Morality

I want to start this post off with a true story that explains why I stress and talk about morality so much. Years ago, I volunteered for a California police department. During my time there, I rode in about 20 ride-alongs. One day in the briefing room, the officer I was going to ride with grabbed a dictionary for the word of the day.

They held it while I closed my eyes. I opened it and, still having my eyes closed, put my finger on the page. It landed straight on the word “moral.” Even before that instance, I remember watching “Walker, Texas Ranger” and being inspired to pursue justice, morality, and righteousness by the theme song.

So why do I talk about it so much? Because I believe I’m called to talk about it. I truly believe the world in this day and age is sorely lacking in and starving for it. I also believe the church corporately and individually is failing miserably in preaching on the subject and living it out. Because of this, America and the world are suffering spiritually.

What Is Morality?

One definition of morality by Merriam-Webster is, “conformity to ideals of right human conduct.” Another definition by The Oxford English Dictionary is, “of or pertaining to the distinction between right and wrong, or good and evil, in relation to the actions, volitions, or character of responsible beings.” The Apostle Paul gives examples of these definitions in 1 Timothy 3.

While those are good definitions, the one I’ve always remembered (and have strived to live by) is The Golden Rule: “Treat others as you want to be treated,” which is also echoed by Jesus in Matthew 7:12: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…”

What Morality Is Not.

Morality is not legalism. I once attended a Christian church for a few weeks to see what it was like and if I would be a good fit there. I agreed with most of their messages and all of their beliefs until I had one question. I went to the pastor and asked him if the church would ever talk about morality, to which he responded, “No, we will never talk about legalism.” With that, I knew that church wasn’t for me.

While that church did emphasize God’s grace, I can only guess what the pastor defined as morality. But if it’s at all like Merriam-Webster’s definition, they probably thought that “right human conduct” meant abandoning God’s grace for the Law of God only. But I see this as flawed reasoning. God’s grace gives us the power to adhere to His Law when we can’t on our own. He wants us to love Him and obey His commandments without forgetting His Throne of Grace lest we become legalists like the Pharisees.

In chapter four of his book, The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters, Sinclair B. Ferguson cites Geerhardus Vos, author of The Self-Disclosure of Jesus and The Kingdom and the Church, who says, “Legalism is a peculiar kind of submission to God’s law, something that no longer feels the personal divine touch in the rule it submits to” (page 82). I think that exactly describes the Pharisees’ conduct (John 9:26–28, John 18:19–24), but what Jesus has freed us from!

It is truly a shame that the Church avoids talking about morality and its companion traits (e.g., character, integrity, honesty, etc.) because the key to understanding the Laws of the Old Testament and Messages of the Prophets (and much of the New Testament) is to first understand morality.

How is this the key? Because the latter part of that verse from Matthew above is, “…for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And most of the laws of the Bible revolve around the morality of relationships (e.g., our relationship with God, husband/wife, family, workers, neighbors (Luke 10:25–37, Exodus 20:16–17), foreigners, etc.) and practicing the aforementioned companion traits.

Why Is Morality So Important?

It helps us understand the ways of God. What do I mean by that? God is moral. He defines in His Word morality, immorality, and their consequences. Moses saw God perform all kinds of miracles in Exodus but still didn’t know God, so He asked to know Him through His ways. Scripture, and thus God’s ways and thus God Himself, is actually easier for me to understand because I’m seeing His Word through the eyes of morality.

Fed Up with the Church for Supporting Trump!

I began writing this last year as I continued to see the American church on NBC News*, CBS News, and elsewhere supporting, and continuing to support, Trump despite his immorality. I have also struggled with completing this post because I’ve been trying to find the existential threat posed by the evil and vile man that is Trump. (Side note: As I typed that last sentence, the word “existential” jumped out at me. More on that below.)

In this post I’m basically asking one question… “Why should we care about Trump’s immorality?” After all, the Trump-supporting Church (the institution and its members), which is supposed to follow Jesus Christ and represent His highest standard of righteousness, is more concerned about political policies, their bank accounts, gun and religious rights, and nationalism, among other worldly things.

Well, I believe we should care deeply about Trump’s lack of character even more than his Presidential decisions because of the January 6th insurrection. THAT is the existential threat. Why? Because I believe that God values justice so highly that He’ll revoke the independence of the nation He blessed. This will happen when it fails to serve justice (impeachment AND removal) to the leader of the free world for blatant high crimes and misdemeanors (incitement of insurrection). What the Lord gives, He can take away (Job 1:21).

I know these opinions (and previous posts) are not popular with many in the Church today, but I wholeheartedly stand by them. I also wanted to write this because I can imagine there are many within the Church who love Christ dearly but are afraid to speak up against Trump, his lack of character, his detestable words, and his blatant immorality because they fear being ostracized and shunned. I do fear that myself, but I also feel if I stand up for what is right, true, and just, the consequences are worth it.

I can also imagine there are likely many people in the world who don’t want anything to do with the Church or God because of what they see His people supporting. There are even some evangelicals who are known for biblical ethics such as Wayne Grudem who acknowledge what is plain and clear of Trump’s lack of character and still said he was the “morally good choice” in 2016. In that article, Grudem calls candidate Trump a “flawed candidate,” but in my opinion, calling Trump a flawed candidate is the equivalent of Richard Nixon saying, “I made my mistakes” in his 1973 “I’m not a crook” speech. The words downplay and minimize their lack of character and crimes.

Also around 2016, many supporters of Trump wanted him in office because they thought he’d “drain the swamp” in Washington, D.C., what they failed to realize was Trump is the swamp with an unsatisfying lust for power, money, and relevance.

One of the duties of every believer is to reflect God’s moral characteristics in everyday life, and to call out and stand against the extremely vile and evil people of the world such as Trump. “If you love good, then you must hate evil. To not hate evil is to show no compassion for those whom it hurts.”-Unnamed Pastor, Psalm 97:10, Romans 12:9

I believe this duty applies to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14 when He says, “You are the light of the world…” and also when John the Baptist called out Herod the tetrarch in Luke 3:19 for taking his brother’s wife, “…and for all the evil things that Herod had done.” We also see in the Old Testament prophets calling on the leaders and the people to repent when they were rebelling against Him (Jeremiah 7:1-11, visual).

Anyone who believes in Christ and follows Him should be hating evil and wickedness because that is exactly what the Scriptures say about Jesus: “But about the Son He [Father God] says, ‘…You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.’”—Hebrews 1:8-9, Psalm 45:7

Fast forward to a week after the insurrection, we can find Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham and President of Samaritan’s Purse, posting on Facebook January 14th twice shaming Republicans who voted to impeach Trump saying, “After all that he has done for our country, you would turn your back and betray him so quickly?”

As if our representatives swear an oath to Donald Trump instead of the Constitution before taking office. Also in that post, Graham talks about a litany of things that are all about issues under the Sun, not what is more important… “seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”—Matthew 6:33 KJV

Those who believe in Jesus as their Savior are citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20), and thus we should be supporting those of godly and moral character. Because without God, nations decay and eventually collapse (Jeremiah 6:15), and I believe America is seeing the consequences of its immorality and godlessness across its land.

*Pastor Ken Peters, seen in the NBC News link, is different than Prophet Ken Peters, who I frequently reference.

Why President Trump Will Never Make America Great Again

It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post (but I have more in the works…). Whether or not Donald Trump is removed from office by the Senate after recently being impeached by the House of Representatives and whatever he does in the present, future, or legacy with the highest title in the free world, President Trump will never “Make America Great Again.” I say this with one thing in mind that most people don’t look too hard into as a reason… his character. At this point in his presidency, most have come to expect that Donald Trump is going to say or tweet something so abhorrent that it makes us Americans wonder how he made it to the final vote in 2016.

Back when he was initially elected, I tried to make another blog post titled “Morals over Money.” However, I never published it simply because his lack of morals, integrity, character, etc. is so screwed up that I felt I couldn’t do any type of justice with mere words in any post I wrote. (Even “screwed up” falls vastly short.) That being said, if I can’t address his morals specifically or in detail, I can try to write about his most well-known slogan on his red hat… “Make America Great Again.” Whether he wins or loses in the 2020 presidential election, one thing I’m sure of—he can never make this country great again.

Some of his supporters might say, “Look at the economy or the strengthening of the military” while others might simply ask, “What are you talking about?” I’m talking about something different… righteousness. I believe America is tearing apart at the seams because of a lack of God, and no policy, politician, or law can fix it. The problem lies in our very hearts, hearts only the Lord Jesus Christ Himself can mend by the blood of His forgiveness, essence of His unconditional love, and power only He possesses (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If President Trump spoke any form of truth or righteousness, people would take notice. But as it is, he only brings forth evil (Matthew 12:35) and every fruit contrary to that in Galatians 5:22-23. The last Scripture I want to give is why America, or any nation, is not immune from God’s wrath… “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.”-Proverbs 14:34 NIV

For a deeper look at the gross immorality of President Trump, and why his immorality is incompatible with Christian principles, please see the much-discussed lead editorial by Mark Galli of Christianity Today titled, “Trump Should Be Removed from Office.“

Law Enforcement: Favoritism or “Professional Courtesy”?

(This post was inspired by someone I know being pulled over by a cop for speeding and using their badge to get out of a potential ticket.)

The purpose of this post is to explain the rationale behind my belief that the practice of “professional courtesy” (i.e., allowing fellow authority figures to break the law without repercussion) is corrupt, not necessarily to provide solutions.

Before I begin, I want to say I have high respect for law enforcement officers. When I was in middle school, I started watching reruns of Walker, Texas Ranger and for more than a decade afterward, I wanted to be an FBI agent. Then, for two years after graduating from high school and before moving to Texas, I volunteered with a California police department.

To my knowledge, the police officers I worked with while volunteering never engaged in the practice of extending these professional courtesies to others in their field. In fact, when one of the K9 officers, who was also one of my advisors, said to me, “I’m held to high standards—I’m going to hold you to higher standards,” his words made a strong impression on me.

That being said, I’ve seen this on the news… police officers giving preferential treatment to fellow law enforcement officers. Their superiors may say, “They will be held accountable,” but the perspective and subsequent behavior of a police officer sometimes changes once they find that their suspect has a badge or some position of authority, and this is the point at which the scales of justice are made unequal.

This kind of treatment is hypocritical at best and corrupt at worst. It is a game of Russian roulette wherein the repercussions of this preferential treatment can cause irreversible harm, and the longer this pattern continues, the greater the chances that something tragic could happen.

For example, what about an inebriated off-duty officer who has repeatedly been “let off the hook” by fellow officers for driving drunk? What would they have to say for themselves should he kill someone while driving under the influence? Once this happens, the blood of the victim will be on the hands of every officer who knew about the behavior and did nothing to stop it.

Therefore, I can’t help but find the practice of officers extending this sort of professional courtesy to be indefensible, unjust, and corrupt. And what does this say about the officers who practice it? Well, according to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution (specifically the “Equal Protection Clause” aka “Equal Justice Under Law”) and founding principles of America, everybody is to be treated equally under the law.

This tenet is also supported by Scripture. Apostle Paul addressed this issue in Romans 2:1, which says, in effect, that although they may see themselves as being less accountable for their unlawful actions because of their position of authority, they are, in fact, more guilty because they should know better!

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” (NIV) And because God is perfectly true and perfectly just, He “does not show favoritism.”—Romans 2:11

The badge and position of law enforcement is a place of high standards, and any person in authority who is caught breaking the law they are sworn to protect should receive at least the same, if not more harsh, justice according to the law.