I was not going to make a post about the election. I accept Trump’s win and while I certainly didn’t vote for him I believe in democracy even when it’s hard (a belief Trump himself does not share).
What pushed me over the edge, though, is a post I have seen many people, including pastors, friends, and members of my own family share comparing Donald Trump to King David. The gist of the post is this:
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King David was wealthy, adulterous, a murderer…and he also was God’s annointed leader and gave us the Psalms. It’s phrased like a clever “gotcha” at the end because the reader is clearly supposed to be thinking about Donald Trump, but then the reader is made to feel like a fool because the post was *really* about King David.
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Yes, scripture makes it clear that David was flawed. It ALSO makes clear that he was truly remoseful for his actions and was repentant. Secondly, it paint’s David as a man who constantly and persistently pursued the heart of God throughout his life was so loved by God that he was chosen for the lineage of Jesus.
Elevating Trump to this level is idolatry, pure and simple. The argument that his complete inability to be truthful, to take ownership or responsibility for any of his actions that cause harm to others, his adultry, idolatry, vileness, his several previous sexual assaults (for which he was convicted by a jury of his peers), advocating for violence against their political enemies… all of these things are actually somehow what makes him fit for office because “God calls flawed people”? What are we doing here, church?
Again, let me be clear, this isn’t even about the election. I’ve accepted Trump’s win. I will NOT accept that he’s God’s ordained leader…that’s pure retconned Bible-adjacent fan fiction the church is using to justify the moral compromise they’ve made to support him.
And before someone throws Romans 13:1 out there as if it literally applies to all earthly authority (it does not, that’s another bad theological take), you better be prepared to defend why God ordained Hitler and wanted the holocaust to happen, why God ordains parents who abuse their children, or why, if God ordains all earthly authority, that we have any right to meddle in the affairs of foreign countries and replace their leadership when it doesn’t suit our own culture, opinions, or agenda.
Lucky for us, though, this doesn’t need to be opinion based. The Bible has a clear litmus test to know if someone is led by the Holy Spirit. It’s laid out in plain language that even a child could understand:
If they are led by the spirit, then in their wake you will find love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Trump exemplifies none of these fruits and in fact his personal fruit is the antithesis of most of these. If Trump were led by the Spirit, the fruit of the spirit would abound around him.
I have a deep profound sadness about this cult of Trump, this idol worship in the American church, and especially in my friends and family.
It makes me sad that the church is posting content like this. It makes me especially sad that my friends and family believe it enough that they need to share the message to others. It makes me genuinely grieve for the church and my family and my friends that we’ve bought in so deeply to this manipulation of our faith, that we’ve made so much room for this compromise in the belief that the end justifies the means.
“What profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?”