LET ME BE CLEAR — AND LET ME BE CHRISTIAN
I suppose I owe an apology. I assumed I had already made myself clear. Evidently, I had not. And I do not want anyone to misunderstand who I am, what I stand for, or why I speak the way I do.
First, let me say this: as a Christian, I do what the Word of God commands me to do. I pray for the president of the United States. I pray for President Trump every single day. I pray for his health. I pray for wisdom to guide his decisions. I pray that he would resist division and become the unifier he promised to be. I pray for his family. I do not mock him. I do not curse him. I do not refuse to pray for him. Christ tells us to pray for those in authority so that we may live peaceful and godly lives (1 Timothy 2:1-2), and I take that seriously—not selectively, but faithfully.
But let me also be clear about something else. Being a Christian does not strip me of my citizenship. It does not cancel my conscience. It does not revoke my right to think, to believe, or to have an opinion. You do not get to take those things from me—politically or spiritually. I am not required to suspend my humanity in order to keep you comfortable. If any political belief of mine means that we can’t be friends, then we were never friends to begin with.
I have said this repeatedly, publicly, and without hesitation: President Barack Obama is my favorite president. I have worn shirts with his image on them. There are articles praising him on my website. I wrote an article exposing the sheer stupidity and hate that causes people to say that Mrs. Obama is really a man. (If you say she is a man or that he is a Muslim, only hate and racism could make you speak that way. Five minutes of research would show how absolutely ridiculous both of those claims are. The argument that the First Lady is transgender is so ridiculous it’s almost laughable—if it wasn’t so disrespectful. And if you say he is a Muslim, you know absolutely nothing—nothing—about the Muslim faith. And you are willfully ignorant, because with all of the access to information we have now there is no excuse for you not knowing something so obvious). I have openly asked my audiences if anyone knew someone who could help me meet Obama—because I would genuinely love to shake his hand and speak with him. I have literally taught the Word of God on my livestreams with a photograph of President Obama behind me. More than once. So I’m honestly puzzled by the outrage—how did you miss this?
Let me say what I did not say. I did not say you have to like President Obama. I did not say there is something wrong with you if you do not. That would be political coercion—telling you how to vote or who to support. That is not what I do. But if you believe that my stating who I admire is somehow “political,” then what you are really saying is that I am not allowed to have an opinion at all. And that is not how this works. I’m not a punk and I’m not your boy.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are, in my opinion, two of the greatest Americans who have ever lived. That does not have to be your opinion—but it is mine. He is a hero of mine. I believe him to be a man of class, dignity, and character—qualities that matter deeply to me as both a Christian and a citizen. I do not agree with all of his policies or positions. I never have. But I also refuse to blindly follow any leader, excusing everything they say or do simply because they wear the right label or sit on the right side of the aisle.
My loyalty is not to a party. It is not to a personality. It is to Christ. And because of that, I reserve the right—and accept the responsibility—to think critically, pray sincerely, and speak honestly.
If that disappoints you, I’m sorry. If you thought I was “your guy” because you assumed I would think exactly like you, then you simply were not paying attention. I am not here to be claimed. I am here to be faithful.
I wanted to clear that up.
BDD
