National Prayer Breakfast Breakdown, Part 2: Obama on Christian Responsibility

By Matthew Santoro

This is Part 2 of an three-part series on President Barack Obama's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. Read Part 1 now.

Having established a role for faith in politics, Obama explains how his faith affects his politics. His remarks paint a picture of a progressive and missional approach to Christianity, one that involves not just a personal relationship with God, but also personal responsibilities to your fellow neighbor as an intrinsic part of fulfilling that relationship.

U.S. President Barack Obama listens at the National Prayer Breakfast
February 2, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Pool/Getty Images North America)

On Christian Responsibility

I know that far too many neighbors in our country have been hurt and treated unfairly over the last few years, and I believe in God's command to "love thy neighbor as thyself."  —President Barack Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast (February 2, 2012)

President Obama traces his vision of Christian responsibility through both Old Testament and New, a responsibility with roots in Jesus' commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt. 22:34-40, Mk. 12:28-34, Lk. 10:25-28).
With the commandment to love comes the responsibilities loving entails.  Biblical faith, Obama argues, requires genuine concern and compassionate sacrifice.  So when Obama fights to end certain tax breaks for America's most wealthy, he sees in it not merely as politically practical, but as grounded in Biblical principle:

I think to myself, if I'm willing to give something up as somebody who's been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that's going to make economic sense. 

But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus's teaching that 'for unto whom much is given, much shall be required.'

These words from Jesus in Luke 12:48 are a declaration of responsibility, going has far as utilize the language of "requirement."  Those who have gained the most are morally obligated also give the most.  This value informs President Obama's politics, translating directly into his approach to tax policy.  If we're to believe Jesus's words, the wealthiest Americans have a moral responsibility to give more back to the society in which they thrived.

Obama is also quick to illustrate that this isn't the first or only time in the Bible we're called as believers to a life of moral responsibility to our neighbor.  Indeed the call can be found in even the earliest stories of the Old Testament.  Alluding to the central theme behind Cain's murder of Abel (Genesis 4:1-15), Obama speaks of his "faith in the idea that I am my brother's keeper and I am my sister's keeper; that as a country, we rise and fall together."

Who Is My Neighbor?

Nowhere is Christian responsibility more important than as it pertains to the poor.  As part of truly loving our neighbors, we're called as Christians to help those in need, giving special attention to those on the margins of society.

Genesis tells us that we are our brother's keeper, and the Bible continues the flesh out the meaning of those words.  In explaining his commitment to foreign aid, democratic values, and the fight against human trafficking, Obama again speaks of responsibility, alluding the Gospel of Matthew and quoting directly from Proverbs:

It's ... about the biblical call to care for the least of these -- for the poor; for those at the margins of our society.

To answer the responsibility we're given in Proverbs to "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

In speaking of the "least of the these," Obama is referencing the Judgment of the Nations found in Matthew 25:31-46.  For those unfamiliar with the parable, God rewards those who treated the needy with kindness (the sheep) and love, explaining, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me."  Likewise, those who ignored their brothers and sisters (the goats) were condemned for their apathy and inaction.

This parable in Matthew echoes the moral core of the commandment the President quotes from Proverbs.  Christians responsibility not only extends to the "least of these" in our society; it's paramount!

By way of summarizing Obama's vision of Christian responsibility and transitioning to our third and final topic, I leave you with an extended version of a passage Obama quoted near the end of his speech. It describes the relationship of love and responsibility, and calls readers to action:

We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. —1 John 3:16-18 (NRSV)

Next up: Doers of the Word ...