As seen on CNN’s political ticker, Senator Obama recently spoke at a New Orleans church and quoted the finishing words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount regarding the men who built their houses on the rock or the sand.  He then proceeded to compare the rock with the “principal of brotherhood exemplified by the church during Hurricane Katrina — but not the federal government.”  In his words, “Something was wrong in America. Our foundation wasn’t built on the rock.” 

Regardless of the truth or value of his words, I struggle with Mr. Obama’s hermeneutic: this was not Christ’s focus in his discussion here.  Jesus clearly stated that one who follows what He says would be like a man on a rock, that is, one who holds to a Christ-centered worldview.  Mentioning a Biblical passage as a starting point to begin a political tirade trivializes the importance of the message inherent in the text.