If Trump Wins, Then What?

I am a pessimist by nature. I can hold my own and be charming at parties or over dinner, but on my own, I tend toward doom and gloom as I peruse the daily headlines. It is a hazard in this business. 

I honestly believe Trump can get the votes needed to win in November. I am also equally convinced that the Democrats, the media, and the usual suspects will do everything in their power to ensure that they win the election in the end. If that does not work, they will pull out all the stops to ensure that Trump does not take office in January. And they will probably pull it off. As much as I hate to say it, it will take an act of God for conservatives to prevail. 

But suppose God does intervene. Let's say that Trump takes the White House, and the GOP claims the House, the Senate, and a significant portion of the down-ballot races across the country. Then what?

In the Old Testament, toward the end of the Book of Judges, we read, “In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That book has a distinct pattern. Israel worships pagan idols, raises Asherah poles, and abandons God. God then allows Israel's enemies to attack and oppress it. Israel cries out to God for help, and God raises up a judge to defeat the enemy and deliver the people. However, as soon as the danger has passed, out come the idols, up go the Asherah poles, and Israel goes right back to its old ways. Judges ends with Israel descending into its first civil war. God answered the prayers of a people who were all too ready to re-embrace the world when the danger had passed. People cannot always handle God saying "yes."

If, by chance, God were to deliver the nation, what would believing conservatives do? What would change? Would we spend a few days or weeks celebrating and then go right back to business as usual? Would God bail us out, only to see us return to our old habits? Obviously, the nation's ills would not evaporate overnight, or, for that matter, over the next three years. But would we change? 

Not long ago, I saw a cartoon of God sitting at His desk. On one side of the desk was an inbox marked "Please" with a towering stack of requests. On the other side was a box marked "Thank You" containing just a few notices. We excel at keeping God up to date with what we want, but we often lag when it comes to expressing gratitude or, for that matter, asking God what He wants. 

Conversely, suppose my predictions of doom come true, and we are faced with four and possibly eight years of a Biden/Walz administration and all of the worst fears of conservatives are realized. It's easy to say, "Keep the faith," but it is not always easy to do. Do we hole up in our bunkers and wait for the Rapture?  

Over at the website Plough, Sheluyang Peng has an engaging article titled “Make Christianity Strange Again.” It is a review of Nijay K. Gupta’s latest book, “Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous and Compelling.”  Peng notes that the first Christians lived in a world and an empire that viewed them not just as odd but as a threat. In that empire, Christians were not only ridiculed but persecuted. In other countries, Christians are still persecuted. But the early Christians did not shy away from the depredations of the larger culture, or try to change their identities to suit the world around them. Peng notes that those Christians happily embraced their status as outsiders because they understood what their faith meant and that they already had truth. One way or the other, prayers will be answered in November. No matter the outcome, we are still called to live in gratitude and obedience.