What David Can Teach Us About Obama

Here’s an alternative to the “Pray for Obama, Psalm 109:8” slogan that’s been going around. These words also come from David, a man running for his life from a jealous king who wants to kill him. It’s 1 Samuel 26:9. Not as catchy on a t-shirt, maybe, but we can learn a lot from David’s attitude toward people in authority.

David had two easy opportunities to destroy Saul. (The other comes a few chapters earlier, in 1 Samuel 24—as good a read as any Hollywood screenplay.) His friends were telling him to just do it already. Here was a man who was making his life miserable, making poor decisions as a king, and it seemed like God was just handing him over to David to bring down. But this is how David responded to his friends:

“Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a land on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?”

Saul may not have been a model for upright governing, but he was still the king. The Lord had put him into that position, and David said that it was only God who would remove him. Either the Lord would strike him Himself or his time would come in battle, but the king’s demise would not come at the hand of David. He even went so far as to call out to Saul’s bodyguard, Abner (Sounds like an imposing figure, doesn’t he?), and tell him what a loser he was for not doing a better job protecting the king.

I don’t know if President Obama is “the Lord’s anointed.” What I do know is that God’s sovereignty is alive and well, even in the United States. And that he “sets up kings and deposes them” (Daniel 2:21). Nothing slips by Him. He didn’t fall down on His watch the day Obama was elected, and He’s not now wringing His hands, hoping His people on earth will help undo His mistake.

There’s really not any reason to pray Psalm 109:8 for our president. His days will be few. In God’s economy, even eight years is the blink of an eye. And another will take his place of leadership. That’s guaranteed by our constitution. Not only does it seem like an unnecessary prayer, its context makes it downright nasty. The following verses go on to say, “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.”

I don’t know if anyone is actually wearing the Psalm 109:8 t-shirt. Maybe someone was just trying to be clever and make a buck, and the media picked up on it to stir up controversy. Still, it’s no secret that some of Obama’s most outspoken critics have been evangelical Christians. While I value the privilege of living under free speech, I think we would be wise to review 1 Samuel 26 and stop destroying our president with our words. We don’t have to love what he’s doing, but if we believe God’s got it under control, we don’t have to spend our days angry and mad, trying to bring him down, either.

“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a job, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).