America has a spiritual problem! Believers should pray more!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial 

CHEERING & JEERING!

by Steve Fair

     Former President Donald Trump was wounded by an assassin’s bullet on Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.  Just 100 hours after being shot, Trump delivered a 93-minute speech to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night.  Impressive composure! 

     On Sunday, President Joe Biden, still suffering from COVID, dropped out of the presidential race by public letter.  Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination.  Biden had stated he wouldn’t withdraw from the race until the Lord Almighty told him to.  Apparently, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA) has a new position/title.    Three observations:

     First, the U.S. Secret Service has some serious explaining to do.  The obvious lapses and gaps in the advance security plan for the rally warrant scrutiny.  Were those chinks intentional, the result of incompetence or due to a lack of staffing?    Congressional hearings are scheduled this week and those in Secret Service leadership should be held accountable.  Congressional hearings often hide the truth, and don’t expose it.   Let’s hope this one is different. 

     Second, God spared Donald Trump.  That is not in dispute.  But the idea of divine ‘intervention’ is problematic.  God controls everything all the time.  Nothing happens without God’s will.  God is either sovereign over all things or subservient to His creation.  If He is sovereign (and He is), He doesn’t pick and choose situations or states of affairs He will get involved in. 

     The sparing of Donald Trump is not necessarily a sign from heaven Trump is God’s chosen vessel. Clearly God isn’t finished with Trump yet, but discerning God’s intent in why is soothsaying.  Some Christian believers have compared Donald Trump to Cyrus, the historic Persian king, who delivered the Jews from Babylonian captivity.  Cyrus wasn’t a Jew and didn’t worship the God of Israel, yet the prophet Isaiah paints Cyrus as a conduit through which God accomplished His divine plan.    Donald Trump could be the vessel- or not- that God will use to deliver America. 

     Those who subscribe to ‘vessel theology,’ are often dismissive of Trump’s controversial past and blindly loyal because in their mind, he is God’s chosen vessel.  Since there is no Old Testament prophet, like Isaiah, to reveal God’s thinking, connecting the dots on why God spared Trump is just speculation.      

     Third, God sets up all leaders.  He also brings them down. Throughout scripture, wicked and good kings were used by God to punish, bless, deliver, and teach His people.  Some of those leaders were moral, others immoral.  Some were dishonest, others honest, but every single one came to power by the hand of God.  Biden’s ‘bringing down’ didn’t take God by surprise.  Trump’s deliverance from assassination wasn’t a revelation to the Almighty.  He is omniscient- all knowing. 

     The 2024 general election will still be close.  President Trump has a clear advantage, but the United States is very polarized.   Whomever the Democrats nominate will run a competitive campaign.  That’s because blind loyalty reigns in America and allegiance has become more important than objectivity.  Rational thought is sparse. 

     The solution to America’s problems is not electing Donald Trump.  If God allows that to happen, it is far better than the alternative, but until hearts are changed, America’s moral decline will continue.  America has a spiritual problem and believers would be better served spending more time on their knees praying, and less time on their feet cheering their champion and jeering the opponent.