Trump Arraignment Musings
Today, I am thinking about a conversation I had with Gina last night. We were watching coverage of Donald Trump’s arrest and arraignment in New York. As we were watching, they were waiting for him in his Florida home to make a speech.
I am overwhelmed with disdain for this selfish, mean, greedy liar, whom I believe has been a catalyst for the accelerated ruin of our country. He has licensed hatred of all kinds and has modeled a ‘me-first’ attitude that has been aped by millions.
He has also driven a wedge, scattering and dividing Christians. Some believe that he was sent by God to save them. Many believe that his call for holy war is from God. Some believe that the people he vilifies are the enemy and that God hates them, so they should hate them too.
Lord, I don’t believe any of this. You preached love of all people. I don’t believe you set America apart for special treatment, any more than you set the Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, or even Great Britain for holiness, over all other lands. I don’t believe that you call us to root out groups of people, as Paul was asked to do to the early church before you turned him around. We’re not called to judge, but to love.
And this is a problem I have, specifically with Trump, whom I find loathsome, as well as the many who have fallen under his evil spell. I want to judge them. I delight in seeing him brought down and the harder he fights, the more I like it, because I know he will lose. His arrogance, greed, and selfishness only feed my joy in his eventual accountability.
In expressing this last night, Gina was that soft, insistent voice that the Holy Spirit provides to correct us when we’re off-target. She pointed out that Donald Trump is a human being, created by God. He is a sinner, just as I am a sinner. Just as we are all sinners. He is inhabited by the enemy, who has corrupted and defiled him, turning him into the weapon Satan uses to divide and conquer.
I gave up a long time ago hoping for Trump to repent and throw off the evil that inhabits him, but he can’t do it alone. And since it hasn’t happened, and it can’t because God isn't making it happen, I can only conclude that God is allowing this evil to persist for His purpose.
Lord, thank you for this insight, brought to me by my wonderful, faithful wife. Thank you for helping me separate the man you created from the evil that inhabits him. Thank you for helping me root against evil while giving grace to the man and all those who follow him.
Lord, bless Donald Trump, his family, his friends, and his many supporters. Help them to fight off the evil that has overshadowed them and caused them to do many terrible things. Keep them safe and healthy, as Satan may also use some of the evil to target them and create even more uproar through martyrdom. Help them to honestly seek and find you, understanding your word as it appeals to them personally, not how it can be twisted for evil or selfish purposes.
And Lord, watch over and bless the millions of people who oppose them, regardless of the reason. Help them avoid self-righteousness, recognizing that they, too, are sinners. There are no perfect people involved in this other than Jesus Christ, whose perfection saved us all from the accountability we richly deserve. Help the opposition to see the other side as wayward people, inhabited by Satan, rather than being evil themselves. This is a hard distinction to make but if we don’t make it, we’re doomed to seeing each other as one-dimensional villains who must be eradicated.
We have to have compassion for those with whom we disagree. There is, especially among Americans, who have much more in common than the external and superficial things on which we differ. Help us, Lord, to respect and care for one another, even as we argue passionately for what we believe is right.
In your saving name I pray, AMEN!