You Will Know Them By Their Fruits-

Alex Yarde reflects on his Grandmother and looks at latest actions of the Trump Administration through Holy Scripture. He’s not impressed.

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. (Leviticus 19:33–34)”

I thought it may be enlightening to look at the legislative priority of the new administration through a theological lens. Since 80% of evangelical Christians voted for Trump. My goal is to look for the gospel in the choices of this latest Immigration fiasco.

Surely, Trump being a man of god, the GOP overwhelmingly being people of faith. Their deeds should fall in line with spiritual doctrine? Shouldn’t it? From what I recall growing up my Gran-Gran would not be impressed with a man who broke every deadly sin at lest once publicly. She was humble, worked hard, pious and instilled in me a moral compass that though I haven’t attend church in decades, I can recall my scripture and my time with her as she taught Sunday School, and it is still a comfort.

The story as my mother told it, Gran-Gran went to church every day and twice on Sunday. She was kind and generous to a fault. She maintained a large household and farmed a postage sized plot of land attached to her modest but impeccably clean Chattel cottage. There was a well no indoor plumbing and an outhouse. There were pigs, chickens and those Black Belly Sheep tourists mistake for goats I only have seen in Barbados. My Grandfather was a skilled Carpenter, (mom said that sold her because Popa Payne and Jesus were in the same business.) The kids were all different ages and the Queens Special Branch could learn logistics from my Gran-Gran. Beds were scarce and even though Papa added additions and expanded the house far beyond the original footprint, people shared beds or slept in shifts like on a submarine. She ran a tight ship. Everybody went to school. Everybody had chores and everybody was expected to complete homework, pray and eat supper together.

My Gran Gran was a church lady. A serious church lady. My mother growing up on the tiny island of Barbados would joke about how much time her mother spent in church it was a wonder she found the time to have so many children. (My mom was second eldest of 13 siblings). Magnanimous and generous to a fault. I recall some of her favorite passages and that they typically were about caring for the less fortunate. — “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.” (Leviticus 19:9–10)

I was raised in the Episcopal Church. I remember Gran Gran teaching Sunday School as a child. She never finished her education once she married and started a family and the only book I’d ever seen he’d read was The Bible (King James naturally) but she knew that bible cover to cover. Chapter and verse, Genesis to Revelations. She was one of those people who while in the middle of a discussion could whip out citations to buoy her position.

As humble as she was, she always helped anyone less fortunate who needed help. She was a godly woman and felt it was as Christ meant for God’s children to treat each other as family. She never locked her door nor feared anyone. She’d chuckle and quote Job — “No stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler.” (Job, discussing his devotion to God) (Job 31:32)

Nobody loved Christ more than my Gran-Gran. So I am convinced these so-called Christians aren’t true Christians at all. I think that if evangelicals can believe Donald Trump is a Christian but Barack Obama wasn’t then what they worship is White Supremacy. I don’t think spending 15 Billion dollars building walls when people are starving or homeless and blocking innocent people from retuning to their country because they are Muslim or denying refugee children at airports are very Christian acts. Do you? She’d quote Corinthians — “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12:12–14)

If she were alive today and saw all that’s going on I know my Gran-Gran would pray for Donald Trump and say, — ”For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14) and admonish me for this very disrespectful blog.

But she’d also admonish Trump and perhaps recall the fall of Sodom. — “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49)

She’d give him the benefit of doubt because he’s inexperienced,; after all, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had to remind Trump the under the Geneva Accords he must accept refugees on a humanitarian basis. She’d probably assume he’s mislead by Steven Bannon, who authored all of Trumps Executive Orders, including Immigration. But you only get a pass to a point. Gran-Gran was no fool, nor did she tolerate fools in her midst. Deeds not words impressed my Grandmother. Her favorite parable in this regard was from Matthew — “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Mathew Chapter 7: 15–20)

Do you see anything “Christlike” in word or deed in the Trump Administrations latest move against Muslims? I fail to see it. Especially since no countries he’s targeted have citizens who’ve committed acts of Terrorism in the United States. While citizens from countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt who Trump has business interest at stake have. But it’s besides the point. You can’t blame every Egyptian Muslim for Terrorism anymore than you can blame every White Christian for the KKK. Any “moral authority” he or his followers claim was sold for silver. Point blank, if a fetus is a person but a refugee child is not? All pretense of acting out of faith is a sham. In dealing with these people remember, tossing tables over and whipping folks is a distinct possibility if you ask “What would Jesus do?”