How do Christians respond to Donald Trump?

How do Christians respond to Donald Trump and his “Christian” supporters?

Here are 6 suggestions:

Reclaim the Bible

Too many Americans claim to be Christian but then behave contrary to the teachings of Jesus. They support policies and politicians who victimize or exploit the weakest and most vulnerable.

Throughout history, powerful Christians have wielded the authority of the Bible as a weapon to divide and hurt and not a blueprint to unite and heal. But the redemptive truth of Christ remains constant.

True Christians must be more comfortable quoting the Bible in conversation with Trump Christians and in public. We must tell the world that Christianity is more than the hypocrisy demonstrated daily by Trump supporters claiming to be Christian. We do that by quoting the Bible to those who ignore it.

The Bible is as clear as window glass: to follow Jesus we must help the widows, the orphans, the poor, the sick, and the foreigners living among us.

Trump Christians aren’t Christian if they abuse others or allow others to be abused.

Those of us who try to follow Jesus should strive to be Matthew 25 Christians and help the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the needy and the sick, because, as Jesus says, when we help them, we help him.

Jesus tells Trump Christians, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

Grow closer to God

We pray to God, C.S. Lewis said, not to change God, but to change us. And the only thing we can change in our lives is ourselves. No matter our situation, be it a

prison cell or the gilded halls of the world’s richest, ultimately, we only have control over our response.

Spend moments in silence listening to the still, small voice of the Lord moving in your heart.

Seek the “thin places,” where the barrier between this world and the spirit world is the thinnest. This can be a church, nature, a cemetery, or any location where we feel most connected to creation and the Creator.

When you work on your relationship with God, you will better see the Divine in others, and you will be able to respond in more positive ways not only to Trump but to other issues as well.

Trump is chaotic, ungodly, and the opposite of the Grace of God. Always remember that everything associated with Trump is pulling you away from God and act accordingly.

When the Lord speaks to us in silence, we raise our voices against injustice.

Proclaim Christ

We follow a risen savior. Admit it publicly. Proclaim it loudly. Don’t be ashamed of following Christ and feel comfortable and empowered to sham those who claim Christ but don’t do what Jesus says to do.

Just as you can’t eat hotdogs and claim you’re vegetarian, you can’t allow the abuse of “the least of these” and claim you’re Christian.

People can’t follow Trump and Jesus – Scripture says they lead in different, opposite directions. Trump represents and reflects the evils of the world while Jesus teaches us the heart of God.

Speak up

The message of Jesus is simple and clear: love God and love others. If we respond to the love of God by loving others.

We can’t just live like Christians, we must stop hiding our light under baskets, and explain why we are Christians. If we remain silent, we let other voices dominate. And those dominant voices aren’t Christian.

Trump Christians will offer misquotes, half-quotes, and distortions to defend the indefensible policies of Trump.

“The Bible says ‘don’t judge,’” they say; ignorant of the rest of the sentence when Jesus says we will be judged the same way. If we’re living the message of Jesus, scripture says we have no fear of the judgment of the Lord. People saying, “Don’t judge,” really mean, “Don’t judge me for ignoring everything Jesus says.”

Remain silent

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

We must not only speak up more often, we must also remain silent when our neighbors are threatened.

When government authorities demand information, remain silent. When questioned about the nationality, sexuality or other particulars about coworkers, friends, or neighbors, don’t participate in the persecution. Just because a question is asked, we aren’t required to answer.

Variations of “I don’t know,” or “I’m sure that’s none of my business,” are always good responses to bad questions.

Contact elected officials

If Jesus wanted Christians to control governments, then he would have controlled the government. He would have appeared on the steps of the Roman Forum, declared himself King of the world, and then called down a heavenly band of angels to enforce his reign. But he didn’t.

And Jesus doesn’t want his followers to do that, either.

Christian Nationalists craving political power reject the lesson of Jesus and instead focus on the power of Rome. They aren’t Christian. For them Jesus is a mascot, not a messiah.

But, as Christian tax payers we have every right to demand public polices reflect our faith and a Christian commitment to helping others, rather than have our tax dollars spent on death and weapons of war.

Contact elected officials, in the name of Christ, and demand that public policy reflects your morality, and not the amorality of Trump and his sycophants.

None of this is easy. Some of this may be well outside your comfort zone. In the name of Christ, do it anyway.

Ultimately, Trump is the symptom, not the disease.

Trump Christians have been manipulated for decades into believing they can’t be Christian and Democrat, so the default response for many American Christians is to support a Republican, even when the Republicans are profane liars and the opposite of Jesus in every way.

“At least he’s not a Democrat,” isn’t a Biblically based justification to support policies that harm the weakest.

Trump Christians are comfortable in their persecution of others, it’s up to us to hold them to the standard they claim – the standard Jesus asks of us.

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For more from Jim, follow these links:

The Clark Doll Study Documenting the Damage of Segregation

Do Christians Need to be Reminded that Racism is Immoral?

Notes from a Sermon: Mark 7: 24-37

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Pastor Jim Meisner, Jr. is the author of the novel Faith, Hope, and Baseball, available on Amazon, or follow this link to order an autographed copy. He created and manages the Facebook page Faith on the Fringe.