Roger Daltry of the rock group The Who sings “Can You See the Real Me.” He asks that same question of a doctor and a preacher. No real answer given. But the question still resonates today. And today we should ask what is real in all that is being projected in the image we’re being asked to accept of Donald Trump. Is he that fighter pilot flying a mission of god and country to rain feces down on the millions marching peacefully in the “No Kings” protest? Thereby showing his disdain for those daring to stand up for our constitutional rights and opposing him. Or is he more like that representation of him depicted as the Robert Duvall character, Lt Col Kilgore, in the movie Apocalypse Now? Giving the warning to Chicago that terror from the sky is coming as he seeks to send troops into Chicago to restore order and round up immigrants. All the while saying the quote from Lt Col Kilgore, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” The Dept of War is coming for you Chicago and any other “blue state” city. While he may see himself as this all powerful and to be feared dictator, a more apt depiction is that of the ugly Great Goblin King in the Hobbit films. His evil coming forth as ugliness and his abundance as girth with his evil minions running all about him waiting to do the evil he asks. He is cruel, sadistic, self-indulgent. His end is not pleasant.
So many throughout history have sought power with no regard to who they hurt. It’s about ruling by fear and intimidation. Portray oneself as mighty, formidable, and one to be feared. Goliath was one like that. He was said to be over 9 feet tall. A mighty warrior with fear inducing weapons. The offspring of fallen angels and women. But David followed the One with true power. And one stone hitting the center of Goliath’s forehead, the center of his authority, felled him. Our prayers and standing in the midst of adversity can do the same to every high thing that exalts itself against that which is right and good and from Him. It says in Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” And many have joined forces with Trump. A spirit of fear causes them to cast off all they once knew as believers without fear of being held accountable. This wickedness is an abomination.
Romans 12 tells us NOT to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We must do our best to live without hypocrisy. To abhor evil. To hold fast to that which is good. To treat all well and with honor. To not give preferential treatment to others. To look to the NEEDS of others. The marginalized. The poor. The immigrant. To serve one another and focus on the Lord and what His word says rather than fixating on our own importance. We are to clothe ourselves with humility and realize that God exalts those that humble themselves. Looking to exalt oneself through any other means is contrary to Him and aligns with the devil. Oliver Cromwell, called the “Lord Protector” of the Commonwealth of England in the 1600s, remarked to a portrait done of him showing him in an overly flattering light. He told the artist that “I desire you would use all your skill to paint your picture truly like me and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me. Otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.” Can you imagine an actual portrait of Trump, “warts and all?” I believe it would cause a gastric upset of seismic proportion. But we will be judged for falling prey to this tempting sham. It aligns with all that is demonic. We are not to align with the works of darkness but rather expose them. We are not to look to appear as puffed up. Especially as one against another. God sees us as we are. All the foibles. As it says in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father.” Recognize all that is being vomited out before our eyes, depicting a man in Donald Trump who has no thought of what awaits him, but seeks only that which is temporary and fleeting. Turn from this evil and seek Him who has the keys to life everlasting. He can see the real you. Blessings.
Stand My Watch 