Jesus, Christians and Trump

I have had many friends over the years leave the church, not because of the difficult things Christ said or the ways in which He behaved, but because of the difficult things Christians say and the ways in which they behave. They were fine with Jesus, but they couldn’t associate themselves any longer with what He looked like in the mirror of His people, so they left.

I’ve grounded my own faith on the actual image of Jesus instead of the mirror of Christians, so that’s helped me get past all the zits and blemishes—but the mirror is so distorted now that there’s little I can recognize in the reflection. It’s as though the image staring back at us is of Trump—someone who doesn’t match much of anything Jesus or the gospel ever had to say.

Christians finally cry out for justice, but it’s for Trump, not for the oppressed people Jesus came to liberate. Modern prophets tell us that God is angry and will make us all pay dearly for not electing his one and only son, Donald Christ. After four years of his behavior, 8/10 evangelicals hoped for another four, even though they couldn’t stand so much as one moral failing of any democratic president. After four years of his behavior, charismatics have aggressively and joyfully continued to sign the Holy Spirit’s name on proclamations that Trump will be put back into the office and that such a thing would be Godly and right.

At some point I have to step back from the mirror and wonder not if the reflection is warped, but if I’m even looking at the right mirror anymore. Perhaps this one is an idol and Jesus’ mirror is somewhere else. Perhaps there’s another one out there where Jesus looks like a crowd of strangers that are hungry, thirsty, naked, and imprisoned.

You likely won’t hear me describing myself as an “evangelical” or “charismatic” anymore—not because they’re bad movements, but because such terms have culturally evolved in our time to represent the religious pursuit of Jesus and Donald Trump. I won’t share in that ideology.Christianity has tried to proclaim itself to be an earthly kingdom over and over again throughout the last 2,000 years. And if you read history, then you know that the things Christians have done in the name of politics and royalty are atrocious and antichrist—and it’s as recent as German Christians going right along with Nazi Germany, Hitler, and all of its demonic teaching.

If we do not turn our eyes upon Jesus only, we too will be swept away in a flood of red or blue. So find the right mirror. And once you have, focus on the actual image that mirror should be reflecting until you start to look like Him too.