Is the love of Jesus weak? Of course not, and the answer of every Christian to such a question is and must be a resounding, “NO!” Yet, we aren’t judged by our words alone, the Lord expects us to behave as we claim to be. Are we followers of Christ? If so, we need to be prepared to follow him to the cross. Weakness is not the same as meekness or gentleness. Jesus was meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29), and that attitude led him to the cross. Therefore, we must reject the words of Robert Jeffress, Evangelical leader and pastor of the mega, First Baptist Church of Dallas:
“When I’m looking for a leader who’s gonna sit across the negotiating table from a nuclear Iran, or who’s gonna be intent on destroying ISIS, I couldn’t care less about that leader’s temperament or his tone or his vocabulary. Frankly, I want the meanest, toughest son of a gun I can find. And I think that’s the feeling of a lot of evangelicals.”[1]
Having physical power is not the same as having real power. Nero had the strength of a Roman Emperor, and he was the first gentile who persecuted the Church of Christ, but both he and the power of Rome are gone, but the Church lives on. How should we as Christians understand this, today?
First of all, Jesus was never on the side of the persecutor; he was never on the side of political power, and make no mistake about this—political power is the persecutor. Jesus was always on the side of the poor, the oppressed, that part of Jewish society that yearned for peace—Shalom! And, it was this very thing, namely, preaching Shalom and speaking out against the political power of his day, vis-à-vis the Jewish authorities, the religious/political power during the first century AD Jerusalem, which in the end partnered with Rome, the supreme political power of the state, to crucify Jesus, God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14).
Let’s be clear about what all this means. At one time, Peace, vis-à-vis SHALOM, permeated the world, and that was in Eden (Genesis 2). However, mankind rebelled (Genesis 3), seeking to push God out of his own creation (Romans 1:28), and Shalom was lost. Cornelius Plantinga describes Shalom as:
“The webbing together of God, humans, and all creation in justice, fulfillment, and delight is what the Hebrew prophets call shalom. We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens the doors and welcomes in the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be.”[2]
Can anyone truthfully say that Donald Trump is on the side of Shalom? Are Christians who support Trump’s Presidency on the side of Shalom? Time after time, Trump has sought to make us afraid of minorities, villainizing them, slandering them as terrorists, murders and thieves. Yet, without due process, how do we know, they are what he says they are? Isn’t everyone innocent until proven guilty? When has fear ever been a correct or godly attitude for Christian folks to express about people, they haven’t even met? Time after time, Jesus, who possesses all the power in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18) told his followers not to be afraid, because he was with them (Matthew 14:27; Mark 6:50; Luke 24:39; John 6:20). Being with Jesus doesn’t always mean physical safety, it may very well mean following him to the cross, vis-à-vis with him often costs everything. Nevertheless, true safety, eternal safety is found only there, at the cross.
Donald Trump is a bully, who tries to make us afraid of one another. He divides us. Fear and hatred divide, but love unites us with our neighbor. Anyone who says he loves God but hates his neighbor is not dwelling in the love of God (1John 3:17). We need to be careful to whom we pledge our allegiance, for we’ve been warned against becoming unequally yoked with unbelievers, and Donald Trump is an unbeliever.
To conclude, taking a stand against a bully does have its consequences:
“There’s a reason why people serving in our government take an oath to the Constitution. As our founding fathers recognized, democracy is fragile. People in positions of public trust are duty-bound to defend it, to step forward, when action is required. In our country we don’t swear an oath to an individual or a political party. We take our oath to defend the United States Constitution, and that oath must mean something. Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues, who are defending the indefensible. There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain!”[3]
Speaking out cost Representative Liz Cheney her position in Congress. Taking a stand may have undesirable consequences for any of us, but Jesus tells us: “It is I; don’t be afraid, I am with you!” _______________________________________
[1] Quoting Robert Jeffress interview as printed in the Dallas Observer.
[2] See chapter one: The Vandalism of Shalom in his book, “Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be” A Breviary of Sin,
[3] Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming; January 6th Committee Vice Chair
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