Before I get started, I want to say this will be my last political post at least until after the primaries are over. There are many other worthwhile topics to discuss. Though maybe none more pressing.
And while I know there are many brothers and sisters in Christ who don’t agree with me, I feel compelled to speak this once more. Call it a warning, or, if you’d like, the ravings of a misinformed, out of touch, Christian who loves his God and his country.
Your choice.
I’m a little dismayed, I think. I really try hard not to take politics too seriously, but this year is different; for me, anyway.
I listen carefully to the candidates and all their selling points, plus all the wonderful things they have to say about their opponents; the other Republican candidates. The ones supposedly from the same party.
And I cannot figure out why there are so many people who say they believe in God the same as I do, who keep pulling the lever for Mr. Trump.
Here are some of the reasons my friends and fellow evangelicals give for riding the Trump bandwagon.
1. He’s not a politician. But that’s not true. He’s involved in politics, he just hasn’t been elected. Nor is it the first time he’s played the game. It’s just the first time he’s played this long.
2. He’s expressing the views of the majority of Americans. Is he? And, if so, does that mean he’s right?
3. He has a lot of great ideas; ideas which will make this country great again. Wonderful. But has he explained HOW he’s going to implement any of the wonderful changes? I don’t believe so.
4. He’s passionate about this country. I can’t tell what’s in a person’s heart, and neither can you. But it is possible to review how he’s acted in the past (when he wasn’t running for office).
5. He’s better than Hillary or Bernie. Is he? How do we know? Some answer my question with “He’s a Republican, isn’t he?”, to which I must reply, “That’s what he says.”
But like the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil” (Jeremiah 13:23 ESV).
The obvious answer to the prophet’s question is no.
People tell me, “But with God, all things are possible.” Yes, amen. WITH GOD, all things are possible. WITH GOD, the dead become alive, the old is made new, and the reprobate becomes a child of God.
WITH GOD, it would even be possible for a leopard to change its spots.
But if a person is so bent on living their life WITHOUT GOD, how much credence should we give their words when they try to sell us on ideas that are completely opposite of their pre campaign position?
And when the very words of the man in question declare emphatically that he likes “to be good. I don’t like to have to ask for forgiveness. And I am good. I don’t do a lot of things that are bad. I try to do nothing that is bad.” What are we really to believe?
Just how much change can we expect from him? Enough to trust he’ll do what the campaigning Trump said, or what the old Trump said?
6. We’re not voting on a pastor. That’s the one I really love. Character, morality, ethics, none of that matter because we’re not voting for a chaplain.
Really? Maybe I’m slow, so please help me understand. WHY isn’t character important?
It’s been a number of years, but I can remember one candidate getting knocked out of the race because of his moral flaws. Does anyone remember the names Gary Hart and Donna Rice?
It meant something then. Were we wrong then? Or have we, in the name of tolerance, compromised OUR morals?
So why is character important? Because the President of the United States should be aboveboard, trustworthy, and not some proverbial joke to the rest of the world.
The thing that made this nation great cannot be found in Mr. Trump.
You see, it wasn’t gall, ego, temper tantrums, vulgarity, grand oration, or even the ability to make awesome deals that made America great.
It was people with a dream AND character. It was people with trust in and submission to God’s laws that gave this nation a chance to succeed.
I suppose I could be wrong. I reckon it just may be God’s will for Trump to win the Republican nomination. It could be.
Or it could be that America has become so spoiled and self centered God isn’t going to care either way.
And why not? Israel finally got their way. They finally got a great man for a king.
King Saul.
Things didn’t turn out so well, but God’s people got what they wanted.
Just don’t start whining if you get the one you just had to have, only to find out the leopard’s spots are still the same.
It’ll be too late, then.
Jan Grace 