The upcoming election is a critical one. Everyone knows it, everyone says it. But then again, that’s what everyone says during every Presidential election season. However, it’s clear more now than ever. If you can’t see it, then I recommend that you get in a church with a good Pastor that can discern the signs of the times and who speaks the truth.

The church seems to be the most powerless as it has been in the last near 100 years. Our Lord Jesus told the Apostles to go and wait until they were endued with power on high so that they could go be a witness. The church today seems to have lost a great deal of that power.

Now it doesn’t matter whether the leader of a nation is a believer or non-believer – Christian or non-Christian, God can always change a nation despite the leader. However, the leader of a nation is important.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” – Proverbs 29:2

We have seen this take scripture ring true in our nation in the last eight years. Am I saying that the wicked are currently ruling – yes. The facts of history prove that out. But that doesn’t mean that the church can’t do anything. No, the Bible tells us that as Christians, we are to pray for our leaders and we can change things. That means if we pray for our leaders – they will change. Otherwise the Bible is lying and my friend, it is not. No. The church hasn’t been praying!

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” – 1 Timothy 2:1-2

That being said, it is much easier when the righteous rule to begin with. So it would be a wise idea to pray and seek the Lord, and find out who the Lord wants to be our next President and vote for that person – not who we think is the right person.

That’s a problem we have – we think we know what the right thing is when we don’t, and we won’t take the time to pray and ask God so we can get the right answer. That happened eight years ago when we were faced with Obama vs McCain in the Presidential election. Then again it happened as the church was still asleep, still not praying like we should have been with Obama vs Romney.

Now we come to another Presidential election with the church picking sides, choosing who they should endorse, who they should vote for, who looks like the best candidate – all without praying about it first.

At this point, we have the front runner in the Republican primaries being Donald Trump. When he first announced He was running, I like a lot of other people thought it was a good thing. He was saying things no one else would say, He had an attitude that was not really seen, and he had a track record of having a backbone.

But as time has passed, and I’ve listened to him, watched the news, and seen the things He has done, said, and how he has carried himself, something isn’t right.

The excitement over Trump running and the people that are following him is so eerily familiar to that of Obama eight years ago. Both of the campaigns seems to have the atmosphere of excitement, yet both candidates seem to have theses questions that no one asked and no one cared to ask. Both have things that have or haven’t happened in their past, their campaigns, speeches that no one seems to care about. And beyond that, there’s just that atmosphere that doesn’t seem right.

For Obama, all of that has been spoken about, written about, and remarked about over and over. It’s documented fact that to this day many do not want to look at. For Trump, there’s things that have been spoken about and document, and other things that haven’t. I just wanted to touch on something and then explain why.

When I listen to Trump make a speech, I hear a real leader. He knows what he’s saying and doing. But I also hear a man that is so full of pride, it’s bursting out in every sentence. Then I think about what the Bible has to say about ‘pride.’

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. – Proverbs 11:2

Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. – Proverbs 16:5

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. – Proverbs 16:18

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. – Proverbs 26:12

Those are just a few of the scriptures. There are more. Lots more.

I understand that some may say that it is not pride, not arrogance, but confidence. However, there is a difference (I’ll leave that to you to look up). One of the most recent comments that he has made was: I could ‘shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.’ I’m sorry, but that does not sound like a man who is humble, yet confident. It sounds like a person that is so full of themselves that there is no room for anyone else.

One of the other things that troubles me about Trump, and again, this is for Christians – not the world, is that he says that he is a Christian. He has said that he is Presbyterian and if you remember, had a hard time telling an interviewer what his favorite scripture was. This launched a nice viral campaign of twitter users making fun of him for this. Of course it was so long ago, many have forgotten it. He’s also had a hard time determining when the last time he asked for forgiveness of his sins. His response was that he tries not to make mistakes. I don’t care who you are, but if you call yourself a Christian, and you accept that as a reasonable response for a person that claims to be Christian and wants to be the leader of one of the most power countries in the world – you need get on your knees and check up on yourself.

Then listen to how he talks. I’ve heard him say (paraphrasing here) ‘that when he’s elected Christians are going to love me.’ That statement sounds so much like he is on the outside looking in. It doesn’t sound like someone who is apart of something. He doesn’t say that my fellow Christians or anything that gives you the thought that he is one. 

Am I saying that Trump is not a Christian? No. But if he is, he’s definitely not a very good one. The Bible does say to judge the tree by its fruit and the fruit on Trump’s Christian tree seems to be a little bare.

After saying all of this, let me add – Trump may be the person for the job. But if you are a Christian – your job isn’t to decide if he is or if he isn’t. I didn’t say all that to make you decide not to vote for him. I said it to make you realize that what you think may not be what you should be thinking. Your job is to pray and ask the Lord who to vote for. Your job is to find out from God Himself who He wants you to vote for and then vote for that person. Your job as a Christian isn’t to decide for yourself because your decision is fallible. My decision is fallible. Everyone’s is – unless is spring forth from a time in prayer.

I love my wife because she did exactly that. She doesn’t follow politics and doesn’t care to because of all the mess that’s involved in it. But she went and prayed about who to vote for and she came back and told me after a few days that the Lord showed her. Among the reasons why she knows it was the Lord was because the name she got, she didn’t even know. She had to go look the person up. Now she follows the news, she knows the big names, but at the time she prayed, she hadn’t heard this person’s name much at all.

But now it is up to you and me to seek God and find out who He wants and vote for them. Does that mean who He tells you to vote for will win? No. God told a lot of people years ago not to vote for the man we have in the White House, but the Christians didn’t listen. They voted wrong (or not at all) and they didn’t pray. Not all of them now. But the majority did. And I know that because Christians are one of the largest, if not the largest demographic of voters. For the Christians, it’s not necessarily a questions of ‘will the person God told me to vote for win,’ it’s a questions of ‘will you be obedient to what the Lord said to do.’

God has told a lot of people to do things – in the Bible and since – that have not listen and because of that, God wasn’t able to do what He wanted, when He wanted. But He still had His way in the end.

I know this has a lot of harsh words about Trump, ones that he nor his supporters would find favorable, but it doesn’t matter what I see. It doesn’t matter what you see, or they see. He could appear to be the most brash, prideful man there is and this other one could appear to be the most saintly, godly man there is. But when the supposed ‘best man’ gets into office, they could be bought off because their heart isn’t right.

There are things we don’t see. We can only see what is on the outside of a person and that is if we are seeing things straight – if our view, opinion, and decision is not being blinded or influenced by some other outside force. But God knows the heart of a man (Psalm 44:21, Luke 16:15, Acts 15:8). So we need to seek God and find out who would make the best President – His choice, and vote for that man.

God bless you as you pray and be obedient to the Lord.