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. In fact, the ridiculous “prophecies” circulated after the 2020 election made me somewhat embarrassed to be a charismatic.
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:
- Able and competent to lead and make sound decisions (Ex. 18:21)
- Fear God and recognize His authority (Ex. 18:21; Ps. 2:11)
- Trustworthy and honest, refusing corruption or bribes (Ex. 18:21)
- Committed to righteous judgment and fair treatment of all people (Deut. 16:18)
- Wise and teachable, willing to heed God’s warnings (Ps. 2:10)
- Serve the Lord with reverence and a sense of responsibility (Ps. 2:11)
- Honor God’s Son and submit to His rule (Ps. 2:12)
The Dilemma
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.
Good Deeds from Flawed Hands
That being said, 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.
Just The Facts
In addition, while much criticism of Trump is absolutely justified, there are cases where he has been genuinely misrepresented. Regardless of how we may feel about Trump (or anyone else), I hope we can all agree on the need for honesty and integrity. While using false or misleading information might seem effective in the short term, it damages credibility, sows distrust and ultimately undermines the very cause someone is trying to promote.
Here are some examples:
- While parts of Trump’s so called “Big Beautiful Bill” may certainly be cause for concern, nowhere does it give the president the power to delay or cancel elections.
- 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.
- Similarly, there is no record of him saying that “Republicans are the dumbest group of voters in the country.”
- 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.
- While Trump did awkwardly inquire about uses of bleach and other disinfectants to treat COVID, he never told anyone to drink or inject bleach.
- Similarly, while his “very fine people” remark following the Charlottesville riots was a foolish choice of words, he did make it a point that he was not referring to white supremacists.
- 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 commending 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.
Finding Steady Ground in Unsteady Times
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 partisan bomb throwers.
- Again, if you do choose to engage, do so with integrity. Always fact check and fallacy check anything you share. No matter how strongly you may disagree with someone, bearing false witness is still a sin.
- Don’t destroy your relationships over things you have practically no real control over.
- As the saying goes, don’t wish for the plane to crash just because you don’t like the pilot!
Keep It Real,
James
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