By Shewanda Riley
Considering our current chaotic political environment, the question that has been on my mind lately is how should Christians respond to things like the conviction of Donald Trump on 34 felony counts? It’s complicated to some and not as simple as supporting the candidate who uses the bible as a prop, wraps themselves in scriptures and shows up at the most churches. Nor is it as simple as judging an authentic Christian based on how they stand on controversial issues like abortion, same sex marriage or support for Israel. Do we support them based on what they say or based on what the word of God says?
One way to determine how to respond is to look at the truth of Matthew 7:17-20 which says, “You will know them by their fruits…Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.” In other words, we must become fruit inspectors.
Think about the fruit of the seeds planted during the Trump presidency: Racial strife, economic uncertainty, and an uncontrollable global pandemic that has killed over 1 million people. Some could argue that the chaos during the Trump presidency was a result of the Republicans 8-year strategy of negative rhetoric and obstruction against the Obama Presidency. Republicans are now faced with a presidential candidate/likely nominee who is a recently convicted felon accused of other crimes including mishandling classified documents as well as stirring up an insurrection while attempting to overturn the results of the last presidential election.
Unlike most criminal defendants who strike a more somber tone after conviction that includes admitting and apologizing for their behavior, Trump maintains his innocence even declaring that he is a victim of a political witch hunt. Even more interesting, at least ten of his former campaign aides are now also convicted felons charged with various crimes including lying under oath, fraud, and contempt of Congress. The truly sad part is that he maintains record high support among white evangelicals who have excused and even justified his most irresponsible behavior. Oddly, it seems like the worse his behavior becomes, the stronger their support becomes. As a result, Christianity is perceived as a religion that compromises God’s truth and is full of hypocrites. This makes me wonder if these shocking behaviors (and unwavering support) are a contemporary example of harvesting bad fruit.
Christians should not support a candidate or vote for one based on an outward display of religiosity or promises of a renewal of moral values especially when there is no evidence of Christ-like behavior. Instead, we should support those who pass the “fruit inspection” and ask which candidates best exemplify the words of Galatians 5:22: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Then we should pray!