There have been a lot of tweets that have raised my blood pressure over the last year, but there was one I read today that was one tweet too far and I could not hold my tongue any longer. But no it wasn’t from President Trump, rather it was a tweet about President Trump by a man who is the progeny of one of my Spiritual hero’s.
Never in my lifetime have we had a @POTUS willing to take such a strong outspoken stand for the Christian faith like @realDonaldTrump. We need to get behind him with our prayers. https://t.co/H640MzsRSj
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) December 1, 2017
That a minister of the Gospel would lower the denominator of the Christian faith to a presidential speech because he publicly uses the name of Jesus and because he says, “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” is beyond repugnant.
Brothers and sisters let me share with you a statement by one of my favorite authors,
“The character is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts.” -Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 57
A few words in a speech here and there do not qualify as a strong outspoken stand of the Christian faith, it is the consistent actions of ones life. It is the “habitual words and acts.”
Any individual, that consistently refers to other individuals created in the image of God in a derogatory or demeaning manner is not standing strong for the Christian faith, they are undermining the Christian faith.
Any individual that consistently lies or attempts to deceive others is not taking a strong stand for the Christian faith they are undermining the Christian faith.
Any individual that does not see the importance of seeking forgiveness from God or others is not taking a strong stand for the Christian faith, they are undermining the Christian faith.
If Christians want to support President Trump as a politician that is their business between them and Jesus; but please do not try and justify this support by claiming that he is bulwark of the Christian faith. Such statements as the above by “Christian” leaders leave our collective faith looking foolish and our collective witness weakened.
I am not a minister with anywhere near the status of Franklin Graham but to those few non-Christians that read this blog please know there are many of us out there that do not deem what our President is doing as representing or even helping the cause of Christ. There are many of us that know the greatest testimony of Christianity is, “a kind and courteous Christian.” And many of us still desire to see those we hold up as Christian pillars, individuals that live by the scriptures which teach our “speech should always be gracious.” (Colossians 4:6).