Years ago, when Donald J Trump first began to talk about running for president, my mind immediately went back to Bill Clinton’s administration. Even as a candidate, Clinton’s womanizing and other moral issues were well known. In response, Christian leaders loudly and rightfully proclaimed “Character counts!”
Here we are years later and sadly, many of these same leaders now hold Trump to a very different standard. The fawning adulation many of them blindly heap upon him is, to put it bluntly, sickening. This is especially true of the alleged “prophecies” promoted by some charismatic leaders during and after the 2020 election.
I realize that Trump does profess to be a Christian although the fruit of his life makes this claim highly suspect. Regardless, the question remains does he meet the spiritual qualifications to be a leader? Please carefully consider the following Scriptures:
- Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. -Exodus 18:21 ESV
- You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. -Deuteronomy 16:18 ESV
- Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.-Psalm 2:10-12 ESV
Unfortunately, although Trump obviously does NOT meet these requirements, neither have his Democratic opponents, which creates an offsetting dilemma.
I personally could never support Trump in good conscience. Any time he has been on the ballot I have either voted third party or abstained completely (as much as I hated to do it). However, most people I know who did vote for him do not fit the fire breathing MAGA stereotypes. In fact, many of them shared my concerns about his moral character. They simply saw him as being the less of two evils.
The idea of God using ungodly people to accomplish His purposes is not without precedent in the Bible. An example would be King Cyrus. He was not a follower of Israel’s God, but was still used him to bring tremendous help and blessing to God’s people.
In our own history, the Christian faith of Abraham Lincoln was, at best, questionable. Nonetheless, can we deny that He was used of God to end the evil of slavery in our country? Similarly, we can see that Trump was likewise used to overturn the travesty that was Roe v Wade.
In addition, while much criticism of Trump is absolutely justified, there are cases where he has been genuinely misrepresented. For example, claims that he has referred to dead soldiers as “suckers and losers” are unsubstantiated and a phone recording of him allegedly doing so has been shown to be fake. Furthermore, the so called “Muslim ban” during his first term was nothing of the sort. All countries targeted in the 2017 travel ban were either known sponsors of terrorism or active war zones. The county with the largest Muslim population on earth is Indonesia, yet it was not included in the ban. Trump’s critics have often accused him of refusing to denounce white supremacy, yet this video shows him repeatedly doing just that:
In addition, here is a video of none other than Jesse Jackson praising Trump for creating jobs in the black community:
Nonetheless, this does not excuse Trump’s often inflammatory rhetoric which, even if he is not racist himself, has often given cover to those who are. His reckless language, especially on social media, has always been dangerous. Something an average person might say as a joke could easily cause an international incident coming from the president.
So where does this leave us?Whether we like it or not, Trump will (barring anything unforeseen) be the president until January of 2029. Presidents come and go but life does go on. In the meantime, it is up to us to make the most of it. How can we do this?
- Obviously, we should pray for him, as we should for all leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
- As much as possible, be a peacemaker (Romans 12:18). This hurting world needs this much more than it needs political bomb throwers.
- If you do choose to engage, do so with integrity. Always fact check and fallacy check anything you share.
- Don’t destroy your relationships over things you have practically no real control over.
- As the saying goes, don’t hope for the plane to crash just because you don’t like the pilot!
Keep It Real,
James
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