As my profile says, I live in Australia & not a US citizen, so I get rather mystified by the personal vitriol that is expressed towards President Trump. Of course it happens here too but basically we are just too busy playing cricket & football to get too worked up about our pollies.
The first US president I became aware of as a young teenager was Kennedy ... and yes I remember where I was when he was shot. So over the years I have taken a distant interest in US politics, becoming more aware of things in recent years through forums such as this. Unless I am beginning to 'disremember' there is not a time I can recall when there was such personal animus for a president.
I suppose everyone is aware of Trump's character flaws but I am surprised how often he is abused on a personal level by those Christians who dislike him ... which actually sounds like hate to me. In Australia there is a tendency to avoid attacks on a politician's character though there have been notable exceptions (eg Barnaby Joyce).
It seems those who engage in attacking Trump's character, rather than just objectively criticizing his policies, do so on the basis that it is "the truth". I'm not actually asking whether it is "the truth" that Trump is all the bad things people say, but whether as Christians we ought to adopt a different approach.
What a lot of Christians tend to forget is Paul and Peter both wrote to honor and obey those in authority, up to and including a national leader, in their case the emperor which translates in our case to the President/Prime Minister/etc.
Paul was murdered by having his head removed by the very Emperor he told people to honor and obey.
Peter was murdered by being crucified upside down by the very Emperor he wrote to honor and obey.
So it isn't just a matter of respecting the person in office, it's wholly a matter of if you aren't, you are actually sinning. Remember, God has appointed every. single. one. of these individuals to rule at exactly the moment in history they do so. So you aren't just opposing Trump, you are opposing God.
And don't get me wrong, it isn't just about Trump, Republicans in America did the exact same thing when Obama was in office. The ironic thing about it all is, Christians want to cry about having more godly leaders while how many of us live godly lives ourselves?
If we want change, stop looking to government officials and just effect the people around you. Can you imagine what the world would look like if the 2/3 billion people that say they are Christian would actually stop whining and bickering about government this and government that and just live in a Christlike manner. We don't even need to agree on what sanctification means, or how many prayers need said or how to say them. Just live a Christlike life!
1 John 4:16, "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
1 John 3:17-18, "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."
