This is EXACTLY What We Asked For

Donald Trump is many things, and one of those things may just be the Republican nominee for president after big wins on Super Tuesday. Trump would have never gotten this far if not for the support of the large evangelical base that makes up the GOP electorate, and that fact has bewildered Christians everywhere wringing their hands. How could American believers throw their support behind a person like Trump for the most important job in the country? Well, if you look at how we have been trending as a culture, this should come as no surprise whatsoever. After all, this is what we have been building up to for years.

Times were volatile back when Jesus walked the earth too. He brought order to the chaos and set the example of solid leadership. He was all about humility, love, compassion, but he still spoke truth that challenged people. He set the standard for what we are supposed to be, and he modeled what we should be looking for in our leaders and the people whom we put up on pedestals.

Instead we have sought out something very different. It has left many Christians wondering how we got to this point. But the truth is that much like the Israelites who wanted Saul against God’s will, we have actually been clamoring for someone like Trump for a long time now.

Successful politicians are rarely revolutionaries who lead people into a whole new way of thinking. They are typically people who tap into the general mood of the electorate and reflect it back to them. In other words, we don’t have Christ-like leaders running for president this year because we as a Christian culture have become increasingly less Christ-like.

The odd part of it is that we then complain after we were handed what we asked for. Consider the duplicity:

We complain that Trump is arrogant, yet we gleefully share any clickbait link titled “Watch [Person We Like] Absolutely DESTROY [Person Whose Views We Disagree With]!”

We complain that Trump is a bully, yet Internet comment sections have become forums for us to beat down or gang up on people who hold different viewpoints.

We complain that Trump capitalizes on people’s fear and anger, yet we tune in for hours per day to listen to right wing radio hosts or we frequent right wing websites that do the exact same thing.

We complain that Trump is an adulterer who demeans women, yet two out of every three Christian men admit to watching porn regularly which is adultery (according to this guy at least) and which couldn’t be more demeaning to women.

We complain that Trump has little love or compassion for others, yet the Internet is littered with examples of us judging anyone who we feel is not as smart or holy as us.

We complain that Trump has no respect for the presidency, yet we have spent the past 7+ years showing little respect for our sitting president while also largely ignoring the Biblical command to pray for our leaders.

We complain that Trump uses boorish language to describe anyone who disagrees with him, yet we celebrate Christian celebrities who use boorish language.

We complain that Trump lacks humility and loves money, yet we worship at the feet of TV evangelists whose lifestyle is every bit as lavish as Trump’s.

We complain that Trump cares little about the weak and the needy, yet we freak out at the thought of helping the weak and the needy.

We complain that Trump routinely seeks to destroy his enemies, yet we spend a lot of time reading or posting mean-spirited things about our “enemies”.

We complain that Trump has zero integrity, yet we gladly support a multitude of other politicians who are have spread falsehoods in hopes of getting elected.

We complain that Trump has totally changed his position over the years, yet we have have transitioned from following hard after stuff like this to following hard after stuff like this.

So why should Donald Trump’s rise surprise any of us? Is he not just a product of the course we have set as an American Christian culture? Perhaps it’s time to stop blaming Trump for merely reflecting our shortcomings as a Christian nation and instead take a long hard look into the mirror.