Some Pre-Inaugural Thoughts

We are just days away from the inauguration of a new president and already the divisions within our nation are growing.  There has certainly not been this great a division within the past four or five decades that I can remember.  It is not just a division in ideology that is troubling, but it is the abject hatred that is demonstrated because of ideological differences. 


I have studied the years of the American Civil War and what is happening in 2016-17 is very similar to those events of 1860-61.  The battle cry in those days was, "If Lincoln is elected, then we will secede from the Union."  And secede they did upon his election.  The division became irreconcilable and it took a long, bloody, costly four-year war to restore the Union.  But the division was never truly healed.  Oh, the cause for the division was removed, namely slavery, but the strong feelings have never been healed.  We see evidence of them yet today, especially within our inner cities and urban communities. 


Secession is no longer an option, although some state leaders have threatened it.  The Civil War ended that threat.  The battle cry today is, "Be as disruptive over the course of the next four years as is possible."  Be belligerent.  Be hateful.  Be intolerant.  Spread false news and pretend it is truthful.  Mock our governmental leaders as much as you can.  We saw strong evidence of how this works with the remarks of several presenters and recipients at the Golden Globes Awards this past Sunday evening.  Vitriolic speech never brings people together; it only divides people further. 


(Just an example: I love visiting the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL.  I would love working there as a volunteer someday.  But, as part of the museum is a long hallway that is covered with hundreds of political cartoons and editorials from newspapers of Lincoln's day - there were a lot more newspapers then there are today.  The hatred exhibited in those cartoons and editorials riles up my anger.  Seeing those cartoons reminds me of those I have seen in my own local paper and in online sources.  Perhaps someday there will be a long hallway in the Trump Presidential Museum that will be covered with those editorials and cartoons from today's media world.)


Did we elect the perfect president on November 8?  Absolutely not!  To my understanding, no perfect candidate was on the ballot.  Both were flawed with imperfections.  Both candidates did have a vision for what they thought America could be: one candidate saw America traveling down the same path it had for the past 8 years; the other candidate saw an America on a different pathway.  The electorate spoke on November 8 and said they preferred one direction over the other.  The vote was never on who was the perfect candidate either ethically or morally.  The vote was on which vision was best for our nation. 


So, now what should be our attitude as we are only a few days away from Donald Trump becoming the 45th President of the United States?  The Bible's admonition is this: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (1 Timothy 2:1-2).  God is not inviting us to necessarily like the new President, but He is commanding that we pray for our new President.  Prayer is a powerful tool that can overcome differences. 


Secondly, the Bible tells us: "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God" (Romans 13:1).  Again, God is not saying that we need to approve of everything our new President might decide, but, unless those decisions force us to choose between obeying God's degrees and the President's degrees, we are to submit to the President's authority.  Is this easy to do?  I am pretty sure that Paul struggled with many of the decisions handed down by Emperor Nero, but he submitted himself to that authority. 


January 20 will bring a new era of American history.  For the first time since the election of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, America will have a President who is neither a lawyer nor a politician.  If my memory serves me correctly, which, at my age, it sometimes doesn't, Donald Trump will be the first businessman to serve in the highest office of our land.  I am confident he is already discovering that being the head of the world's greatest nation is very different from heading one of the world's great companies.  Will he do well?  Only time will answer that question.  Will his vision for making "America Great Again" truly succeed?  Again, only time and his relationships with the men and women in Congress will answer that question.  Will his presidency begin to bring the healing our nation so desperately needs?  I believe the key to answering that question is whether the American people really want that healing to occur.  And, sadly, I do not believe that they do. 


I know most of us have formulated our opinions of the newly elected and soon to be inaugurated President.  You have your reasons for those opinions.  Because you and I know Jesus Christ, who is our King of kings and Lord of lords, let us be obedient to praying for President Trump and his leadership team.  He has invited some strong Christians to be part of that team - Mike Pence and Ben Carson, just to name two - who will pray with and for our new President.  How awesome it would be if God truly touched President Trump's heart and brought him to the cross where he would discover salvation through Jesus Christ.  Amen!