This article was originally posted on Muta’s personal blog. You can find the original and more great content here.
—
It’s 2:55am as I’ve begun to type this. The room is dark and somber like many of the hearts of millions across America. Donald J. Trump has just won the highest office in the land, President of the United States of America.
I choose to write this now. Not when my thoughts are collected. Not when I’ve had time to process, because frankly I’ve had 25 years (the years I’ve resided in the US) to process and prepare for this.
A few moments ago, I posted to Facebook, that for the Christian Trump opponent, what one says, how one acts or their posture moving forward will be indicative of their belief in the sovereignty of God and his divine and perfect will.
I stand by that, and it is in the belief of this perfect will and this sovereignty that I share my deepest emotions. Not to negate the previous sentiment, but in my humanity, express my heartfelt reaction to what has just transpired.
As I write, I have these truths in mind: God allowed the enemy to afflict Job. God struck the hip of Jacob. It was the will of God that Christ would endure the cross.
With that said, here are three reasons why this hurts, and yet I will cry “though you slay me yet I will follow.”
- There is now a man who is sympathetic to and heralded by the Ku Klux Klan and a bonafide bigot on track to enter the White House. This makes me afraid for what’s to come. I grew up in a predominantly Caucasian town where I faced racism daily from teachers, students and neighbors alike. Will my 3 black sons have to grow up in a time where society reverts back to a Jim Crow era? Will my boys get the fair treatment deserving of every student in school or every human in society?If so, then for how long till their dignity is stripped away, like mine was, by school officials that have no regard for brown skin and can’t wait to make America great (or white) again? This may be a bit extreme, but excuse me, didn’t we think it was a bit extreme for an unqualified, narcissistic, megalomaniac to become president?
- Every effort of reconciliation is now going to suffer under the weight of perceived closeted racism. All of us who are building multi-ethnic communities of faith to the glory of God will have to grapple with the fact that being a part of a multi-ethnic church is going to be very difficult for minorities. It has been the weight of the evangelical, moral right that has swayed this election and as is assumed, this is made up of primarily Anglo church going voters.For minorities, this election was more than simply who was going to be president. It was far more personal. It was an election that proved America’s view of cultural progress and embracing the future of a diverse yet unified America. With this vote, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]minorities are faced to assume that our brothers and sisters who gloat in the victory of Donald Trump are saying “My ethics trump your humanity.”[/inlinetweet]
- Believers will forget that God still reigns and will walk out on relationships based on political differences, more than what has already happened through the election. Christ’s prayer to be “one” will be ignored for a line drawn in the sand. You versus me. You versus my candidate. No more debates, just a chasm of division setting America back decades and grieving the Holy Spirit.
Do I believe the outcome of this election is God’s will prevailing? Absolutely. Will I respect Trump as president. Absolutely. It’s my God given mandate.
But God’s work in our lives as believers is neither comfortable nor easy. I believe God will afflict us if it will result in our salvation. As uncomfortable as I am about the road ahead for the state of this country, I’m confident that if God be for us, his people—red, yellow, black and white—no one and nothing can prevail against us no matter how much it hurts. Our victory is not political or social.
We win at the consummation of all things in Christ Jesus our King.
That is my only consolation in these quiet hours of the night.
Donald Trump is president. Even so, come Lord Jesus.