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President Donald Trump. Those words fill me with disgust, anger, and incredible disappointment in my country. What do I do now? There is a man whom I believe is utterly evil, unqualified, and exceptionally dangerous leading the nation I love. He has a history of encouraging physical attacks on people of color, bragging about rape, mocking people with disabilities, and showing contempt for the Constitution. He is conman who has swindled countless people. Even the week of his inauguration he paid $25 Million to settle a fraud lawsuit against him. Obviously God is not calling me to submit to this leadership, is He?
Romans 13:1-2 tells me God is demanding that I submit. “Let every person be subject to governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement.” Frankly, I want to take a black sharpie to those verses right now.
The verse was written in 57 AD to a church in Rome so what does that have to do with us today? I’m sure they did not have a man like Donald Trump as their governing authority. Actually, they had an emperor named Nero who was heavily focused on foreign trade, the economy, and promoting Rome but he was largely viewed as his subjects as corrupt and was a wildly compulsive man. Most people of the day despised him but the neo-patriotic Romans of the East adored him. Sound familiar?
Nero in fact took Christians, dipped them in oil, and set them on fire. He took great joy in murdering the very people Paul was telling to submit to him. Paul was telling the church in Rome that the man killing them was appointed by God. Given that information, I have no choice but to be subject to President Trump. That brings up some challenges though. How do I obey the rest of Scripture?
In Proverbs 31 we read the advice King Lemuel received from his mother, “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31;8-9 ESV) Psalm 82:3 instructs “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless, maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.” (ESV) How is the world do I do this while being subject to man who is the personified opposite of these things?
Titus 3 gives some insight into just how this can be accomplished.
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:1-7 ESV)
Paul again instructs the church through Titus to be submissive to authorities but this time he does so with additional instructions to be ready for every good work and to speak evil of no one. He lays out exactly who we were before Christ. Again, understanding the culture may help. Titus was in Crete and Titus 1:12 tells us that “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” Again, I’m reminded of our new presidential administration. Dishonest, evil, and lazy are all things many of us see in President Trump. Yet under similar circumstances the Bible called for submission. The same verses though command of us to do good work. Maybe the instructions are intrinsically tied together. We are to avoid quarrels as well, to be gentle and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. I picture Crete as a terrible place full of Trump cabinet nominees and a few Christians. The command to the Christians was echoed by First Lady Michelle Obama, “When they go low, we go high”. I want to stoop to the level of Trump and his followers and harshly rebuke them but I’m called to something more.
I am called to, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:16-17 ESV) Again, both honoring the emperor and using my freedom for good coexist. 1 Peter was also written in Rome under evil rule of Nero.
So what will I do? I will follow the advice Paul gave Timothy from a Roman prison when he was being tortured and ultimately murdered by order of Nero. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 ESV) I will pray for President Trump. I will pray he repents of his heinous ways. I will pray he allows all Americans and people everywhere to live peaceful and quiet lives. I will pray he God reaches down and changes his heart.
As I finish writing this I am still dismayed at the thought of such an evil and capricious man leading my nation but I take comfort in knowing that I serve a God who is bigger than any President. I take courage in knowing that rules like Trump have come and gone and yet the world remains. I take responsibility to speak up for the oppressed and any my President tries to mock, ridicule, or harm. Finally, I take seriously my call to be a man of prayer.
