For What Does It Profit A Man

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?  Mark 8:36

And he (the evil one) led Him (Jesus) up and showed Him all the kingdoms in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "I will give you all this domain and it's glory; for it has been handed over to me and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you worship before me it shall all be yours".

Jesus answered him, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only".  Luke 4: 5-8

Perhaps the choice between a red pill and a blue pill is a false one and the one who offers them does not really have your best interests, or the world's best interest, at heart. For him, either choice you make will work fine.

Perhaps though, this world is really not as it appears to our senses. There is life intertwined with it that we do not see, rarely sense and misunderstand when we interact with it. The pill presented to see clearly in this world is offered by someone who actually wants to further distort what is reality.

Perhaps there is a third choice, not offered by a mysterious man and certainly not a pill. It is a choice for life and not death, for freedom and not slavery, for hope and not despair, for truth and not deception, for humility and not pride, for love and not hate, for forgiveness and not bitterness, for purity and not lust, for obedience and not rebellion, for trust and not doubt, for faith and not deception.

For me this current election cycle involves a choice for principle over power.

One the one hand I am presented with the beliefs of the Democrat party and their candidate which opposes almost everything I believe is God's revealed will, from protecting the life of the unborn to preserving the sanctity of the family. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are under attack and this will continue unabated without change. Then there are my own perceptions of the needs for conservative fiscal policy, reducing the debt, limited government and faithfulness to the wisdom the founding fathers inserted into the constitution. In my opinion most of their leaders are amoral and some are actually evil. Lying is a tactic I have seen over and over.

One the other hand I am presented with a fractured Grand Old Party and their populist candidate. Although my beliefs line up much better with the GOP I am also all too aware that politics is a power game and most good people after tasting power get corrupted by it and lust after it. Knowing that there is always another election ahead, afraid of vicious attacks from the other party, the press and Hollywood if conservative fiscal or social policies are legislated they have time after time lied to me as well, promising one thing and delivering another.

With the Supreme Court you know that a Democrat will always select a liberal social and judicial ideologue who desires to legislate their beliefs from the bench. It's just a matter of how radical a person can slip through the vetting and nomination process. With a Republican president the odds should be much better for getting a judicial conservative who looks first to the Constitution. Candidate Trump at this point in time has a judicial selection committee headed by legitimate conservatives.

But here are my problems with the guy selected by a record number of voters in the Republican primary process.

It's not just that he and his family have been life long liberal Democrats. It's not just that he couldn't begin to articulate a pro life position, showing that he has never even thought it through. It's not just that he has been a known womanizer who has married and then divorced a couple of trophy wives (apparently not being faithful to any of them) and still brags about how important family is to him. It's not just that he has built and owned casinos with strip clubs and I never thought anyone who owed a strip club would ever be considered for President. And it's not just the numerous financial failures that have gone with his successes or his unwillingness to be transparent about his finances.

For me it is also about his arrogance and his personal attacks and attempts to destroy anyone who opposes him (think of him doubling down on his bazzar remarks about Ted Cruz's wife and father after not getting Cruz's endorsement). I know that a lot of things he says get taken out of context and are then used by the other side who has an army of social media and press experts who blast him and make fun of him 24/7. But honestly, Trump makes it so easy for them.

And I believe that Trump like Clinton is a habitual and pathological liar. I remember during the primaries when Rubio started making fun of the size of Trump's hands and then the next day on TV I see that he holds out his hands and says, "Look at these hands. People tell me I have beautiful hands."  Of course it was a joke and of course he made it up, but it came out so easy. I began to wonder, is there a line for him or does he say whatever he needs to?

We live in a world that is about to morph and change dramatically. Major banks are going to fail in Europe and other parts of the world. People groups and their beliefs are on the move. Economies are under huge stress in parts of South America. Socialism is advancing in America and it's leaders, both seen and unseen desire chaos in the streets, racial and economic. Turkey, Russia and Iran all desire to recreate their old empires. China wants to rule the East. America is 20 Trillion dollars in debt, saddled with social health and welfare programs that are growing exponentially with fewer employed workers to pay for them and every year there seems to be a greater percentage of single parent homes.

Politicians are unwilling to address the core problems because the other side always wants to get back in power and will paint the bleakest picture of anyone who suggests social or fiscal responsibility.

I have heard it suggested by a few people I have admired for a long time that Trump may be God's instrument to lead the U.S. through those unsettling times. There are many well respected religious leaders who believe the long list of promises that Trump makes (conservative Supreme Court judges, secure borders, enforcing current laws and common sense in our immigration policies, more favorable trade deals, bringing large amounts of off shore money back, realism concerning Islamic Jihad, improved relations with Israel, better care for our Vets, the repeal of Obama Care). They know that none of that will happen under a Clinton administration and fear that American may not recover from even 4 more years of the progressive playbook.

I know that is very compelling. I am resigned that all men and women are flawed and that we are voting for a President and not a pastor. But I also understand that the problems as well as the solutions are spiritual in nature. And if that is so, if I am right on that, then it suggests to me why I have the gut anxiety every time I see and hear Trump.

I feel like someone has taken me up to the top of a mountain, shown me all the kingdoms in an instant of time, and said, here, this is the solution. And I wonder - Am I choosing life, or freedom, or hope, or truth? Am I choosing humility, or love, or forgiveness, or purity? Am I choosing obedience, or trust, or faith? Is this a man God can use? Or am I choosing a positive thinker who asks us to trust him because he can do the job and then says something so outlandish I want scream at the TV.

I do not want to choose either the red pill or the blue one. I have been praying this last month for a third option. I will keep praying and vote for whomever I feel the Lord desires me to. Perhaps we as a rebellious people will get whom we deserve. Perhaps the Lord will have mercy on us and our country.

May His peace be with us.