Legendary Southern Baptist pastor R.G. Lee of Memphis, Tenn., preached his best-known sermon, “Payday Someday,” 1,275 times. The gist of his evangelistic firebomb was that divine justice is inevitable. While God may not punish sin immediately, a spiritual “payday” is absolutely certain to come.
What America witnessed last night is the spiritual payday for Donald Trump, Trumpism and the MAGA movement. There is a price to pay for the evil of Trumpism, which is an affront to the very teachings of Jesus Christ and witness of Holy Scripture.
Mark Wingfield
Let us be clear: The blue tsunami that swept my state of Texas and much of the nation is a direct response to Trump. It is a payday for him. But he’s so arrogant and narcissistic that he can’t admit it.
Last night, after Democrats swept every statewide office on the ballot in Texas — unheard of in 40 years — Trump was taking none of the blame. Instead, he called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott a RINO, a Republican in Name Only. That is stupidly laughable. Abbott has been Trump’s waterboy in Texas for a long time. Abbott was denied his fourth term in office precisely because he acts like Trump and acts for Trump’s benefit.
Tonya Michelle Smith, a key staffer to Ken Paxton, posted on X this morning: “I’m seriously in shock. I don’t know what just happened in my country. What I know is that our children are no longer safe. Our borders are gonna be wide open. We’re gonna have a state income tax. Our churches, Christianity — it’s all gone. And let’s not even talk about public education. What did we just do?”
This exemplifies the scare tactics of the far right that are utter nonsense. This is why Paxton, her hero, got trounced in the election. And because he’s a horrible person and the most flawed candidate in modern history.
“If you had members of your church openly siding with the Antichrist, would you placate them?”
It’s time to stop the hysteria about Democrats and anyone who’s not in line with Trump. The fear is manufactured because that’s Trump’s brand.
Remember how he led evangelicals to believe they “suffered” under Barack Obama’s presidency?
It’s also time for pastors and other self-proclaimed “centrist” leaders to stop trying to placate Trump supporters. This morning I’m already seeing social media posts from pastors attempting to smooth the ruffled feathers of their Trump-supporting members. This is not helpful.
If you had members of your church openly siding with the Antichrist, would you placate them? I don’t think so. And yet everything about Trump is anti-Christ.
Add that to the both-sides-ism we’re seeing from some who act like Republicans and Democrats are equally to blame for the way things are. That’s demonstrably false. It is Donald Trump alone and his enablers who are responsible for the war in Iran, for cruel deportations, for denying food and medicine to children, for attacking gay and transgender citizens, for wrecking America’s standing in the world community, and for supporting Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu in defiance of everything good and holy.
Trumpism is an evil that has infected our nation, and last night’s election results are an important first step in repudiating all that. It is payday for MAGA. The bill is past due.
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global.
Related:
Why every Republican in Congress should be voted out | Opinion by Mark Wingfield
Yes, pretend Trump is on the ballot, because he is | Opinion by Richard Conville
You have the power to defeat Donald Trump | Opinion by Trudy Bayer
Listen to the minor prophets as you vote | Opinion by Matthew Kolb