Come on Folks, show a little compassion!!

Yesterday, on the way to work, I was listening to the Marketplace Morning Report on my local Public Radio Station. This week, oil prices fell to their lowest levels in over a year, at less than $70 a barrel. This seems like good news but apparently this isn't so good for the OPEC nations. They need prices to be higher. According to Stephen Beard, Iran and Venezuela need the price per barrel to be around $95 in order to balance the budget for their respective countries. This is a concern and I think that in the American Tradition, we should all think long and hard on what we can do for these countries as they face these hardships. I suggest we pass a virtual offering plate around and send all proceeds directly to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Iran and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela to ensure their country had a balanced budget and suffer no hardships. Who's with me?

Presidential Politics: The Challenger's Question

Someone within the media mentioned the other day that standard challenger's question when it comes to presidential politics. We hear it every four years: "Are you better off now than you were 8 years ago?" In short, I don't like this question.

First, the question has some hidden implications. One of these is that the asker implies there is only one answer. He is actually somehow telling you that you are NOT better off now. Another implication, and this is the bigger concern for me, is that somehow, the current president is responsible for me NOT being better off now than I was 8 years ago. Really, the people I am in contact with on a daily basis probably have more influence over my current situation than the leader of this nation ever would. Besides, we have over 500 leaders of this country. If I'm shortsighted and shallow enough to believe they directly affect the majority of the aspects of my life, I'm going to blame all of them...not just the executive.

But here is my present state: Despite the implications, I AM better off now than I was 8 years ago. Eight years ago, things were economically tight, and my wife and I had just been blessed with a son who was 7 months old. Since then, we have been blessed economically, we have two sons we love very much, a great church and our love for each other continues to increase. Does this mean I should vote for John McCain or NOT vote for Barack Obama? Should I thank President Bush for all of this? Hardly. It means I should continue to NOT depend on our government or politicians to find my happiness. Furthermore, it means that I should find myself regularly thanking and praising God for the many undeserved blessings He has sent my way! To attribute it to someone or something else could lead to a form of idolatry.