So I've been pretty hush about this election, and I don't think that's gone unnoticed. It's not because I simply don't care, but because I have a hard time seeing hatred. I don't like conflict, and I'd much rather be the peacekeeper in any situation...
Unless I see a very big problem. Then I will raise my voice, so here it goes.
I do not care for Donald Trump, and I do not care for Hillary Clinton. Why? Because neither of them were very good people of character, or Christian for that matter. I wanted a president who would represent the United States well, and be Christlike in office. Yet neither of those two fit the picture for me. Therefore, I did not vote for either. For the first election I voted in, I wanted my vote to hold meaning, especially to God. So I didn't think it was humanely possible for me to vote for one of which that I believed was the "lesser evil." It just simply didn't make sense. But, I still voted since it was my civic duty (I will keep who I voted for private).
Then I went to bed, and woke up at 1:30 a.m. to check the polls. And like we all know well enough by now, it was Trump who won.
I became quite worrisome. Even if Hillary won, I would've worried just like I was worrying then. But I was worrying because this man who claimed he was Christian would not only be representing my country, but he would be representing Christianity since so many think he is a Christian. But hey, not so fast.
Just because this man who claims he's Presbyterian, was confirmed in his church, and got married at the Marble Collegiate Church does NOT make him a Godly man. In fact, the Marble church said, "Although he had a longstanding history with it, he is not an active member of Marble." And even at Holy Communion, Trump did not ask for God to forgive his sins. In regard to that, he said this appalling statement, "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture."
And although he said his favorite book of all time was the Bible, he failed to name just one verse. He claimed, "I don't like giving that out to people that you hardly know." Which, I respect in a sense. But you'd think a man that loves the Bible so much would be willing to share his favorite verse. Since people kept pestering him on, all he could manage to say was, "Two Corinthians." Two Corinthians? Really? I think you mean second Corinthians Mr. Trump.
Not only is he lying about his knowledge on the Bible, but he disrespected our Pope earlier this year. Pope Francis said, "A person who thinks only about building walls—wherever they may be—and not building bridges, is not Christian. ...I'd just say that this man [Trump] is not Christian if he said it this way...We must see if he said things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt." Then Trump continued to say that it was disgraceful for the Pope to question his faith, and suggested that Mexico was "using the Pope as a pawn" for political reasons because "they want to continue to rip off the United States." Then Trump continued to add "if and when" Islam attacks the Vatican, the Pope would have "wished and prayed" Trump were president.
How completely un-Christlike is this? If the Pope were to tell me that I wasn't Christian because of the things I've said, I definitely would've taken a hard look in the mirror and asked myself why I'm here in the first place and how I can change myself to be more Christlike. That's what a true Christian would do.
So I think it's safe to say this:
DONALD TRUMP IS NOT A REPRESENTATION OF CHRISTIANITY.
...With all this in mind, I kept worrying because this is it. There is no going back to find a true Christian to be president. But I believe that I have to trust God's plan no matter what circumstance. I know. People say, "This was not God's plan" or "God was not in this at all." But even if Hillary won, people would be claiming that God wouldn't have been apart of that either.
With that being said, here's an analogy I like to fall back on. The "Big Picture" analogy.
You see this picture? Think about it for a second. It looks like this creepy, dark looking tree with branches ready to grab you, right? Now look at the following picture.It's a cute couple walking down the street at night with their dog. Now, does it look creepy? No, but that creepy tree is still in the picture.
In life, we might have periods in time of those creepy/bad trees. But in God's eyes, He sees the whole, beautiful picture. But without that tree, it wouldn't have made the picture whole. Everything has a place and reason no matter how bad they can be. I think that if something bad happens, it's God teaching us how to make it right.
With that being said, Donald Trump's time as president is just that creepy tree in the picture. But as true Christians, all we can do is pray that Trump will become a Godly man and do the right things. We must cling onto our hope that God will reveal His "big picture" to us because, as crazy as it seems, one day He will. I promise.
Yes, it's hard to wrap your head around the fact that God was and is still present in this. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself too, but to claim that God was not present in this election would be a complete lie. People were praying, people were begging God to be here with us before, during and after the election. And to say that God did not hear us is simply not true at all. He is always listening to us, and His timing is impeccable. Believers know this to be true because God is with us wherever we go, even when we don't think He is there.
So I encourage us to be strong and courageous through this. I realize my Brothers and Sisters in Christ are hurting. So if you have to mourn, then mourn. If you want to cry, then cry. You have every right to feel however you want to feel. But, please, don't dwell on it because we must respect our president no matter what. We need to remember to strive towards our future that God has planned for us, and try as best as we can to forget the sin of the past by removing it and pressing the "reset" button. Like Philippians 3:13 says,"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead."
I can only hope and pray Trump finds God while in office. And hopefully if he does, he truly will make America great again. One nation, under God.