My mother has an acquaintance in her church, a very nice older woman who’s a fan of Trump and sometimes asks, “Don’t you think he was sent by God?”
My mother is not a Trump fan at all, but she’s an old-school midwestern Christian, the kind who still believes, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” So she bites her tongue and talks about the weather. But I wonder how she could respond?
Donald Trump is clearly the least-Christian president – or candidate – we’ve ever seen. His values are opposite the teachings attributed to Jesus, like the Sermon on the Mount. He’s not forgiving or humble. He’s not interested in service. Here’s not a peacemaker. He’s vindictive and pompous and violent and focused only on himself. At a time when states are putting the 10 commandments on walls, he’s clearly broken half of them. Everyone knows it. Christians know it.
My mom could muse, “Yes, maybe he was sent by God. God sends all kinds of things. Sometimes he sends pestilence and locusts. Maybe this is like the Book of Job. Maybe this is a test.” Then she could smile and walk away and hope she’s planted a seed.