The Making of A Great America Made in the Image of TRUMP

This is an excerpt from the chapter entitled "An Unqualified Savior"

An Unqualified Savior

“This is what the Lord says:

‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
    in a salt land where no one lives.

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.’”

Jer 17:5-8

I believe many Trump followers are making the same mistake Obama followers made and that President-elect Biden followers might be making. In MGA Vol I, I wrote at length about our need to elevate our president to almost Savior status. We elect them because of a particular characteristic on the resume, whether it’s race, gender, military service, business, academic or other credentials, and then we expect them to solve the national debt, lower our taxes, halt pandemics, stop wars, etc. It’s a recipe for failure. Though we should have high expectations for the person elected to our highest office, many of our expectations exceed the ability of any single human to achieve. Our trust should always rest first in God, and then we hope that our elected leaders seek the face and wisdom of God and surround themselves with wise advisors. Here’s an excerpt from a chapter in MGA Vol 1 entitled “Give Us a King—The Search for a Champion.

“In 2020 we see the thirst for a champion reflected in every type of media outlet. Whether that champion is an athlete being paid multi-millions to represent a team, a power-house entertainer, actor, a YouTube gamer, reality TV star, etc., there is a craving inside us to look for someone to rally behind. It seems to fill a void in our lives that, at times, even becomes idolatrous. Bonnie Tyler's song "Holding out for a Hero" comes to mind:

 Lyrics

Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?

Late at night I toss and I turn

And I dream of what I need

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night

He's gotta be strong

And he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero

I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light

He's gotta be sure

And it's gotta be soon

And he's gotta be larger than life!

Larger than life    (Thompson, Vol I)

In many areas of life, we are looking for a "larger than life hero," a "god," small "g" to cheer for, rely on, save the day – this includes the arena of politics. It seems that we believe if we pick the right "champion" and put him or her in office, that it will solve all our problems. 

George Washington, perhaps our greatest Founding Father, was the hero-general in the Revolutionary War. What was his hero's reward? America's first presidency. Several times America has rewarded its war heroes with the office of president. 

Most recently, in America's political history, we have searched for champions from a particular party, from a specific race, particular sex, or walk of life. The modern-day call for a political champion sounds like this: if we had a Republican President, a Democratic President, a young president, a successful businessman as president, a black president, a female president, someone outside the established political machine as president, etc.—all of our problems would be solved. 

The champion premise is a faulty and idolatrous premise and is as old as the Bible. It's as old as King Saul. God established a system of Judges to rule over Israel, but the people wanted something else. They saw that other nations had a champion, a king, and demanded a king for themselves.”