Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Inauguration Day
I'm sitting here watching the Inauguration and I'm struck, as many people must be, by the sight of political rivals embracing. Of course, it is for show, but it is amazing. In so many countries this show of unity is impossible. In so many countries and in so many times past, political rivals strike and kill one another with no regard for the safety and happiness of the people of the nation. Thank you, dear Lord for the peace of our country. You have blessed us so richly here. We have day to day peace-- we expect and take it for granted. Our lives are stable and our standard of living is one of the highest in the world. Please forgive my complaining heart for the very few things I don't have. Please wash away that sense of entitlement that I and so many of my compatriots have been born with. Forgive and release from complacency and the idols of personal peace and affluence. Help me to use this peace and stability to further your kingdom, not to feed my flesh. Thank you for forgiving me for my sins. Thank you for your graciousness to me. Praise your holy name. Amen.
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2 comments:
Yes, Amen.
It is amazing that you can have such a transition of power like that without any bloodshed. In many countries, new leaders only rise up by killing and oppressing all those who oppose them, and yet here the beginning of new leadership is such a joyous event. And while there are those who have misgivings about some of the things being proposed, (myself included. A leader who agrees with you all the time is either a liar or a fantasy, often both.) it’s still a good thing.
On Election Day one of my co-workers commented that ours is one of the few governments whose transition of power is without bloodshed and I told them that wasn’t true, at least four of our Presidents came to power due to bloodshed. Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson all were President because all their successors were killed in the line of duty, and in all cases none were shot by someone from a rival political party. But I guess I’m getting on a tangent now…
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