I’ll probably make every single one of my friends and family mad at me for this, but here goes…

Do you call yourself a Christian, a Jesus follower? This is intended for you.

To my friends and family members, who by your Social Media feed, one would think that Donald Trump was your savior. When reading your posts, it appears he can do no wrong. The majority of what you share is defending him and your political positions, or an attempt to discredit the other side of the argument.

And to my friends and family members, who on the other hand, by your posts, Trump is made equal to and guilty of the same monstrous crimes that Adolf Hitler committed. He seems to represent evil itself, and anyone that supports him or one of his policies is cold-hearted and shouldn’t call themselves a Christian. The majority of your posts are in outRAGE and attempt to discredit any disagreement of political views.

Who do you love more? Jesus or Trump? You say Jesus? Great! Then your Facebook feed should reflect that. Let the majority of your posts be about JESUS – either directly or indirectly! Basically, let your voice and platform be used to glorify HIM and not Trump. Post testimonies of God’s goodness, pictures of the family that he’s given you, things that will make people laugh, and feel like the load they carry is lessened when they read something you’ve posted. You want justice? Fight the Enemy that is not flesh and blood by LOVING people and spreading the JOY and PEACE God alone is capable of giving us during such tumultuous times. Do what you can to BE God’s hand of justice by fighting injustice in the community and world around you. Be gracious. Be generous. Be human. Be a glimmer of hope to people struggling to see any.

Who do you hate more? The Enemy of our Souls or Donald Trump? It kinda sounds like you hate Trump more, because you’re totally playing right into the hands and lies of the enemy by spreading fear and division. Use your voice and platform to display the beauty of God and the confidence we have in HIS sovereignty. We wrestle NOT against flesh and blood! You want to fight injustice?! Love the people around you – your husband or wife; your kids; the person who sees things totally different than you politically; the hurting people within your reach. It’s NOT the government’s job, it’s YOURS. Volunteer. Spread the JOY and PEACE He alone is capable of giving us during such tumultuous times. Encourage others with testimonies of God’s faithfulness to you personally, make people laugh and feel like they can be human around you because the burden of life is lightened by the Jesus in you.

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For

‘Whoever desires to love life

and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

and his lips from speaking deceit; (including sharing faulty news)

let him turn away from evil and do good;

let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the

righteous,

and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who

do evil.’

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

– 1 Peter 3:8-17

Our country may have once been founded on “Christian” principles, but our government is NOT Christian. Last I checked, the United States of America is not a Theocracy. In Old Testament days, God set up Israel’s government as a Theocracy – He was intended to be their King. So those scriptures commanding Israel to take care of foreigners and refugees are intended for: 1) a theocratic government set up by God (where the foreigners actually convert to Israel’s God being their God) and 2) Christians.

I don’t believe that God has high expectations of our godless government to be righteous or to take care of aliens – that is a command for believers – individuals like you and me. Besides, there are examples of God being pretty darn unhappy when Israel got too comfortable with the foreigners and started worshiping the god’s of other lands, or entered into covenant unknowingly with a neighboring nation because they didn’t consult with God, and believe me – Israel paid a heavy price for all of the above! As Jesus-followers, the world likes to throw miscellaneous scriptures at us when it’s convenient for them. (Sadly, some “believers” do the same thing – abuse scripture to manipulate or excuse their poor behavior). They don’t actually want to believe all the scriptures or concepts in the Bible, nor do they want our nation to be “Christian.” It just comes in handy sometimes to pick and choose a few that they have no cultural or contextual background for to make a point that is completely unfounded with the heart and context of the rest of the Bible.

My parents are quite likely the greatest example to me of what it looks like to LIVE a life of caring for “foreigners” – or people needing a fresh start, some stability, and a healthy environment. Over the course of my short 20 years of being raised by them in their home, they took in:

Lopez Family (5)

Velasquez Family (4)

Rose family (3)

2 Marquez brothers

2 Chavira siblings

Sarah

Travis

Sterling

Demetrius

Guy

3 year long exchange students

and more!

These people lived with us at some point for a substantial amount of time. And most of them were invited into our 950 square foot home by my parents, who already had 7 kids of their own. Although deep and meaningful family relationships were created with the majority of people listed above, my parents were stolen from by a few, taken advantage of, accused of being “too preachy,” and once their car was taken for a joy ride and crashed by an underage driver. Most were never charged rent. It never stopped my parents from opening up their hearts and home to the next person or family who needed a fresh start.  Now, my parents would be ones who, I guarantee support this new Executive Order to put a hold on refugees for a period while we figure out how to vet them better, but there is no one I know who personally lives taking care of others better than my parents have done their whole lives. They put me to shame. They put the government’s social services to shame. Because they live by a higher standard than the government – they live by God’s laws and strive to have his heart for people.

I guess my point is to stop putting so much energy and expectation on a faulty system, in an imperfect human politician. Start putting your energy into loving God and the people he sent his Son to die for – that’s everyone in case you’re not picking up what I’m putting down. Jesus is not American, he’s not white, (he was very much Middle-Eastern) and he’s not any more thrilled with Trump than he was with Obama. He loves them both, because he created them both. Perhaps we should stop defending our political side and start defending “the hope that is in” us…  Jesus!

I leave you with a challenge: to post at least one Jesus glorifying thing a week on your Social Media page. I am not a daily poster, but I am challenging myself as well. I want to express more of the awesome things God is doing in and for me and my family, and in and for my country.  I want the world to know that in my life, Jesus trumps politics, that Jesus trumps Trump, because Jesus trumps all!