I've avoided writing about Inauguration Week for lots of reasons. I hate to sound cynical in the face of a new day. I don't want to appear whiny or show bad sportsmanship. And honestly, I just haven't wanted to think about it too much.

To be honest, it's not even saying "President Obama" that upsets me. I can handle the fact that power has shifted and my guy is no longer in the White House. It happens. In fact, that's something to be proud of. We just witnessed the 44th shift of power from one President to the next. It is remarkable to have a history of smooth transition like that, especially when the philosophies are so different and passions run so high on either side.

I watched most of the Inaugural Day festivities on Tuesday morning. I do love the pomp and circumstance and pageantry of it all. It was certainly moving to see the Bushes and the Obamas together. I felt a bit sorry for President Bush because there wasn't a whole lot of sentiment coming his way other than, "Time for you to go!" I know he's a strong man and didn't need that for his self worth, but it still made me sad for him to have to leave that way.

My problem was not with the events of the day. My problem was with the media love fest. I had to watch most of Tuesday's events with the sound muted because I just couldn't stomach what I was hearing. It was shameless. Yes, it's historic that we've elected the first black President (which probably still bugs President Clinton, since that used to be his honor.) But try to imagine for a moment if he were the first black Republican president. How different might things have been? And to hear the journalists talk, it seems we've elected far more than a man. They are trying to convince us that we've just elected the savior of the world. That, I can't take.

I'm sure it is hard for President Obama not to believe his own press. He knows better than anyone that he is just a man, but when you are hailed as the next messiah, how long before you begin to believe it might be true? Scripture is filled with stories of men who accepted the glory that belongs to God for themselves, and it never worked out well for them. King Nebuchadnezzar spent several years eating grass and living like a wild animal. Herod was infested with worms and eaten from the inside out. Two extreme cases, but they show us that God doesn't like it much when men try to usurp his throne.

I am praying right now that our new President will keep a steady head. Because he is our representative to the world. He is the king on the throne of America right now. And if he gets carried away, I worry about the fate of the rest of us.

Here's where I put my hope, though. God is not limited by human circumstances. He sees things we can not see. He can move in ways unimaginable to us. He can use President Obama to work His purposes. It is vital that we pray to that effect. Let's not lose heart in a land that seems at times to have lost its collective mind.

And when millions of people across this nation realize that their hope is misguided and that the man they believed could solve all of their problems is just a man, let's be ready to offer a reason for the true Hope within us.