No more four! No more four!
Author’s Note: I first wrote the following article four years ago right after the 2016 presidential election, and as I revisit it now, just before the 2020 election, I think it’s fitting to re-publish it with some revision. I usually vote Democrat but, to my regret, I voted for Trump in 2016 and here’s why: I was so repulsed by the Republican Party which became the “party of no” during President Obama’s administration thanks to whom I refer to as “Boehner’s kids” (party hijackers Ted Cruz, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan etc.); and when presidential candidate Bernie Sanders did not get the DNC nomination, I thought perhaps an outsider could break up the log jam of the “constipated party” that could not pass sheesh (if you get my drift). The Republican Party displayed such hostility towards Obama at every turn, that it emboldened bigots and white supremacists, paving the way for a Trump base. I also had reason to believe it was not the right time for candidate Hillary Clinton.
Now that Trump has proven he’s in over his head and does not have the presidential skill set, nor mindset to lead our country – failing to decry bigotry and white supremacy; encouraging violence and civil rights abuses; imputing dishonesty; alienating his own administration; blaming Obama for everything gone wrong, taking credit for everything Obama did right; and now his failure to show presidential leadership in the face of a global pandemic – his report card for the past four years is “F” for FAILURE!! Here’s the revised article:
The Yoke of the “Trumpence” Era (Revised)
[Post-election angst is prevalent everywhere. It’s like a court arraignment and America has to answer to an indictment. The election of Donald Trump and Mike Pence – which I’ve coined “Trumpence” – came as a surprise to everyone. In 2015 when Trump announced his candidacy for president, we pretty much dismissed it as a farce. Surely “The Donald” could never be president. That measure of impossibility hovered over President Obama’s campaign too, but God has the final say. As the “potter” He fashions vessels for His honor or for dishonor.
People are scratching their heads wondering how after a stellar (not perfect) Obama administration, can a person seemingly so unhinged now become the commander-in-chief of the most powerful office on the globe. How can this be?
Can you say the word “disobedience?”
In this day and age, it may look differently, but as in ancient days God warned His people about idolatry, and because of disobedience he punished them. God gives us the opportunity to judge ourselves, to examine ourselves and make sure we are seeking to follow His commands. He has set standards (precepts) for us to abide by, but we keep lowering more and more those standards; and now look at where we are!
God is a jealous God in the sense that why would people glorify the created more than the creator? We as a society glorify money, sex, entertainment, our jobs, our families, drugs, guns etc. more than we do God. When we hold anything in higher esteem than God, it’s called idolatry. How many times have you been prompted in the spiritual, but decide to still go your own way in the natural? God is patient and long-suffering (extending grace and mercy), but the day comes for discipline.
Remember as kids we’d act up and our parents would repeat, “you better stop or else” but we kept acting up ignoring their warnings until finally came the day of judgement and discipline. Those “whoopin’s” were not pleasant! Why do parents chasten children? Because they love them and don’t want them to place themselves in harm’s way of some sort. Likewise, God chastens His children whom He loves, and gives us a chance to change our ways.
America is in big trouble with Trump at the helm. If things don’t go his way, he may very well hand us over to Russia in a handbasket in this air of mystery and “normalizing” collusion. God is asking us to restrain; to turn away from those things that go against His will. As a so-called Christian nation, we should examine ourselves and choose whether we will wear the yoke that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 11:28 – 30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (NIV)
Now would you prefer an easy yoke or a hard yoke of heaviness? God gives us freewill to choose, but there will be severe consequence if we make the wrong choice. In rejecting God’s yoke, Jeremiah 27:2 reads “This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather straps.”
Jeremiah 27:5-7 reads “With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon [Russia?], who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up.”
Could this “Trumpence” era be God’s way of getting us to focus on Him and not empty idols? May we now take time to examine ourselves as a people and as a nation. God allowed a pandemic to give us a chance to reflect on what really matters including Black lives. If America’s leadership will promote and exemplify love and unity, rather than hate and division, we may have a chance. The choice is ours; God is watching!]
Larry Buford is a Los Angeles-based contributing writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’ Outta Hand” and “Book To The Future” (Amazon). Email: [email protected]
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