God bless America - part 2

I had intended that my previous post would be my last word on Donald Trump.  However, I have a problem.  My problem is the Donald Trump Christian fan club – those of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are enthusiastically applauding his every move and suggesting that anyone who criticises him does so because they are part of a politically correct godless liberal establishment.

 

Let me clear:

·       I believe God has ultimate sovereignty over the appointment of national leaders.

·       It really doesn’t bother me if my American friends vote Republican or Democrat.

·       I am happy to believe that Donald Trump’s unlikely appointment was a necessary corrective to American politics and that good may be worked through it.

Nevertheless, there is a biblical story that has been very much on my mind during the last few days that reminds me that just because a leader is ordained by God for a season it does not equate to an unqualified character endorsement.

In 1 Kings 19:15 we are introduced to a man called Hazael who was anointed by the prophet Elijah to be king over Syria.  Later on, in 2 Kings 8, Elijah’s successor Elisha has an encounter with Hazael in which he too prophesies that Hazael will be king of Syria.  The detail that has stood out to me though is the prophet’s reaction to his own message – he weeps!  He weeps because he knows the cruelty of Hazael and he knows that people will suffer under his leadership. 

As I look at events on the other side of the Atlantic I identify with Elisha. I believe that the Trump presidency will ultimately achieve godly purpose, but I also see that he is far from being a righteous character and that there will be pain for many.  As I said in my last post, our right reaction to recent events is to pray for Mr Trump and pray for America.  However this does not mean that we need to become his loyal supporters, defend his reputation or pretend he is a godly man.  He will lead for a season, and he will one day give account to God for his time in office, but in the meantime we are allowed to weep a little.   

God bless America

In February 2007 I stood for the first time in a Cambodian building that used to be a school, and surveyed hundreds of black and white photographs.  Each one depicted someone whose last days were spent in that place, Tuol Sleng, which became one of the most notorious symbols of the horror that was the Pol Pot regime. 

Visiting a site such as Tuol Sleng or the nearby ‘killing fields’ of Choeung Ek inevitably leads to questions including “How did such a horror occur in relatively recent history?”

In considering this question I came face to face with the harsh reality that much of what occurred in Cambodia was a product of western intervention.  Western assistance for the Khmer Rouge began with US bombing of the Cambodian countryside and ended with Margaret Thatcher’s government sending the SAS to help train Khmer Rouge militants.

I know that we who live in western nations can easily believe we are doing the right thing when we intervene in nations whose governments don’t align with our understanding of freedom and democracy.  However, having seen first-hand the effects of carpet bombing, landmines, napalm and Agent Orange on the inhabitants of SE Asia please forgive me if I have become a little cynical of our ability to know what is good for other nations.  I have to admit that this cynicism has only increased as we have believed that removing Saddam Hussein would make Iraq a good place to live or that removing Muammar Gaddafi would fix Libya.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I’m considering the inauguration tomorrow of the 45^th president of the USA.  There is very little that seems to suggest that Donald Trump is a person of noble character and every indication that something has gone horribly wrong with US politics if he is the best person they could find to lead the nation. 

However, as I have thought about this unexpected event in US history I have had to rebuke myself for being so ‘American’ about America.  If I have one historical criticism of the USA (and Britain too at times) it is the national tendency to ‘know what is best’ for other nations. 

The biblical book of Romans includes the difficult verse, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”  The implication of these words, which were written under Roman rule, is that it is not our job to second guess the wisdom of God in allowing rulers of nations to rule, however bad they may seem to us. 

The answer to Donald Trump is not to bomb Trump tower or arm militant Democrats (an American solution), or to moan about him (a British solution), but to trust God to decide how long he remains president and to pray for the USA (a biblical solution). 

God bless America!