ANOTHER DISCLAIMER ON BEHALF OF GOD*

There are some folks who have written that it was God who chose Donald Trump to lead this country and God who is going to make America great.  On behalf of God, I Trump's posturewould like to point out that God certainly loves Mr. Trump — just as he loves Hillary Clinton and you and me and the homeless man you see walking around with a grocery cart. However, the president-elect was not chosen by God, but by a reasonably healthy, though distinct, minority of American voters.  God gave us the free will to make that choice (and accept the consequences).

God has warned us about what we should expect, though, in these words (slightly paraphrased to bring them up to date) from 1 Samuel 8:10-22:

 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a [president]  He said, “This is what the [president] who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.  Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.  He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.  He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.  He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.  When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the [president] you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a [president] …

When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord.  The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a [president].”

That is how free will works.

Jesus, too, made it clear that there is a clear dichotomy between the things that belong in the realm of politics (the things that are “Caesar’s”) and those in the realm of the divine (the things that are “God’s”), as we see in Matthew 22:20-22, Mark 12:16-17 and Luke 20:24-25.

Now, just because the election of the president was the work of mere mortals does not mean that everything is not in divine order.  It is.

Also, it does not mean that the election is not an important symbol for our world.  It is.

For many centuries the world was predominantly patriarchal, with women forced into a subservient role, with the richest 1% of the population exploiting the other 99%, and with various tribes and racial groups competing with one another for control of limited resources.  Although that worldview is becoming less common and must soon be replaced by one that is more sustainable, Donald Trump clearly represents the vestiges of the past and his presidency will keep them in the spotlight, “warts and all.”

Imagine, then, what it will be like two years from now when Trump’s presidency ends early due to his health problems, which may begin manifest within a fairly short time.  As sad as that may be to many, it will be a powerful symbol of the changes that are taking place right now and are not going to be stopped.  I think it will happen.

___________________________

*The previous disclaimer my be seen by clicking here.

3 thoughts on “ANOTHER DISCLAIMER ON BEHALF OF GOD*

  1. We have arrived and are 40 miles from the border so I suppose we could see Trump’s wall if it’s as really, really big as his bloviating face, but we haven’t looked. There are mountains nearby, palms and cacti and clear skies and stars in the non-light-polluted night, and sunrises of perfect simplicity – iron black mountains edged with pale orange and deep turquoise above. Yesterday morning before sunrise I heard coyotes in the near distance, and in the dawn desert behind our RV we saw rabbits and quail out our back window about 30 feet away.

    Eventually whatever wall it is this time around, I’m sure it will eventually be a crumbled and mouldering ruin in the winds and sands of time. Perhaps it will be given its start in that direction when people on both sides of it tear it down together.

    Non-divine odor is far away from this place, and I will do my part to keep it so.

    • I can see that you have experienced divine order.

      Are you in southern Arizona now? Is all in divine order in that section of the world? (I think I know the answer.)

      Can you see Trump’s wall from where you are? You might remind the wall people that China’s Great Wall was built to keep the Mongols out, but they ended up with Kublai Khan and the Yuan Dynasty. In England, Hadrian’s Wall was built to separate the Romans from the barbarians, but according to Cassius Dio’s Historia Romana, “the tribes crossed the Wall which divided them from the Roman forts and killed a general and the troops he had with him.”

Leave a Reply to law Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *