Here's my prayer for the new president...

So, we have a new president.  I'm excited.  I'm hopeful.  I'm eager to see what happens and how people respond.  I'm glad that the country has elected someone so young who has a young family.  I'm glad so many white people voted for a black president.  I'm surprised that someone with such a normal familial background is now in the White House.  I'm... well... I'm a lot of things.

I'm also concerned.  But my primary concern may seem an odd one to most people.  My primary concern is whether or not President Obama will be able to move past easily categorizing people and problems (and, indeed, problem people!)  We do it in the church; it happens in politics; it's everywhere, and it's abhorrent. 

I know the human brain can only handle so much and that we need to use categories to be able to understand the world around us without mental and psychiatric breakdown.  But that's also our problem.  We often end up shoveling people and problems into the wrong pigeon holes.

This is particularly true for racial issues, economic issues, educational issues, and religio-political issues (all of which are going to be huge for the new president).  People who are into racial reconciliation tend to assume everything is a racial issue; people into economics tend to assume everything comes back to the economy.  (etc. etc.)  The problem is everything simply doesn't fit into a single category - no matter what that category is.  Often, in my experience, things and people can actually be categorized (in a healthy way) but simply don't fit into the categories that might seem obvious.

So, in line with the kinds of things that have been offered here in the past, let me suggest a focus for your prayers regarding our new president: That he resist the urge to shovel people and problems in easy categories and that he fight the tendency to become an easily categorized individual.

He's going to be expected, by many, to fit into easy categories and his life would probably be easier if he used easy categories himself in his decision making and allegiances.  He will only become a truly great president, however, if he's capable and willing to transcend them.

God help him.

Grace and peace,

  `tim