(Todd A. Smith)
Romans 12:19-21 reads, “Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath: for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore, ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed them: If he is thirsty, give him drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
In essence, retribution is reserved for God.
Did you notice that the Lord did not say that vengeance is former President Donald Trump’s?
Furthermore, He did not say that vengeance is the Republican Party’s.
However, now that Trump is a convicted felon, many Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) have compared the former president’s justified prosecution to the persecution of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
That is the epitome of blasphemy in my eyes.
Nevertheless, that has not even stopped some pastors like Rev. Jentezen Franklin of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Ga. from also referencing the persecution of believers when posting on social media about Trump’s current legal predicament.
Despite Trump’s ridiculous number of sins, and the fact that nothing in his past or present shows that he is a believer, many White, and even some Black evangelical Christians, believe that he is the second coming.
That belief is why many evangelical Christians will ignore his rapes, proven affairs with porn stars, decades of committing fraud and constant lies while touting him as the Christian candidate for president.
Additionally, for decades the Republican Party has erroneously considered itself as the Christian political party.
During the 2020 presidential election season, some White evangelical pastors even said that if a person does not vote for Trump, then they are not a Christian.
That too is blasphemy and shows that some in the pulpit are definitely false prophets.
Nevertheless, many on the right saw Trump’s dismantling of Roe v. Wade as proof that he was a God-send.
At the same time, many on the right totally ignore when Republican politicians like Trump ignore other verses in the Bible when it comes to the poor, immigrants, minorities and the planet.
On those issues, the Democrats are more-aligned with God’s word if we are being total honest.
If one just looked at the Bible and the political issues, a sane person would discern that no one political party or politician totally aligns with the teachings of the Bible.
For American politics to have a savior, Jesus Christ would have to return to Earth and instead of preaching the Gospel and saving souls, run for the highest office in the land.
Even if Christ were to do that, many so-called Christians would choose Trump over Christ because they have already done so based on their reverence and worship of their cult leader.
In all honesty, every Christian will experience persecution and scrutiny for their devotion to Christ.
There is no escaping that.
However, being held accountable for one’s crimes is not the same as religious persecution.
To paraphrase Trump, it is simply law and order.
While I am totally convinced that Trump is not a Christian, as well as many of the so-called pastors and parishioners that vote for the former guy, how can any Christian not call Trump out for his vow to seek revenge and retribution because the justice system finally held his petulant and entitled rump accountable for decades of bending and breaking the law?
Whenever a Christian is done wrong by anyone, other Christians are quick to remind them to forgive their enemies.
The pastor or other leaders in the church will remind them that vengeance is reserved for God.
They are told that God will prepare a table in front of their enemies.
And they are reminded that forgiveness is not for the individual that did them wrong.
Forgiveness is for the person done wrong so that they will not let hate eat them alive.
If Trump has been persecuted, and is truly a Christian, it is time that he obeys the Word of God for once in his life.
But reality shows sane people that Trump is not the victim of persecution, the family of President Joe Biden is the victim.
Since 2019, Trump and his acolytes have been obsessed with finding dirt on President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
They have tirelessly tried to link the president to alleged shady business deals in Ukraine, only to come up with nothing on the president.
In the book, Frankly, We Did Win This Election, author Michael Charles Bender wrote, “Conservative operatives wanted a tale showing that Joe Biden himself knew more about his son’s dealings than he let on and was taking a cut of the action.
“Their best evidence was a document drafted by James Gilliar, a former MI6 officer, that suggested a 10 percent cut of the business should be held by Hunter for ‘the big guy.’ It was clear after reading all the messages that Gilliar was referring to Joe Biden, who had long denied any knowledge of Hunter’s international deals. It was intriguing. But it wasn’t proof that Biden was lying. The document hadn’t come from either Hunter or his uncle, nor was there any mention of ‘the big guy’ in the final agreement. The document was worth a question to the Biden campaign, but their denial was easy to predict.”
Republicans never produced a smoking gun connecting the president to his son’s business affairs.
Furthermore, the intelligence came from a Russian informant and the Russian government is not fond of Biden or any leader that holds Vladimir Putin accountable for his atrocities.
As a result of a lack of evidence, the desired impeachment of the current president never came to pass.
Furthermore, criminal charges for Hunter Biden’s business dealings never came to pass.
After the younger Biden was convicted of lying on an application for a gun, the Republican Party has made the excuse that the verdict was just a distraction from the debunked accusation of corrupt business dealings in Ukraine.
Their relentless pursuit of dirt on both Bidens is more of a witch-hunt than anything Trump has ever experienced in life.
On the other hand, Democrats did not have to go on a witch-hunt or a persecution vendetta to find crimes committed by Trump.
The American public heard audio of him trying to steal the election in Georgia from Biden.
The American public saw him whip his supporters into a frenzy before the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
Yet, many so-called Christians still believe accountability is persecution.
The definition of persecution is the mistreatment of someone based on their political or religious beliefs, etc.
That is not what is happening to the former guy.
He is being held responsible for crimes committed.
If Trump is being persecuted for being a Christian, then everyone in jail is there simply because of persecution and no one has ever committed a crime in the history of America.
America saw what happens when so-called Christians take vengeance into their own hands and that is death and incarceration for those believing the Big Lie.
The reaction of Trump’s supporters, then and now, shows that none of those people are Christians and that is why they falsely believe that their cult leader is like Christ.
Because the real Savior would never advise his followers to take vengeance, revenge and retribution into their own hands.
The Lord would tell them instead, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
