Dear Mr. Obama,
Thank you for being willing to serve our country. I can’t imagine all the job entails, and it’s certainly not something I would want to do. The challenging tasks on your plate daily must be incredibly crazy to balance.
photo credit: mashable
I’ve been studying the topic of honor with my small group and that’s what led me to write this letter to you. John Bevere talks about honoring people, including our civil leaders and those in authority over us, in the study Honor’s Reward.
The other night as we discussed honoring our leaders, your name was brought up. My friend Jammie asked a great question that had us all doing some thinking.
When did we start referring to president’s by their last name?
I was convicted. So were others. For the last four years I have referred to you as Obama. I haven’t recognized you as President Obama and I realize in doing so, I was dishonoring you.
Please accept my apology.
Romans 13:7 says that I am to respect and honor you. Honestly, I haven’t always done so. My opinions and thoughts have gotten in the way of remembering you have been appointed as a leader over the country I am free to live in, and I should respect that.
I don’t agree with everything you’ve done in the time you have held office. I didn’t vote for you, either. But you are the president and I have an obligation to you; to disagree respectfully and do so with honor.
Mr. Obama, I vow to pray for you, honor you, and respect you. I pray for your leadership, your marriage, and your relationships.
Most importantly, I pray for your relationship with Jesus Christ.
May you know how much He loves you. May you seek God’s will as you make important decisions about the people you lead. May the Word of God be the main source you seek always.
Thank you for serving our country.
Sincerely,
Sundi Jo
What a great example of humility.
Thanks, Jason.
You humbled me, thanks for reminding us to remember just what this man sacrifices on a personal level to serve us
Thanks Christa. I’m glad you got something out of it.
Unlike a lot of Evangelicals, I’m actually a big fan of our president, who I’ve also been calling only by his last name. It never really occurred to me that that could be considered disrespectful, so I really appreciate the change in perspective. Thanks for pointing that out.
You bet Rob. Love to share what I’m learning, especially when it calls me to change.
Thank you for writing this Sundi! I have to admit I’m guilty of disrespecting the President and not praying for him as I should. I appreciate the reminder!
Thanks for stopping by, Maria. Here’s to praying for him together.
The fact that I (we) need to pray for our president has been on my heart of late. Thank you for this post.
This is a good reminder. I always thought we were to refer to the president as “Mr. President.” I too believe that we should be praying for him and for all our country’s leaders.
You’re right, Amy. Thanks for commenting.