How to Deal with Difficult People

"Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself." -- Proverbs 26:4

Just about everyone has heard of the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. What they might not know is how it all started. In 1878 they had a dispute over the ownership of a hog. That led to a twelve-year war which resulted in the deaths of three Hatfields, seven McCoys, and two outsiders. Disagreement over that one hog stole twelve years and twelve lives.

Many of our conflicts are just as unnecessary. But some people are difficult to deal with. How do you handle them? Proverbs is full of wisdom about how to deal with difficult people in your life. Notice these principles:

I. Avoid them when you can (14:7; 20:19)

⁷ Stay away from a foolish man,
for you will not find knowledge on his lips.

Prov 14:7 (NIV)

¹⁹ A gossip betrays a confidence;
so avoid a man who talks too much.

Prov 20:19 (NIV)

II. Answer them gently (15:1; 19:11; 26:4)

¹ A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Prov 15:1 (NIV)

¹¹ A man's wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Prov 19:11 (NIV)

⁴ Do not answer a fool according to his folly,
or you will be like him yourself.

Prov 26:4 (NIV)

III. Control your temper (25:28; 29:11)

²⁸ Like a city whose walls are broken down
is a man who lacks self-control.

Prov 25:28 (NIV)

¹¹ A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man keeps himself under control.

Prov 29:11 (NIV)

IV. Settle disputes quickly (17:14; 26:17)

¹⁴ Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam;
so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.

Prov 17:14 (NIV)

¹⁷ Like one who seizes a dog by the ears
is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.

Prov 26:17 (NIV)

V. Let them learn from their mistakes (19:19)

¹⁹ A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty;
if you rescue him, you will have to do it again.

Prov 19:19 (NIV)

VI. Kill them with kindness (24:29; 25:21-22)

²⁹ Do not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll pay that man back for what he did."

Prov 24:29 (NIV)

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.
²² In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the LORD will reward you.

Prov 25:21-22 (NIV)

CONCLUSION: In Walt Whitman's diary of the Civil War, he records visiting a hospital and meeting two wounded soldiers: W.S. Prentiss, who served in the 2nd Maryland, Confederate, and Col. Clifton K. Prentiss, who served in the 6th Maryland, Union. They were two brothers from Baltimore who served on opposite sides but wounded at the same battle at Petersburg, and both died in the same hospital.

I think what strikes us as particularly sad about this story, is that we all feel like brothers should not have to die in war like that. But you know, if your difficult person is a fellow believer, he or she is your brother or sister in Christ. So we need to find a way to make live at peace, as much as possible, and the best way is the way of Jesus, returning anger with calmness and evil with kindness. Isn’t that what the cross of Jesus is all about—returning evil with love?

When All Hope Is Gone

In San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge is not only the city's trademark, but it is also the final point of life for many people. Since the bridge opened in 1937, there have been nearly one thousand confirmed suicides. Reports indicate that almost every person has jumped off looking at the city rather than the ocean. Their final gaze at the city seems to communicate that each one was taking one last look for hope.

The empire of Assyria had spread throughout the Middle East like an unstoppable volcano erupting and pouring hot lava from north to south, as city after city was destroyed by the fury of the Assyrian cavalry.

By 701 B.C., King Sennacherib of Assyria had destroyed 46 fortified cities in Judah, and circled around Jerusalem to attack it from the south. Only one city still stood between the Assyrians and Jerusalem: the city of Lachish, 30 miles south of Jerusalem. If Lachish fell, Jerusalem would be next.

The Assyrians sent the Rabshakeh, the third in command of the army, to Jerusalem on a special mission to tell them to surrender, because all hope was gone.

Can you relate to the people of Jerusalem? Did you feel like you have been surrounded and cut off, cut down and all hope is gone? So how do you handle your problems?

The world has a way to handle problems, and God has a way. Isaiah chapter 36 tells the story of how the Rabshakeh taunted them, and in this chapter we see the ways the world tries to handle problems. Then in chapter 37, we will see how Hezekiah responded.

I. The world’s way to solve our problems (Isaiah 36)

A. Smart thinking (36:10, 18-20)

The Assyrian field commander, known as the Rabshakeh, assaulted the minds of the Hebrews with psychological warfare. He threw at them every argument he could think of to discourage them. Shouting in the Hebrew language so the people on the wall could hear, he taunted them. He referred to Hezekiah by his first name, without the title “king,” but he referred to King Sennacherib of Assyria always with the title king. Notice in verse 13 he called out loudly to the people to listen to the words of the great king, king of Assyria, saying, don’t let Hezekiah deceive you, don’t let Hezekiah persuade you.”

He asked them who were they trusting to save them? Then he listed how city after city had fallen to their power, and one by one how nobody could save them. If they leaned on Egypt like a staff, it would splinter and pierce their hand. Every nation that relied on their gods had fallen to the king of Assyria. Look at verse 11-13, where he lists the cities of Mesopotamia and Syria that had fallen to the Assyrian army.

Sometimes what he said was a contradiction. He told them that Assyria wouldn’t have attacked them unless the Lord had sent him. But then he turned around and said, “Don’t let Hezekiah mislead you by saying that the Lord will deliver you, because no other city has been rescued by their gods.”

Are we any different today, as we try to solve our problems with our own intelligence? We think, “I can figure this problem out. I’ll find a solution.” But what do you do when there is no solution to your problem?

B. Clever compromise (36:7)

The Assyrian field commander implied another worldly way to solve problems in verse 7, when he taunted them for relying on the Lord when King Hezekiah had torn down the “high places” altars to the Lord.

What is he talking about? The “high places” were open air shrines, often located on a hill, used to worship the Lord. So why did King Hezekiah tear them down? The Assyrian field commander thought Hezekiah must have insulted the Lord by tearing them down. But what he didn’t realize was that these high places were often located in spots that had originally been used to worship Canaanite gods. Because of this, it was too easy for Israelites to be influenced by local pagan cults and traditions at the high places. Once the worship of the Lord was established at the temple in Jerusalem, the Lord commanded the high places to be abandoned. But many Israelites thought they had a clever compromise. They claimed to worship the Lord, but they did it the way that was convenient, at the high places instead of in Jerusalem.

Are we any different when we decide to follow God partially, but not wholeheartedly?

C. Advanced technology (36:8)

In verse 8, the Rabshakeh taunts them with a proposal. He offers to give them 2,000 horses to fight back against Assyria, if they can find riders for that many horses.

In 701 B.C., whoever had the horses won the battle. The Assyrians were famous for their cavalry. On horseback, the cavalry could attack the enemy rapidly, and speedy away, and foot soldiers were no match for them.

Horses and chariots were the most advanced weapons of war.

Today, we have far more advanced forms of technology. We have rapid communication with our cell phones and computers, rapid-fire weapons with our air force and guided ballistic missiles.

American technology has taken us into outer space. But when the Space Shuttle blew up, we were brought down to earth and reminded that our technology can fail.

It is easy for us to trust in our technology to solve our problems. But what do we do when the Internet is down, the call is dropped and the weapon fails to fire?

II. God’s way to solve our problems

(Isaiah 37)

King Hezekiah chose God’s way to solve his problem, not the world’s way.

1. Humble submission (37:1-3)

Hezekiah realized he had no power to save himself. He knew how desperate his situation was. He put on sackcloth, a sign of mourning. He sent messengers to the prophet Isaiah and said, “This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.” He knew it was impossible to save himself. This humility was part of the secret to Hezekiah’s success.

God uses broken vessels. God is looking for men and women who will humble themselves and submit totally to God. As long as we fight and bully our way through life the world’s way, we will fail.

Alcoholics Anonymous and every 12-step group start with the admission that they realized they had a problem and needed help.

King David said in Psalm 51, “a broken and humbled heart, the Lord will not despise.”

2. Believing prayer (3:14-22)

Hezekiah got a short reprieve, as the field commander received a report that that Tirhakah, the king of Egypt was marching out to fight him. So he went to fight Egypt, but sent a letter and warned Hezekiah that he would be back to destroy Jerusalem.

What did Hezekiah do? He took the letter to the temple of the Lord, and spread it out before the Lord. He prayed. Not just any prayer, but believing prayer. Prayer of faith.

When George Müeller was working to build up his orphanages in Bristol; when he had the beginnings of his buildings, but very few orphans; and again when afterwards he needed yet larger buildings for the work he felt had to be done, he was one day on his knees in prayer to God, and he opened his Bible to Psalm 81:10: "Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it." The truth of this promise seized and mastered his soul, and he declared from that time he had expected great things from God, had asked great things, and had not been disappointed. The Father honored the faith which so honored him.

As Paul Harvey says, here's "the rest of the story": Isaiah 37:36-37 records in a few short verses that during the night, an angel of the Lord destroyed the Assyrian army and King Sennacherib withdrew from Jerusalem.

God did what nobody thought possible for His glory, and He wants to do amazing things in your life, as well.

The next time you feel like all hope is gone, just remember....

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Leah was ugly

Joseph was abused

Moses had a stuttering problem

Gideon was afraid

Samson had long hair and was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah and Timothy were too young

David had an affair and was a murderer

Elijah was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt

Peter denied Christ (3 times!)

The Disciples fell asleep while praying

Martha worried about everything

Mary Magdalene was promiscuous

the Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once...

Zaccheus was too small

Paul was too religious

Timothy had an ulcer....

AND

Lazarus was dead!

Yet God used every one of those people and more, despite their failures, and God can still use you, if you’ll submit to Him in faith.

How prayer can enrich your Bible reading

One of the most important ways to have a balanced Christian life is to balance your prayer life with your Bible reading.
Psalm 119:147 reminds us of the need to balance prayer with Bible reading, as it says, "I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word."
So when you rise at dawn to pray and read God's word, how do you pray? Here are six key verses in Psalm 119 to guide you:

I. Preparation: What to pray before reading scripture

A. For open eyes (v. 18)
"Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law."

B. For light to your path (v. 105).
"Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path."

C. For discernment (v. 125)
"I am your servant; give me discernment
that I may understand your statutes."

II. Application: What to pray after reading scripture

A. A sin to confess (v. 11)
"I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you."

B. A promise to claim (v. 38)
"Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared."

C. A resolution to make (v. 112)
"My heart is set on keeping your decrees
to the very end." (NIV)

Like a boy who rides his bicycle downhill with gusto, trying to get momentum when he goes uphill, the psalmist expressed his prayer as he dove into the scripture, and then after he read the scripture, he had the momentum to climb the challenging hills ahead, whether it was a sin to confess, a promise to claim, or a resolution to make, knowing that by faith in God's word he could trust God to make a way.
So can you and I.

How to pray in distress

Psalm 102 teaches us how to pray when we are in distress.
It was written by someone who suffered through the exile in Babylon, but it applies to anybody in suffering. Like the changing weather, this psalm expresses the psalmist's changing mood.
1) Clouds gather (v. 1-2). He first cries out to God. "Lord, hear my prayer...Do not hide Your face from me in my day of trouble..."
2) Gloom and darkness (v. 3-11). Next, he describes his suffering: heartache (v. 4), he can't eat (v. 4), he loses weight (v. 5), he is lonely (v. 6). he can't sleep (v. 7), he suffers abuse (v. 8), he weeps (v. 9), and he suffers because of his sin (v. 10). Thus he says, "My days are like a lengthening shadow." (v. 11). But the clouds part and the sun shines in.
3) Sunshine (v. 12-22). A ray of future hope from the Lord shines in his heart, and he sees that he will see the ruins of Zion and rebuild Jerusalem, or at least the future generations will see it.
4) Clouds return (v. 23-24). But as he waits for the fulfillment of his future hope, the clouds of doubt return briefly. Can't we all relate to that?
5) Eternal light (v. 25-28). Finally the psalm ends with a statement of faith in the eternal light of God, for even when the earth wears out like clothing, "You are the same, and Your years will never end." (v. 27). This part of the psalm is quoted in Hebrews 1:10-12 as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. This reminds us that our ultimate light and hope for our distress comes when we trust in Jesus.

The dangers of addiction

Whether it is a martini, marijuana, Marlboro or lemon meringue pie, scripture teaches that all addictions have the same basic effect: they destroy your mind, your money and your mood.
Look at the warnings in Proverbs against two addictions: drunkenness and gluttony.
1. Your mind. Your mind will be led astray and deceived.
"Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler, whoever is led astray by them is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1).
"When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive." (Proverbs 23:1-3)
2. Your money. Your addiction will drain your finances and leave your poor. "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor..." (Proverbs 23:20-21)
3. Your mood. You will suffer sorrow and disgrace. You will descend into depression if you persist in feeding your addiction.
"Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? ... Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine..." (Proverbs 23:29-30).
"...a companion of gluttons disgraces his father." (Proverbs 28:7).

You will not be able to overcome your addictions until you first see how much they hurt you. The reason you are addicted is because you like how they make you feel. Do you want to lose control of your mind? Do you want to lose your money? Do you want your mood to descend into depression? If not, then you need to break free from your addiction. The first step is to recognize your problem. The second step is to call on the Higher Power of Jesus Christ to give you victory. For most people with addictions, you will need a third step of counseling.

Don’t wait—do it today!

Accident or abomination?

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he was painfully aware of his own sin. "Woe to me!" he cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5)
When we see the brilliance of God's glory, we see more clearly the darkness of our own sin.
We saw it was an accident, but God says it was an abomination.
We saw it was a blooper, but God says it was a blunder.
We say it was a case of confusion, but God says it was corruption.
We say it was a deficiency, but God says it was depravity.
We say it was an error, but God says it was evil.
Help me, Lord, to see sin as You see it.

NAMB President Geoff Hammond resigns

Dr. Geoff Hammond resigned as president of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a report in online edition of The Christian Index.
The resignation happened after a day-long meeting of the full trustee board today, August 11.
The future of the board leadership is uncertain. Please pray for the North American Mission Board.

NAMB considering removal of president

The executive committee of the board of trustees of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention is considering removing its president, Dr. Geoff Hammond, for "insubordination," according to a report in The Christian Index. The executive committee meets on August 11, but the full board may meet with them to make the decision.
I rotated off the board of trustees of NAMB last year. Having served as a trustee, I know how agonizing this situation must be. Dr. Hammond and the trustees need our prayers for wisdom, that God will be glorified through this situation.

Two reactions to the Bible

I read two interesting news stories today on FoxNews.com about two very different reactions to the Bible.
In North Korea, a Christian woman was executed for distributing the Bible.
In Glasgow, Scotland, an "art" display encouraged visitors to deface the Bible to show their contempt for its message.
Two different kinds of hostility were expressed toward God's Word: fear from the North Koreans, hatred from the Scottish "artists." The communists showed more respect for the Bible than the postmodernists.
But both of them illustrate that the Scripture cuts down to the nitty gritty of who we are, and is a scandal and offense to many.

Churches bombed in Baghdad

Six churches in Baghdad, Iraq were bombed today, killing four people and wounding 32 others, according to a CNN report.
While there have been occasional attacks at American churches, such as the man who shot a pastor in Illinois or the gay rights protesters who interrupted services at another church, by and large we Americans have no idea what it is like to go to church and fear you might die or suffer persecution.
As I lift up my brothers and sisters in Baghdad, I pray that I might have their commitment to Christ. As Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Galatians 2:19-20)

Flying the flag of baptism

A few years ago when Georgia changed it’s state flag, I was entering Candler Hospital in Savannah, when I looked up and noticed the new flag flying at the hospital. As I entered the lobby, I commented to the man at the desk, “I noticed they’re flying the new Georgia flag.” He waved it off and said, “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a piece of cloth.”

But he was wrong. It’s not just a piece of cloth. It means something. Just ask some of the people who passionately debated the change in the flag. Don’t say it’s just a piece of cloth. Don’t say it’s just a symbol. The flag has great meaning.

I know that I do not have to fly the flag to be an American, but I fly the flag, because I am proud to be an American. I see the 50 stars and 13 stripes, the red, white and blue and my heart swells with pride in this great nation that the flag represents.

So don’t say, “It’s just a piece of cloth.” Don’t say, “It’s only a symbol.” This cloth, this symbol, has great meaning!

There is a similar action for a believer in Jesus Christ. It, too, is symbolic of a great truth. I am referring to baptism.

I choose to be baptized to show my faith in Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to set me free from the penalty of sin. He was buried, and He rose from the grave and now lives in my life. One day I will go to spend eternity with Him in ehaven.

I know that I do not have to be baptized to be a Christian, but when I was nine years old and came to faith in Christ, I chose to be baptized, because I am proud to be a Christian. When I went under the water and came out again, I remembered his death, burial and resurrection for me. The apostle Paul put it this way: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4, NIV)

So don’t say that it doesn’t matter how you are baptized. Don’t say it’s just a symbol. This symbol of baptism has great importance as it represents our faith.

What does it mean to fly the flag of baptism?

I. It matters how it looks (Matthew 3:16; Romans 6:4).

For one thing, it matters how it looks. If somebody tried to sell you an American flag that had 12 stripes and 49 stars, would you want that? Would it matter? Of course it would! It should have 13 stripes and 50 stars. Would you want an American flag that had a green field instead of a blue field, and yellow stripes instead of red stripes? It has to look right to have the right meaning.

Likewise, it matters how baptism looks, because it has meaning. It must be by immersion to show death, burial and resurrection. Sprinkling or pouring does not have the meaning of immersion.

The Greek word baptizo means to dip, immerse. There are Greek words for sprinkling and pouring. Rantizo means to sprinkle. Epicheo means to pour. But those words are not used for baptism in the New Testament. The Greek New Testament uses baptizo, to immerse. It is interesting that the Greek Orthodox Church, which understands the Greek language, still immerses to this day.

Matthew 3:16 says that when Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, because he was immersed. He went down into the water, and came back up.

Romans 6:4 tells us why: we are buried with Christ and raised with Christ. You cannot symbolize death, burial and resurrection with sprinkling or pouring. Only immersion shows the true meaning of baptism.

Don’t say it doesn’t matter. It does matter.

II. It matters how it is used (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41).

It also matters how it is used. We do not put up with misuse of the flag, do we? A person should respect the flag. We salute it, we don’t let it touch the ground or get tattered and torn. A flag should not be worn as a piece of clothing, because it’s more than just a piece of cloth. If a protester burns an American flag, we are outraged by such treatment of our flag. It matters how it is used.

Likewise, it matters how we use baptism. It must be for believers, not infants who have no faith.

In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, we are told to go and make disciples, and baptize them. It doesn’t say make babies and baptize them, it says make disciples and baptize them.

Acts 2:41 says that those who heard the gospel and accepted the message were baptized. In every instance in the New Testament, baptism was for believers. In cases where whole families are baptized, it is because the whole families trusted Christ. There are no references in the New Testament to baptizing babies.

Some have argued that baptism replaces circumcision, and just as a Jewish family circumcised their child as a sign of the covenant, so Christian families should christen their children as a sign of a covenant with Christ.

But Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesied that God would make a new covenant with His people and it would be a covenant written on their hearts. Hebrews 8:7-13 quotes this passage from Jeremiah and then comments in verse 13, “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13, NIV)

So if you take your practice of baptism from circumcision, you are basing baptism on a covenant that is obsolete and disappears. But if you base your baptism on a believer’s baptism from a changed heart, your base your baptism on the new covenant of Jesus Christ that will last.

Don’t say it’s just a symbol and doesn’t matter. It does matter.

Senator John McCain was imprisoned for a symbol. Fighting under the American flag, he was shot down over North Vietnam was a prisoner of war for many years. He tells this story:

In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. Many men received word form their families for the first time in several years. The improved conditions were a result of public pressure on the North Vietnamese by the American public. In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over a period of time, Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore.

Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time it was the most important aspect of our lives.

This had been going on for sometime until one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown into the cell.

Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that we called our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging form the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag.

Don’t say it’s just a piece of cloth. Don’t say it’s only a symbol.

Baptists in some countries have had their children confiscated by the state church because they didn’t baptize them as infants. During the Communist rule of the Soviet Union, Christians were either forbidden to baptize at all, or forced to wait until they were 21 years of age. Often baptisms had to be carried out in secret. Yet that did not stop them from following Christ in believer’s baptism.

In Muslim countries, baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection, and sometimes it leads to the person’s literal death. Ali Mustaf Maka'il, a 22-year-old college student and cloth merchant, a former Muslim who was baptized into faith in Christ in 1995, was shot and killed in Mogadishu, Somalia in 2006, simply because he refused to join a crowd in chanting verses from the Qur’an. His story could be repeated again and again and again in the Muslim world. Some missionaries say that the greatest danger is that when they share the gospel in Muslim lands and Muslims accept Christ, they know that many of those Muslims will then be killed for their new faith.

Baptism represents death, and in some places in the world, you will die for daring to be baptized. Don’t say it’s only a symbol.

How about you? Christ died and arose for your salvation. All he asks is that we proudly wear his badge of baptism, which symbolizes our own death to the old life, rising to follow Christ. What flag are you flying?

Southern Baptist Convention resolution on President Obama

I am in Louisville, Kentucky, attending the Southern Baptist Convention. Today we passed a resolution on President Obama. My guess is that the media may distort this resolution, so let me include a summary of it here.
The resolution makes several positive statements about the president, then explains about which we disagree, and concludes with a promise to pray for the president.
Here is a summary of the long resolution.
The first "resolved" paragraph says we "share our nation's pride in our continuing progress toward racial reconciliation" by electing a black president.
The second paragraph commends the president "for his evident love for his family" and commitment to his wife and spending time with his daughters.
The third paragraph commends the president for retaining "foreign policies that continue to keep our nation safe from further terrorist attacks."
Then the resolution shifts from praise to caution, calling on the president to "keep intact" our strong military, and then it begins to list ways that we disagree with the president.
The fifth paragraph deplores the president's decision to "expand federal funding for destructive human embro research."
The sixth paragraph decries the president's decision to "increase funding for pro-abortion groups and to reduce funding for abstinence education."
The seventh paragraph oppose the president's determination to "strip pro-life health care professions of their conscience protections" by punishing them for refusing to do abortions.
The eighth paragraph urges the president to nominate "strict constructionist judges."
The ninth paragraph strongly protests "any effort by the President or his administration to eradicate the symbols of our nation's historic Judeo-Christian faith from public or private venues."
The tenth paragraph pledges to earnestly pray for the president in obedience to 1 Timothy 2:1-2, saying we would pray that he promotes "liberty and justice for all people, including the unborn."
The final paragraph says "we will join hands with President Obama and his administration to advance causes of justice insofar as those efforts are consistent with biblical principles."

It's a bold resolution, but on the whole, I like it. It lays out the moral issues upon which we disagree with the president's policies, while commending him where he has done well, and pledging to pray for him. After adoption of the resolution, the convention stopped to have a special time of prayer for God's blessing and wisdom upon President Obama.
Some people may criticize the Southern Baptist Convention for this resolution, but I believe we have a right and responsibility to speak out on moral issues, and I think it was an accurate Biblical evaluation of the president's administration thus far.