In fact, I believe the opposite is true.
I've been steeped in Proverbs since first or second grade. I memorized verses from Proverbs at the small fundamentalist camp where I spent my summers. I've reread the 31 chapters multiple times, sometimes spending a month reading a chapter each morning.
The themes of Proverbs are clear: Seek wisdom. Avoid mockers and fools. Hold fast to truth. Don't fall prey to liars.
I've had trouble reading Proverbs since 2015. That was the year I saw people I'd long loved and respected declaring allegiance to a man who, to me, epitomizes the proverbial fool.
Just a small sampling:
- How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? (1:32)
- Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. (10:18)
- The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. (12:15)
- Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult. (12:16)
- A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them. (14:3)
- It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. (20:3)
- Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end. (29:11)
There's endless evidence of Trump's lies, anger, mockery, insults and slander. No need to share that here. The wise can find it easily. Those not interested have already shut their ears.
In the years since the 2016 election, I've had friends and family tell me "I know Donald Trump isn't always a good person, but God is using him to save our country."
I know the Old Testament described evil kings God used to punish his people. I'm not aware of any time when God used evil kings to save them. I've heard the suggestion that Trump is like King Cyrus. Cyrus was a pagan king (meaning he wasn't an Israelite) but was known as benevolent, compassionate, and sypathetic to the Hebrew faith.
I'm not aware of any scripture that suggests God affirms our action in appointing evil leaders. In fact, the warnings are clear: stay away from fools. Their folly is a trap that will drag you into danger.
Back to Proverbs:
- Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. (13:20
- Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips. (14:7)
- Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly. (17:12)
- Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison. (26:6)
Here's a sad statistic that jumped out at me in that conversation: between June of 2021 and March of 2022, 234,000 American deaths could have been prevented by free, readily-available vaccinations. That's over a quarter of a million people who died because of misinformation and casual lies. Folly on an unprecedented scale. Still unacknowledged. Still unaddressed.
God does not require his people to vote for Donald Trump. He DOES require us to practice wisdom, to see the difference between lies and falsehood, to avoid mockers and fools.
Donald Trump and his advisors knew that he had, in fact, lost the election. But, despite this, President Trump engaged in a massive effort to spread false and fraudulent information – to convince huge portions of the U.S. population that fraud had stolen the election from him. This was not true. . . .President Trump ignored the rulings of our nation’s courts, he ignored his own campaign leadership, his White House staff, many Republican state officials, he ignored the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security. President Trump invested millions of dollars of campaign funds purposely spreading false information, running ads he knew were false, and convincing millions of Americans that the election was corrupt and he was the true President. As you will see, this misinformation campaign provoked the violence on January 6th. . . .
It was only after multiple hours of violence that President Trump finally released a video instructing the riotous mob to leave, and as he did so, he said to them: “We love you. You’re very special.”
I'm saddened when I hear Christians talk about radical Democrats closing churches and persecuting Christians. No one is closing churches. No one is persecuting Christians.
The greatest threat I see to American Christianity is abject hypocrisy and tragic folly. (Check Trumpism Is Emptying Churches. From what I can see, it's true).
Here's what Liz Cheney said earlier this month when she announced that she would vote for Kamala Harris:
“As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.”
If we embrace folly, we'll continue to face the tragic consequences: lives lost, our nation in danger. The witness of American Christians damaged for generations.
Only wisdom will save us. As Proverbs 2:12-15 tells us:
Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways,who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,whose paths are crooked and devious in their ways.
This isn't an endorsement, but an invitation to consider:
