So you hate our new President and you post publicly that you’re a Christian.  It breaks my heart when I hear of surveys where overwhelming numbers of non-Christians say that Christians don’t act like Christians anymore.  So I just did a Google search for “What does God say about hate?”  Wow.  The list is LONG. Where am I going with this, you ask?

First of all, if you live in the United States of America, whether you like it or not, Donald John Trump IS your President.  Just like Reagan was the Democrats’ President in the 80’s and JFK was the Republicans’ President in the 60’s.  It is what it is and to say he’s not your President is to act like a toddler playing peek-a-boo.  Just because you cover your eyes doesn’t make him go away.

Next, if you are a Christian, chances are good that you don’t believe in evolution.  Nobody has ever actually seen that process in action so it’s a theory produced by people who refuse to believe they have purpose and a Creator greater than themselves.  So, in that context, since Adam and Eve were the first humans, it’s safe to say we are all of their lineage and that we are all brothers and sisters.  ALL of us.  I am not responsible for the sins of the flesh of my fathers, just as you are free from the guilt of the sins of the flesh of yours.  My family is largely Native American so if I chose to be bitter about how that whole thing turned out, what purpose would that serve? Because we have different skin color or are of different ancestral heritage or because we are of different sexes, that does not make me better or worse than you in my eyes or in the eyes of God; we are all God’s children, fearfully and wonderfully created in HIS image.  If you’re a Christian, perhaps you remember that from Sunday School as a kid… Red and yellow black, and white, they are precious in His sight…. remember that?

Look, all I know is that the truest thing about anything is what God says about it.  Perhaps you missed some things God says about hating President Trump- and yes, his name fits into scripture just like yours does and mine does and everyone else who can be plugged in there.  The Living Word of God speaks to all of us and if you say you’re a Christian, that should give you hope.  Feel free to look these up- I did.

Let’s start with the basics.  And try to remember that in God’s eyes, we ARE all brothers and sisters.

1 John 4:20 ESV

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Proverbs 10:12 ESV

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

1 John 3:15 ESV

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Love.  Now, God wasn’t talking about the gushy, rose-and-chocolate-buying, google-eyed heart beating kind of love.  He means true love.  To put your opinions away and to love the person as Christ loves the Church.  Hate the sin, but love the person.  Perhaps we should consider Hilary’s stance on certain issues when we read this next verse.  Issues like Benghazi, abortion, secure email servers… I am called to love her; to pray for her salvation, for her deliverance from the evil that binds her, and to pray for her prosperity and blessings.  I know, it’s hard for me so it’s probably hard for you to love Trump.  But we as Christians are called to love.  Period.

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Leviticus 19:17a ESV

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart…

This next one is hard for anyone to live up to, I don’t care who you are!  And it keeps on going….

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

1 John 2:9 ESV

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.

Proverbs 15:1 ESV

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Have you ever REALLY tried to love someone like Jesus loves us?  Yeah, I get it.  This next one feels impossible sometimes, too.  What I’ve started doing is praying for Him to break my heart for what breaks His and to teach me to love like He loves.  Oh, the people He puts in my path to practice on.  Whew!  I’ve literally asked Him if He’s serious!  But I know in my heart that He is.  Very serious.

John 13:34-35 ESV

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Proverbs 8:13-35 ESV

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

1 John 2:11 ESV

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Matthew 24:12 ESV

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

Ephesians 4:26 ESV

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

And if you’re thinking, “well, this post ain’t about me because I ain’t like that” keep reading and see what Jesus said about that.

Matthew 7:1-29 ESV

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. …

Psalm 97:10 ESV

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

If you are proud of or in support of the violent and destructive protesters, He said something about that, too.  Remember my dear friends that the very brave Miss Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus, but she didn’t destroy the bus.

Psalm 11:5 ESV

The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Matthew 10:34 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

God will remember your stance, just as He will remember mine…

Romans 2:6 ESV

He will render to each one according to his works:

And if you look into your heart and really find hate for President Trump or anyone else, don’t you know who put it there?

John 10:10 ESV

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Proverbs 26:24 ESV

Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;

And if it still hasn’t sunk in, here’s this one:

Matthew 5:43-47 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

God always provides a way out of temptation.  The temptation to hate because our friends hate or because our family hates is strong, but we have been instructed to think differently because as Christians, we are not of this world.

1 John 4:2-21 ESV

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them…

God is very clear about what He means… Do you practice “locker room” talk?  Do you judge yourself against others thinking, “At least I’m not as bad as her?”  This next one is a reminder of how that will work out for you.

Romans 2:1-29 ESV

Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. …

Proverbs 16:1-33 ESV

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. …

Finally, have hope.  God IS working it all out and in the end, He will make every wrong right, punish every unconfessed sin, and He already has the final say.  We just need to wait out the storm trusting Him to be the One on the Throne.

Romans 1:18-32 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, …

I wish you peace, hope, love beyond measure, and perseverance to get through this next four years if you still can’t change your mind about the hate in our heart.  My prayer is that you are freed from that bondage and are set free to truly love your brother, just as Christ loves us.

Until He returns, God Bless America.