him." That is pretty clear to me. What Christian can honestly say that after all of the honest and fervent praying for God's will to be done through this election, God's will hasn't been done. He has heard us, and "we have what we have asked of him."

Therefore, let us continue to ask for God's will and guidance in the affairs of our nation. Let us pray for the man who was elected president tonight in accordance with our requests for God's will to be done in this election. Let us be a people of true faith who do not balk when we discover that God's will and our will are not always perfectly aligned.

As We Wind Down

Ok, so the election is upon us. After around 2 years of "My opponent believes..." and "I promise you...", we are down to the final stretch. Now is the time for last ditch efforts, get out the vote campaigns and long lines at your local polling place. "I Voted" stickers are everywhere, polls are being conducted every ten minutes and the pundits are going crazy.

Everyone has election fever. People are getting defensive about their positions, defensive to the point of forgetting who their friends are. Why is this? Why would you alienate the people you know in favor of some guy who will likely never know you exist? It is definitely important to have political views, and to be able to defend them well, but there needs to be a line somewhere. When intelligent debate turns into belligerent spewing of rhetoric, there is a problem. Not only does this make you appear to be uneducated, it also causes your friends to feel like a normal conversation with you is no longer possible. Passion is good, but only if it has a direction to it. Use your strong feelings for your candidate of choice in a good way, not one that turns people off.

Keep in mind how important it is to be fair to each candidate. Don't spread around things about either candidate, good or bad, without first checking the facts. Snopes.com and factcheck.org are great places to start. Don't believe every forward you read, or every voting guide you are handed. Don't believe everything people tell you, but instead do your own research.

And, no matter what happens tomorrow at the polls, remember this: no matter who wins, whether you agree with him or not, he deserves your respect as the leader of your nation. If you don't like it, feel free to say so, as long as you voted. You can join in with other people in voicing their dissatisfaction by campaiging for change in the next available election. Use your voice in a positive way rather than just complaining. If your man wins, celebrate, but not to the point of being obnoxious. We are all Americans, created equal, worthy of respect.