“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13 KJ)
Now that we have seen the hand of God move and the people’s choice has emerged victorious, the question remains: what will be the responsibility of those who God moved to vote for our new president?
Sen. Obama beat all the odds, perplexed the pundits and gave all of us an opportunity to hope again. The brother never lost his cool or his focus. Now that he has the job, what are we going to do to help him? In other words, can you help a brother out?
When I watched his acceptance speech and his first news conference, I was more convinced than ever that the worst thing we could do is leave our brother out there by himself as he already looks burdened. Every Black man, woman and child will have to step it up. Every white man, woman and child will have to step it up. Every Latino will have to do the same. Everybody will have to hold up the arms of this present day Joshua and help him get the job done.
Even if you did not vote for him that is no reason not to support him now. He is the president-elect of the United States and not the blue states or the red states. Do not hold it against him that he won.
If he had lost, I would have stepped up and supported our authentic American hero, Sen. John McCain. I am not interested in partisan politics. I just want to know, can you help a brother out?
How can we help the brother? Getting back to God would be a start. We can also help him by restoring family life where our children respect themselves and others because they see their parents doing the same. We can help by being better fathers and not abandoning our families.
We can help him by valuing education over entertainment as well as valuing purpose over pleasure. We can help him by staying in school instead of dropping out. We can help him by not spoiling our kids and teaching them that as Dr. King has said, anybody can be great because anybody can serve.
We can help by valuing love and commitment over sex and pregnancy. We can help him by increasing our love for each other and decreasing the hate and the violence in the streets that begins in our hearts. Now that we have a Black man walking tall in the White House, let us encourage Black men and boys to stand tall in the streets by pulling their pants up and putting their dope and guns down.
President-elect Obama is not God. He is just a man elevated by God and called by the people to serve. He cannot do it alone nor can he do it overnight. He needs all of us all of the time.
I repeat what I have said before: Even after we have the right man in the White House, it will not make our house right until we make Jesus Lord of our house. I believe Jesus is still our best hope for permanent and lasting change from the inside out.
Can you help a brother out? My answer is, “yes, I can because I believe God, who promises us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” No more playing the race card. It was canceled Nov. 4, 2008. Racism is not dead as I am still getting race hate mail, but using it as an excuse is no longer valid. No more excuses. No more whining. Now anything is possible. The sky is the limit.
Can you help a brother out? Barack Hussein Obama did not get to be president on his own. He had a lot of help. His grandmother, his mother, his father, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and even George Bush helped him get where he is today. Rosa Parks sat down, so that Martin could stand up. Martin stood up so that Barack, Michelle, Malia, and Sasha could walk into the White House, and they walked in so that all our children and grandchildren can fly.
If you cannot do anything else, please pray for our new president. He is not the Black president. He is the president of the United States who happens to be Black. He is the president of all of us and that includes all of us. United we stand and divided we fall. Pray he gets a pastor as he will need wise spiritual counsel. Pray for his discernment. Pray for his safety, his sanity, and his serenity because he has so much on him.
Pray, but do not worry, because our God has him and the whole world in his hands. Our God is faithful. Let us be responsible. It has been said and I know it is true that “we are the ones we have been waiting for.” We have waited a long time for this day. We cannot afford to drop the ball. The real work has just begun. Let’s do this together.
God bless our new president and God bless America.
Can you help a brother out?
You may write to Dr. Benjamin at Bishop@lightoftheworld.org or at Light of the World Christian Church, 4646 N. Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46228. My book, It’s All in Your Mind, can be ordered at www.tombenjamin.com or by calling 1-800-847-9695.
