Christ’s three temptations are similar to Trump’s temptations to evangelicals – Baptist News Global

Many distractions in this life lead one away from his true path. Even as I put these words together, I think about everything that has nothing to do with my writing. I’m thinking about my career and need to find work that will keep me from constantly being under-employed. I find myself looking around the coffee shop where I write. I watch other people talk, wondering about their lives and why they seem to have figured out something that I haven’t.

Sometimes my thoughts go back to my history of making historically bad decisions. I think about my bills, children, past partners, family and sometimes just feel sorry for myself. In the meantime, good work needs to be done. God’s work must be done. Yet the distractions and temptations of this world keep me far from the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.

As I consider the temptations in my own life, I realize that today’s evangelical leadership has fallen prey to the temptations of Donald Trump. More importantly, these temptations are eerily similar to the temptations the Devil presented to Jesus Christ before Jesus began his ministry.

For those who don’t know this story, According to the Bible, there was a time before Jesus began his ministry when he went into the wilderness to fast and prepare for his work. At that moment the Devil came to Jesus to offer the same three temptations that lead everyone from their true path. These are also the same temptations that Trump has offered to the evangelical movement.

The difference is that – unlike Jesus – the evangelical movement has chosen to follow Trump as he leads them further away from God and closer to the path set by the Devil himself.

The first temptation was an offering of bread to Christ, who would go hungry then? Christ’s answer was that man does not live by bread alone.

I admit that having more money and more bread belongs to me as much as anyone else. I want to take care of my daughters more, and every time I have to explain to them why I can’t afford this or that, it breaks my heart. And yet, the pursuit of money has the potential to lead me down a path away from my true calling as a teacher and counselor.

Trump has offered the evangelical church lots of bread, cheaper bread, more money and the opportunity to live like Trump. A few invitations to Mar-a-Lago, a few trips on the Trump plane, continued tax breaks and an economy that mainly benefits the already very wealthy evangelical pastors.

In any area of ​​life, when big money becomes the end goal, services deteriorate, art suffers, truth is distorted, and the church is no different.

Evangelical leaders, by the way, are terrified of this message. They get themselves into theological knots and teach and preach that it is good to become a millionaire and be a preacher. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I do know that there was a specific message that the temptation of greed harms the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ.

“Trump has offered these evangelicals a bag of money and these leaders will do anything to get their hands on it.”

Suddenly, paying good wages to the working class, providing opportunity to America’s underprivileged, or welcoming foreigners are bad things, and providing tax breaks to billionaires becomes the foundation of the Christian faith. Trump has offered these evangelicals a bag of money and these leaders will do anything to get their hands on it.

The second temptation by the Devil is protection and safety. Christ’s response was not to test the Lord God.

This is an interesting temptation you encounter in life. A desire for comfort, safety and protection is something that most people think about a lot. In my career I have longed for job protection, but I found it difficult if you wanted to tell the truth. Diplomacy has never been my forte, and my career has been a struggle for a long time. I wish it weren’t so, but it did prove to me that sometimes job security becomes more important to people than job integrity. I see this in the evangelical support of Donald Trump.

Trump’s temptation for protection and security is clear. He discusses this constantly. He will protect Christians from the evil forces of the liberal movement. The left is coming for your guns, your ability to be public about your Christian faith, and your children are in danger of being criticized by the great woke mob virus.

Have no fear, evangelicals, Trump will protect you.

The problem with this message, besides coming from the devil, is that there has never been a promise of safety if one followed the teachings of Jesus Christ. The promise is for the follower to serve, love your enemies, heal the sick, serve the poor, and love the prisoners. This is difficult to do when a person sits on the couch at home and is only interested in the rights of those who agree with him.

“Jesus Christ did not live a safe life, a sheltered life, or a comfortable life.”

Jesus Christ did not live a safe life, a sheltered life, or a comfortable life. Those comforts of protection and security would have been a false temptation that would have thrown him off course, just as Trump’s temptations of security have thrown the evangelical leadership off course.

Satan’s final temptation is the most obvious. The Devil offers Christ all the power in the world. All Christ has to do is submit to the authority of the Devil.

I hardly need to write this passage because the truth of it is louder than anything I can put into words. Normally people support politicians based on self-interest. I am no different. My fight for first-generation, working-class students is at the heart of everyone I vote for. I don’t necessarily seek power, but more opportunities for the people I love. The thought of having more power and influence in this area is of course a temptation for me, but perhaps that could turn me away from my calling to be on the front lines of this work.

Power corrupts, as is the case with Donald Trump’s evangelical support.

Not to spite Robert Jeffress, but no one embodies the crumbling of this temptation better than he. That man loves the power of the White House and the power Trump has given him. Pastor Jeffress will create whatever theology he needs to bring Trump back to the White House.

I often listen to this man on the radio. He is a very good speaker. As good as it gets. In one story he shared, he talked about how he managed to lure himself into the Oval Office during a school trip as a teenager. Since then, he has done everything he can to return to that office.

“The seduction of power prevents a person of faith from supporting the opportunities of all others he claims to help.”

All Pastor Jeffress had to do was submit to the authority of Donald Trump. The seduction of power prevents a religious person from supporting the opportunities of all others he claims to help. Once these ministers have tasted that power, nothing else can satisfy them.

My recent job was as a hospice chaplain. It’s a job that stays with someone on a very deep level. Every day I am confronted with families trying to say goodbye to a loved one and with someone trying to say goodbye to life.

This is not as peaceful a transition as many would believe. There is great fear, loss of control, anger. What I have discovered is that for people of faith, people who are successful, people who have failed, people who have done things right, and people who have done everything wrong, death comes one way or another. Their lives up to this stage rarely matter.

Those last days are difficult and sad. The comforts of this world have left them. The power, the security and the money are all gone. Ultimately, these are all empty pursuits. These pursuits keep a person from his true path. They influence relationships, careers, art, writing, politics and faith.

I find that the teachings of Christ and the teachings of the evangelical church go in opposite directions. The evangelical church is moving closer to the devil and temptations of Donald Trump and further away from a man who served the poor, healed the sick, loved his neighbor and taught his followers to do the same.

American evangelicals no longer listen to Christ, which means they are currently listening to the Devil.

Nathaniel Manderson was educated at a conservative seminary, trained as a minister, ordained through the American Baptist Churches USA and guided by liberal ideals. Throughout his career, he has been a pastor, career counselor, academic advisor, high school teacher, and advocate for first-generation and low-income students, along with a paper delivery worker, construction worker, package deliverer, and whatever else he could do to solve the problems. to solve. care for his family.

Related articles:

From king to Trump | Advice from Nathanial Manderson

Save this column and don’t say we didn’t warn you | Advice from Mark Wingfield

Trump’s dangerous final message to his white Christian followers | Advice from Robert P. Jones