A Noble Vote for Trump
“Damned if you do and damned if you don’t” is a phrase that comes to mind as I approach the day when I will actually vote for a man like Donald Trump. “Damned if I do” because I find him to be a fairly reprehensible person and a serious gamble if he were to become the President of the United States. “Damned if I don’t” because if I throw away my vote on a write-in like Ted Cruz (more on that later), or choose to ignore the top of the ballot completely, I am fulfilling Edmond Burke’s quote about evil being able to triumph because good men choose to do nothing.
In the final analysis, there are three main reasons why I am giving Trump my vote:
- Consequences…of a Hillary presidency.
- Conscience..not occurring in a vacuum.
- Character…and the need for pragmatism.
Consequences
There is absolutely no question in my mind that a Hillary Clinton presidency represents a clear and present danger to the future of America. Hillary has a well-documented history (minus a few emails) as a big government, tax and spend uber-liberal socialist who’s dream is to see open borders and open trade not only across North America, but around the world. Her socialist leanings will congregate more and more power in the hands of fewer and fewer people who most certainly will seek to transform America into a progressive utopia, which of course, is a contradiction in terms.
With respect to her ultra-allegiance to the killing fields of Planned Parenthood and its insanely evil founder, Margaret Sanger, Hillary Clinton represents what is worst in human depravity as one who enthusiastically endorses and champions the cause of baby murder. Her undying devotion to this butchery will drive all of her judicial nominations, and while the American people grow more pro-life each year, the true power in the land – the federal judiciary – will grow increasingly more evil with each Clinton appointment. Additionally, she will use executive orders to utilize every federal dollar that she can to help pad the bottom line of the bottom-feeding abortion industry. Our tax dollars hard at work ripping unborn babies limb from limb.
The Clinton’s institutionalized corruption will obviously continue and increase as they BOTH regain control of the Executive Branch. The “pay as you play” legacy of their foundation’s cozy relationship with foreign countries and leaders will come full circle as the Clinton 2.0 White House works with two sets of books – one for us morons in the general public and one that will make sure that every back alley Clinton Foundation debt is paid.
The other part of the consequences question for me is the reality that if I don’t vote for Trump, I am actually using my vote to lower the barrier between Hillary Clinton and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Many conservatives argue that their NO VOTE for Trump is NOT a vote for Hillary – and I understand their disgust at the thought, but if they have regularly supported conservative candidates in the past, they are mistaken.
I have voted for conservative candidates in each election for the past 30-years. As a result, my vote could be ASSUMED to be in the wall that separates every liberal candidate from the office that they seek to hold. If I were to write-in a presidential candidate this time, or vote third party, I would be REMOVING my always-in-place brick from the anti-liberal wall and placing it in another pile, thereby lowering the wall of separation between Hillary and the Oval Office. So, to all of my #NeverTrump friends out there who have always voted for conservative candidates – which is the majority of you – the same rule applies. You are lowering the wall of separation by one brick: your own.
Conscience
I have a great deal of respect for my fellow Christ followers who are basing their #NeverTrump stance on their refusal to violate their conscience. That being said, there is one fact that all of them seem to be overlooking: their conscientious objection to voting for Trump is not taking place in a vacuum. Other people, like my children and their children, will be stuck with the bill for this seemingly morally superior position.
Every Christian should be quick to stay true to their conscience, insofar as it aligns with the teachings of Scripture. Don’t go with the guys from the office to the strip club. Don’t have an inappropriate relationship with that co-worker. Don’t have a third glass of wine. Don’t stay in that movie with the terrible content that you weren’t expecting. In all of these cases, your conscience is essentially occurring in a vacuum that only involves you and the Lord. With regards to voting for Trump, that is a decision that could impact millions of people, both born and unborn, for years or even generations. Most of the time, your conscience can be your guide, but when other people will have to shoulder the burden for your decision, following your conscience can end up being a terribly selfish decision.
Finally, I think it bears noting that my conscience is leading me to an opposite conclusion from that of my #NeverTrump friends. Is mine somehow flawed while theirs is more holy? Hardly. I truly believe that mine is taking me down a road where I am trying to love my neighbor well by doing my part to help stop or at least slow down the advance of an evil agenda like Hillary Clinton’s. The conscience argument goes in both directions, which is why every Christ follower needs to put away the condemning talk about other Christians that have come to a different conclusion on the Trump question.
Character
Hillary’s character is obviously not an issue here. She doesn’t have any. Donald, sadly, doesn’t fair much better in this department, although it is worth noting that his deep character flaws have not impacted nearly as many people as Hillary’s, and that by a factor of millions. To be brutally honest, I find Donald Trump to be the most inarticulate, successful businessperson I have ever heard speak. His command of the issues is sophomoric and he appears to have no deeply seated moral center or compass. His well documented history of disparaging and degrading comments is truly deplorable. He has amassed at least part of his fortune by investing in businesses like casinos and strip clubs that exploit the sinful nature of man for profit. Donald Trump is not a man to be looked up to, but rather, a man that needs our prayers and the radical transformation that only comes through Christ Jesus.
Character does matter. It always has and it always will. However, this election process has lead us to a choice between two deeply flawed individuals, and because of reasons previously stated, it is simply not a deal-breaker for me. Every choice in this fallen world that comes down to picking one person over another is essentially a “lesser of two evils” decision. One person can be “better” than the other, but from a biblical perspective – which is the only perspective I try to have – we have to acknowledge the truth spoken by the Prophet Jeremiah that the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
Again, I totally agree that character does matter, but in this case, we are choosing between the devil we know well and the devil we don’t know very well at all. We are choosing between a person with a 30-year track record in public governance and one with a much less public track record in business and NO track record when it comes to elected office. I can build a much better case condemning the character of Hillary than I can against Trump, simply because there is FAR more evidence to do so. I wish I had a different and viable choice…but I don’t.
Thankfully, at least Trump has chosen to bring some very godly men into his circle of influence and I know for a fact that they are sharing the gospel with him as well as calling him out on his sin. Will he take any of their advice? I don’t know, but at least they are there and they are talking to him, and that gives me at least a little bit of hope. Sadly, this is not the case with Hillary Clinton. I have yet to see her bring a single serious and biblically faithful Christian leader into her inner circle, and I doubt she ever will.
Conclusion
A recent study revealed that only 14% of eligible adults voted for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in the primaries. Apathy and ignorance indeed come at a high cost and we are certainly getting what we have (or have not) paid for. Sadly, we are left with two of the most unpopular options in the the history of presidential elections, but those are the dates we brought with us to this dance.
In the end, this all comes down to what it should: Can I lay my decision to vote for Donald Trump at the feet of my Lord and Savior? He certainly knows that my vote is no endorsement of Donald’s sinful activities. He certainly knows I am not being selfish or prideful in my decision, but rather, trying to do what is best for the future of my neighbors and their children, as well as my own. He certainly knows that I did not arrive at this decision lightly. He certainly knows that I am refusing to allow the opposite conclusions of some of the finest Christians I know to interfere with our unity in the Gospel.
Yes, the Lord knows my heart on the matter of my vote, and in the end, my conscience will be as clean as possible when I fill in the oval next to Donald Trump’s name. Does that make me a bad Christian? It does not. It makes me a serious Christian facing a terribly difficult decision in the midst of a seemingly desperate situation…all the while thanking God and praising Him for the fact that my ultimate citizenship is not in the broken land called the United States of America, but in my Father’s perfect and everlasting Kingdom.
