One of the accusations I hear leveled by evangelical Trump supporters is that people who oppose him do so not out of principle but out of mere hatred of him.
Do I hate Donald Trump? I try as best I can to not hate anyone. Am I perfect? No, but I ask God every day to help me to love people better.
Sid Smith III
What I do hate is a lying tongue. I hate haughty eyes. I hate hands that shed innocent blood. I hate a heart that devises wicked schemes. I hate feet that are quick to rush into evil. I hate a false witness who pours out lies. I hate a person who stirs up conflict in the community. If you are a follower of Christ, I would hope that you hate these things too. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us what God hates, and what God hates, I’m going to hate as well.
If Trump is a liar, how should I feel about his presidency? Trump and JD Vance told us Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats and other pets in Springfield, Ohio — not because it is true but simply to highlight an issue to frighten voters, according to Vance. Even if they get away with it, does that lie matter?
If Trump is haughty and prideful, how should I feel about his presidency? His words drip with hubris and arrogance. Does that matter?
“If your pursuit of ‘law and order’ causes you to mistreat ‘the least of these,’ maybe it should be re-examined.”
If Trump sheds innocent blood, how should I feel about his presidency? Maybe we should ask those children who have been ripped from their migrating families about that. Of course there’s always an excuse, but if your pursuit of “law and order” causes you to mistreat “the least of these,” maybe it should be re-examined.
If Trump devises wicked schemes, how should I feel about his presidency? When he paid off the porn star to keep her mouth shut about their affair, was God pleased?
If Trump rushes into evil, how should I feel about his presidency? While bragging to his followers that he wasn’t going to take a salary, he set his children up to profit quite nicely from the American people’s business and even created an environment where in order to do any business with the government you’ve first got to patronize his businesses.
If Trump pours out lies, how should I feel about his presidency? Trump’s lies are legion. He lies out of habit, instinct and strategy. No one, not his staff, not his wives, not even you, trusts him to tell the truth if a lie will serve him better.
If Trump stirs up conflict in the community, how should I feel about his presidency? When he lied about President Obama not being born in America to build his political career, how do you think God felt? Trump knew appealing to the segments of the population who feel “their America” is being taken from them by “those other people” would be politically profitable, so he has been willing to stir up that discord using whatever manner of discord and dishonesty he thinks he can get away with. Does God not care about that blatant deception, giving Trump “a mulligan” because the ends justify the means?
Yes, I do hate those six, no seven characteristics. The question is, why don’t you?
Sid Smith III is a music ministry consultant and serves at Third Baptist Church of San Francisco. His father, Sid Smith Jr., was a pioneer Southern Baptist Convention leader credited with starting more than 400 predominantly Black SBC churches. Sid serves on the board of director for BNG.
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