This past evening I did something I never enjoy doing. I unfriended an individual from my FB account. He was a denominational leader and a preacher. I found some of his posts very enjoyable to read, but I became frustrated at his constant attacks on President Trump and especially the type of remarks he made about the President. Most days there would be several posts with such remarks.
There were a number of people I would have preferred to have seen elected as President in the last election. There are times when I wish he would close down his Twitter account or just stop making some of the comments he makes. But, the fact is the American people elected him to the office, and as Tiger Woods correctly pointed out last week, we are to respect the office.
In my lifetime I have never seen a president attacked with so much venom as our current president. Many of the things he is accused of have been committed by former presidents. That does not make them right, but it's quite interesting to me that the media did not hound those presidents over their actions. I'm not surprised that the Democrats continue their attack on him. They started talking about impeachment even before his inauguration. I am surprised that many Republicans have not shown more support. It seems like in politics it's often a good idea to follow the money so this indicates to me that he is costing a lot of politicians money.
It is also discouraging to me that so many individuals in ministry join in these attacks. It's one thing to oppose policies. There has never been a president with whom I've agreed on every single policy they've introduced. When a woman began to question Barack Obama's character, presidential candidate John McCain took the microphone from her and told her she was wrong. He said that while he and Obama had major policy differences Obama was a fine person whose character should not be challenged. Disagree with policies that Trump might support if you wish, but making the kind of snide remarks that I see increasingly on FB by Christians and ministry leaders are not appropriate.
Such remarks are very divisive to the work of the Kingdom of God. In every church there are persons who feel strongly opposed to President Trump and those who are just as supportive of him. When ministry leaders personally attack the president they are going to alienate those who support him. They are also going to alienate a large number of persons outside the Kingdom of God who God has given us the responsibility to reach. Will such alienation hinder or help us achieve the Great Commission?
Even more importantly, such comments fly in the face of the biblical mandate to pray for our leaders. The New Testament is clear that Christians are to honor and pray for their leaders, and the ones who wrote those words would later be killed by those same leaders. We do not honor our leaders by constantly belittling them or spreading unproven rumors about them. And I have to wonder how many of the Christians who are quick to criticise the president have spent as much time praying for him.
Just as I have never seen a president under so much attack, I have never seen our nation as divided as it is today. As Christian leaders should we not be working to bring healing to our land rather than creating even more division? When policies are unjust I am not at all reluctant to speak against such policies, but I pray that I never join in the personal attacks against our president, or any future leader, as I see coming from some of my Christian brothers and sisters.
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