If we truly believe that we are all born into a sinful world, capable of only feeding our own desires, unable to choose good over evil, servants of self…we come to this conclusion. But right off the bat, let’s get one thing clear — the motivation behind this post isn’t to make light of another individual’s personal life or public statements, or even offering support or defense of a certain presidential candidate. On the flip-side, however, if we are 100% brutally honest with ourselves, deep, deep down we are all Trumps.
In light of the many past months of the infamous “Trump-Revolution”, only after getting over my initial reactions and publicly voicing my discontent and disapproval of Donald Trump, I began to think more and more about the underlying motivations going on behind the scenes. It became soberingly clear exactly how similar I was (and still am) to “the Donald”…Not in a physical sense, but in a heart and spiritual sense. In the book of Romans, Paul the Apostle bluntly states that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and “None are righteous, no not one“. To me, the Trump mantra serves as a mirror into the heart of my unregenerated self. The part of me and you that, if left to ourselves, we would be like a couple of starved lions set loose in a herd of trapped sheep. Left to our own desires, as Paul puts it, we choose pure evil, 100% of the time. Why? Because all our sinful desires are linked to the single fact that out of the womb we were born depraved, sinful, wretched people…capable of accomplishing nothing but 100% evil; rotten to the core.
This idea of “Total Depravity“is nothing new (Ephesians 2:1-3), yet it is extremely vital to the gospel message. If we think that we as individuals are capable of doing anything good on our own with any motive other than our own self-worth, self-promotion, or self-conservation, we wouldn’t need saving in the first place. The world would probably be a perfect Utopia; no war, no pain, no problems. However, according to the gospel, we alone are to blame…and it all started with Adam & Eve in the garden. Theologians like to call it the “Original Sin“, and if we don’t get this picture, we miss something really, really mind blowing — God’s grace.
The nitty-gritty is this: without Christ, we are all Trumps. Don’t get me wrong. My hope and prayer is that the Lord’s will may be done regardless of who becomes our next President. But the major thread or “common denominator” that can be traced back through the fabric of all humanity — all the way back to Creation — is the fact that without Christ, we are nothing and nothing can be added but Christ in order to save us from ourselves.
“The darker the background of our depravity, the darker we paint the picture, the brighter is the grace of God in the face of Christ! That all flesh be abased and Christ be exalted!” – Paul Washer
When it comes to brass tacks, Jesus is God’s true affection — a 200-proof, age-old, double-shot of grace; not earned but freely given & without a last call — toward us.
“We don’t create faith with our free will. If left to our free will, we will all choose the pleasures of the creation over the beauty of the creator. Our free will is a slave to sin. Just read Romans 6 and you will see that we were enslaved to sin, enslaved to unrighteousness. Only the sovereign grace of God can set us free so that we see Christ for who he really is…”
So as Christians, let us be reminded more often how deep God’s ocean of grace is and how He so mercifully rescued us from our own depravity. We are no longer motivated to live worldly lives spent grasping and clawing just to appease the lust of our hearts. We’ve been saved by grace through faith and called to love one another not based on anything else except for the simple fact that God first loved us. Let us love the “Trumps” of this world for who they are – human beings. Let us not get caught up in politics so much so that it hinders the gospel message. In the end, it’s Jesus, the Lamb of God who was willingly slain on our behalf, that beckons our allegiance —
“As Christians, our politics are not Left or Right, but centered on Jesus. Our allegiance is not to a donkey or an elephant – but to a Lamb.” – Shane Claiborne
Let us not abandon our values or beliefs, or even using them to shame or slander another. On the other hand, let us strive to pray more, gripe less, and go forth in our jobs and day-to-day lives grasping the gospel of grace in one hand, and unconditional love in the other, all the while singing the song of our true and eternal King — our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
GREATER DEPTHS 