By: Dale Weckbacher
Matthew 23:28
Even so you also
outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.
NKJV
Matthew 23:28 comes in the middle of a message Jesus gave to
the multitudes and his disciples regarding the Pharisees and religious leaders
of his day. The main theme of the
message is to be concerned about what is in our hearts and not our outward appearance. In another portion of Scripture Jesus spoke
of our mouth speaking what comes out of the abundance of our hearts (Matthew
12:34-35).
This is why it is important for the people of God to
consistently study God’s Word, Pray, and attend church in order to fill our
hearts with the goodness of God. This
not only enables us to live Godly lives but also allows us to discern good from
evil and lies from truth.
This past Tuesday, President Obama delivered his State of
the Union address. I admit I did not
watch the speech for I had to work preparing taxes. However, even if I had not had to work, I
would not have watched the speech for as with many of Obama’s other speeches,
this too was billed to be a speech full of lies and hypocrisy and from what I
have read about the speech, it lived up to its billing.
President Obama spoke of the need for civility in the nation
then immediately taunted Republicans. (1) I agree that in light of the riots in
Ferguson and other parts of the country coupled with the increased threat of
terrorism, it is imperative for the citizens of the nation to remain
civil. However, taunting others can lead
to incivility. We see this when watching
sporting events where a player taunts another player after a big play and a
fight ensues.
It is therefore hypocritical for the President of the United
States to call for civility and then taunt the GOP with the fact that he won
the last two presidential elections when they applaud his not having to run
again. The Republican members of
Congress are naturally at odds with the agenda of a sitting Democrat president
and we thus expect them to applaud the fact that the election will have no
incumbent in 2016. Rather than taunting
them with the fact of his past two victories, the best thing would be for him
to not take their applause personally and move on, trying to work with the new
Republican majorities. There is no doubt
that whoever the GOP nominee for president is, they will use this as a sound
bite in a commercial.
It is also hypocritical for the President of the United
States to call for an end to constant fund raising and then ask for donations. (2)
President Obama has done more
fundraising than any president I remember in my lifetime. Looking at President Obama’s actions, we can
surmise that fundraising for his causes is in his heart. After all, Obama’s background is as a
community organizer, which entails constant fundraising. So Mr. President, if you want to end constant
fundraising, you first.
Finally, when the President invites someone to attend the
State of the Union address, be honest about his or her background. To invite someone and point out that they
have experienced many challenges in their life that the President’s policies
have helped her overcome, only to later discover she worked as a campaign
staffer for a democrat campaign is deceptive.
(3)
The fact that she worked as a campaign
staffer means that she has a political agenda to advance democrat policies and
her invitation to the State of the Union is to act as a prop. In addition, if while working as a staffer,
she experienced hardships, I recommend Democrats running for office pay their staffers
better instead of pocketing their campaign largesse.
The 2016 presidential campaign is preparing to shift into
high gear as several GOP hopefuls descend on Iowa today for the Iowa Freedom
Summit. (4)
This means that we the voters must also
begin seeking leaders of integrity who will not be hypocritical or deceptive
once in office.
Instead, we want leadership with a heart that loves the
country and the people they will lead.
We want leadership that instead of apologizing for the greatness of our
country to foreign leaders will tout its greatness and encourage other
countries to adopt our love for freedom.
We want leadership that instead of making people dependent on government
to solve problems will get out of the way and empower individuals to find solutions
to their problems and pursue their own dreams and desires. We also want leadership that will in a civil
way engage in debate over the important issues of the day without uncivil
political gamesmanship.
The United States is a great, although imperfect, nation and
can be great again. The 2014 election
made great progress as we tossed out the democrat leadership in the Senate and
increased the Republican majority in the House.
We must now keep the momentum going by selecting a strong, patriotic
leader for president in 2016.
1. Dinan, Stephen. Obama calls for civility,
then immediately taunts Republicans. www.washingtontimes.com. [Online]
The Washington Times, January 20, 2015. [Cited: January 24, 2015.] http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/20/obama-calls-civility-then-immediately-taunts-repub/.
2. Halper, Daniel.
Obama Knocks 'Constant Fundraising,' Then Immediately Asks for Donations. m.weeklystandard.com.
[Online] The Weekly Standard, January 20, 2015. [Cited: January 24, 2015.]
http://m.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-knocks-constant-fundraising-then-immediately-asks-donations_824183.html.
3. Snopes.com.
Bait of the Union. www.snopes.com. [Online] Snopes.com, 20 2015,
January. [Cited: 24 2015, January.]
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/erler.asp.
4. Boyle, Matthew.
IT BEGINS: 2016 REPUBLICAN HOPEFULS DESCEND ON IOWA FOR FREEDOM SUMMIT. www.breitbart.com.
[Online] Breitbart News, January 23, 2015. [Cited: January 24, 2015.]
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/23/it-begins-2016-republican-hopefuls-descend-on-iowa-for-freedom-summit/.
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