On Wednesday I voted for Obama. Its amazing because the Earth didn’t implode, and I still love Jesus. I’m completely ready for this election to be over with. And not just because I’m tired of the political ads. Its that I’m disgusted with how the Christian right has reacted to Obama’s candidacy. If you’ve gotten the disgusting email forwards, or seen the racist McCain/Palin supporters, or heard of the dvd mailings people received featuring a dvd entitled “Obsession” which is severely anti-muslim you know what I mean. According to the right Obama is the antichrist and an end to all that is sacred and right. I mean, seriously?

Whats more of an abomination? A guy with a middle name which happens to be Hussein, even though he professes to be a Christian, or supposed “Christians” who look more comfortable in a KKK rally than sunday morning church? I think its far worse for Christians to not be Christians in world that desperately needs more Christ-like people.

The fact is that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to not vote for Obama. Say that he is too liberal. Talk about how he is pro-choice. Discuss how you don’t think his tax plan will work or benefit America in the long run. There’s plenty of material there. But don’t say that he is a muslim. Don’t say he is a terrorist. That doesn’t do your side any good. It just reaffirms what everyone else already thinks about the Christian right: that the christian right are bigoted racists who don’t want to relinquish the status quo. How else do you explain your hatred of abortion (which I believe is well-placed) with your insensitivity to deaths resulting from the American war machine? Why is some life valuable and some life is easily discarded? The simple truth is that the world is looking for answers, and when it looks to the church, it most often hears watered down religious/political drivel that doesn’t do anything but divide.

What it all boils down to is that America is not God’s nation. It just isn’t, Israel is. When Jesus walked the earth he talked about the “kingdom of God”. He talked about it a lot. The fact is, because we are God’s children our allegiance should be first and foremost to His kingdom. When you hear Jesus speak in the gospels, he is always saying things like “do not store up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moths and rust destroy, but rather, store up for yourselves treasure in heaven”. He refused to deal with politics, he resisted earthly power. And I wonder how many of us lose sight of that, especially in an election year? And I’m including myself in this. Have you spent more time trying to convince others that your candidate is the better candidate than that Jesus loves them? I’m guilty of that. This election will come and go. Heck, this world is going to melt away at some point.

I don’t really think God is going to be as concerned about who we voted for, as much as he is going to be concerned about who we loved. And as a reminder, Jesus died for muslims too, even the radical terrorists. He didn’t command us to blow them into kingdom come, he told us to love them.

Consider what Paul says in Ephesians 6:2

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Obama is not the enemy. Muslims are not the enemy. Arabs are not the enemy. Satan is the enemy. Its time for Christians to start fighting the right battles.