I am troubled by Trump... but I'm even more troubled by the Christians who defend him. When we look at the things Jesus said in the Gospels and the Sermon on the Mount, it becomes impossible to justify the hateful rhetoric and hurtful policies of this administration. Some things are not about the Left and Right, but about right and wrong.
God's grace is big... it is big enough to transform the heart of every one of us, including Donald Trump. But right now, President Trump's life looks more like the 7 deadly sins than the fruits of the Spirit. He is cursing the very people that Jesus blesses in the Beatitudes.
It was Christ who said, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." --Luke 6:45
We know who Donald Trump is... This election is about who WE are. And it is about who we want to be as a nation. It is also about the credibility of our faith in the public sphere.
Many people, young people in particular, are leaving the church. But for many of them -- they are not rejecting Jesus. They are rejecting a version of American nationalism that is camouflaging itself as Christianity... but it doesn't look like Jesus. For many people, rejecting Trump-evangelicalism is not the end of your faith -- it is the beginning, the beginning of a more authentic, Christ-centered faith. After all, the word "Christian" means "Christ-like." And much that disguises itself as Christianity is not very Christ-like at all.
The stakes are high, especially as many Christian leaders have forfeited their integrity for the sake of political power. They are trying to defend the indefensible. This is not just a political crisis... it is also a spiritual and moral crisis.
Let us do all that we can to choose love over hate, faith over fear, hope over despair. May those of us who love Jesus stand against the hateful rhetoric and hurtful policies of this administration... in the name of Jesus!!! |
