Skip to main content

Trump Repentance

This post is not about Donald J. Trump. I mean, it is, but it isn't. I just feel compelled to address something that I find deeply disturbing. Dr. James MacDonald touches on it here, but there is a nuance that I want to discuss from an inconvenient standpoint.

On Friday, October 7th, the world was made privy to a private conversation that Trump had with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush. I will not provide a link the the video because it is disgusting and does not need to be accessed from my blog. Suffice it to say, the statements and claims about reprehensible and illegal conduct made by Trump were truly appalling.

But he made those statements 11 years ago...

He might be a different man today. Who knows? None of us knows his true heart. Only God knows that. So is it fair to judge him by his comments from 11 years ago?

*Please note: For the purposes of this blog, I am addressing his comments in the Access Hollywood video only. I am creating an artificial vacuum to make a point.

Folx are quick to quote the Master Himself, and say that we ought not to judge others, lest we find ourselves being judged (Matthew 7:1). But as my Senior Pastor Dr. Preston Williams II would say, "We need to be fruit inspectors."

This is the fruit that we are inspecting.

Now ask yourselves, other than the use of the actual words "I apologize," does this sound like an apology? First of all, he looks and sounds as if just off-camera someone is standing with a gun pointed at him, forcing him to read the words on the teleprompter. And there there is what he doesn't say. He doesn't truly take ownership of his words. He does not seem even to understand why his words were so offensive. He does not make any specific apologies, namely to his wife, to Nancy O'Dell, to the soap opera star or to women in general. Finally, he begins to point the finger to another individual who engaged in "worse" conduct. How is that an apology?

It's not. But... I digress since Trump has never professed to be a blood-bought, Bible-believing Christian.

The sad and unfortunate thing is the attitude that Trump displayed in that hostage video is the same attitude I have seen displayed by Christians whose sin has been exposed. No real apology. Instead, they point a defiant finger at others who have done worse in their opinion and then double-down on the the "only God can judge me" position.

That is a most convenient attitude and it is NOT genuine. As difficult and inconvenient as it is, true repentance demands much more. True repentance requires taking responsibility for one's actions and this includes refraining from any attempts to minimize or deflect by pointing out the flaws of another. And true repentance means making an about face from the original position and seeking to make amends. Anything short of that is not true repentance; it's Trump repentance.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ride or Die

I love this phrase. There are quite a few subtle variations on the meaning, but it is an urban colloquialism that means loyalty, no matter what. I thank God that I have been blessed with a few people that have that kind of loyalty to me and I to them. It's a rich blessing that have true friends. They are with me and in my corner no matter what (or "regardless of what" as one of them would say). This week we had Vacation Bible School at my church and I was privileged to be a teacher. The first lesson was taken from Daniel chapter three. The very well known story of the three Hebrew boys: Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. It is a wonderful story of faith, but something jumped out at me so profoundly that it almost knocked me over. We always focus on the deliverance. But the Hebrew boys did not. Their focus was on God and Him alone. They were ride or die for the Lord. Literally. If you read the story, they never once pray for deliverance. They talk about God's a...

Rocks, Gravel, Sand and Water

Let me first start by saying that I cannot take credit for the following example, as I did not originate it. In fact, I was listening to Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah and I was so touched by what he shared that I thought I would share it with all of you. Let's say I have a large, empty 5-gallon jar. If I place fist sized rocks into the jar until no more can fit, is it full? Before you answer, let me say that after I place the rocks in the jar, I pick up a bag of gravel and begin to pour that into the jar. Where does the gravel go? In between the spaces left by the rocks. After I fill the jar to the brim with gravel, is it full? Before you answer, consider this: I pour a bag of sand into the jar. Where does the sand go? Into the spaces left by the gravel, of course. After filling the jar to the brim with sand, is it full? Before you answer, consider this: I pour a pitcher of water into the same jar. Where does the water go? Into the spaces between the grains of sa...

Was That Supposed To Be For Me?

An organisation to which I belong used to do a gift exchange for Christmas. Each member would have a few weeks to purchase something for the person whose name was randomly selected from a hat (or bag, whichever was closest). If I am not mistaken, we did this gift exchange for about four years before abandoning the idea. Not one year went by without there being some fuss because inevitably at least one person would get a gift that in no way compared to the one s/he purchased. The leader of my organisation went as far as to impose a monetary maximum AND minimum on the value of the gift, all in an effort to avoid the hurt feelings at the time of the exchange.  Not even that worked. The night always ended with some bickering and complaining. "Look at this cheap thing that I got!" or "Do you know how much time I spent looking for the perfect gift for my person and this is all I get?!" or "Was this supposed to be for me?" People's feelings were hurt a...