Would God Vote for Trump?

I am a Christian, albeit admittedly not a great Christian. I don’t always do what the Good Book says I should. However, despite my occasional lapses, I try not to be a hypocrite. And I fear that some Republicans and conservatives are drifting toward the sort of gross hypocrisy that is usually associated with the liberal left.

That is, they are rejecting the chosen (so far) Republican presidential nominee based on presumed moral superiority (theirs) and alleged lack of historic character (his).

Mr. Trump is not on anyone’s slate for sainthood. Neither am I for that matter. (Hillary Clinton is, just ask her.) But God often uses people whose lifestyle would be questionable, at best, to fulfil the promises and lessons of His word throughout the Bible.

Solomon had 700 wives and toyed with idolatry, but was still rich and powerful and respected for his wisdom. David had one of his officers sent to deadly combat so he could woo the man’s wife, yet he was the model of the messiah. And Saul the persecutor of Christians became Paul the Apostle, likely the most influential single personality of the New Testament.

So I don’t fault Mr. Trump for his faults. He doesn’t have to pretend to be perfect when he isn’t. We can leave that sort of phony cult-of-personality building to the other side. And when I hear Republican and conservative elites lecture the rest of us about Trump’s supposed deviations from their ideological strictures, or his shortcomings as a human being, I think about what Jesus said about casting the first stone. I seriously doubt any of these critics would be able to stand up to the same type of scrutiny they are giving Trump, assuming they had to guts to get into the arena.

Be clear about the alternative; Hillary Clinton cannot be president of the United States under any circumstances. She is bereft of integrity and honesty. Her systematic, self-serving untruths cannot be compared to Trump’s alleged transgressions. Her blatant lies have endangered our military, our allies, and created a snake’s nest of sycophants who have to compound her falsehoods to protect her from ridicule and keep her out of prison.

Trump may boast, inflate, twist, or brag, but he has not sold-out his country to enhance his wealth or inflate his reputation and then lied about it afterwards. I am certain that four years of Mrs. Clinton’s mismanagement, incompetence, and self-glorification would be more than our fractured polity could stand. God did not intend for the United States to collapse with a whimper at the hands of Hillary and her sordid minions.

Mrs. Clinton would wreck the country from within while leaving us at the mercy of foes from abroad. Democrats will never say it, but we are in a religious war with radical Islam. The United States, along with France, Germany, Britain, and other countries with Judeo-Christian roots, are engaged in a fight to the death. Our enemies are very clear on this concept ,even if we are not.

It will take a certain type of leader to battle this enemy, one who will not submit to the straight-jacket of political correctness or an overweening desire to be loved by all – or else. We need a leader who says, don’t even think about immigrating to our country unless you will submit to our laws, customs, and morals. Mr. Trump would make that case; Mrs. Clinton would apologize for it.

I think about America’s future, and the destiny of the shining city on a hill. I believe, as Ronald Reagan and the Founding Fathers did, in the providential nature of this country. It was founded for a reason. I don’t pretend to know if God would vote for Donald Trump, or for that matter what state He is registered to vote in.

But I do know that the God of Abraham who shed his grace on America had a purpose and a vision. He would not turn his back on a country and a people that has achieved so much under his blessings. Donald Trump wants to make America great again, and so far as I know, if he did he would be doing God’s work.

Phillip Jennings is an investment banker and entrepreneur, former United States Marine Corps pilot in Vietnam and Air America pilot in Laos. He is the author of two novels and one best-selling non-fiction book, and received the Pirates Alley Faulkner Prize for fiction in 1999.