As a Christian I can't...

As a Christian I can't vote for Donald Trump. I also can't see how any other person who calls themselves a follower of Jesus could vote for him either. There is no way my mind can compute how those two things would work together. But like many Americans, I am also not a fan of Hillary Clinton and again as a Christian I struggle to see myself being able to vote for her too.

Full disclosure, I am an independent. I have been able to vote since 2002 and voted in my first presidential election in 2004. I have voted for both democrats and republicans (presidents, senators, congressmen, in all positions). I am probably close to being one of those socially liberal, fiscally conservative people. I am also a Christian; a Lutheran Christian. I work for a church. I am a youth minister. So here is the problem I have...

Christians are called to love everyone and fight for those without a voice and in need. Christians are called to give up everything so that those who have nothing can have something. The basic Christian message is to love God and love people: LOVE! Donald Trump does not speak love. And yet there are things I like about Donald Trump. I like that he is not part of the establishment. I like that he doesn't have to take money from large corporations (other than his own). I like that he is a businessman and could possible bring a fresh perspective to the white house. In fact, these are some of the main reasons I hear from many people about why they would vote for him. But despite these things and despite the fact that I am, again, not a Hillary Clinton fan, I can't vote for Donald Trump because I am a Christian.

All of the reasons I listed for liking Donald Trump really all come down to one simple thing; MONEY. (enter my fiscally conservative side) But here is the thing, if I am a Christian the love I have for other people trumps any conversation about money, period. Jesus talks more about money than anything else in the Bible and basically it all comes down to one thing; give it away! You see Jesus knows that money (things, wealth, the desire for wealth, etc) has replaced God in our world. We put money at the top of everything, even above God. You can't even talk about money in church (despite the fact that Jesus did it all the time). Money provides us with safety, food, housing, security, and comfort. But isn't God the provider of everything? Do you see how money quickly replaces God in our lives. All we need is a little more money and we will be happy and yet we never are. It's always a little more, just a little more. Jesus knows that at the end of the day, money is not going to save us.

So if money can't be my top priority then what? Well, LOVE! So while there are things I like about Trump, as a Christian, those things I do like don't matter or take a back seat to the top priority. The only thing that does matter is the love we have for our neighbors. The love we have for the stranger who is different than us. The love we have for the person who scares us and how we respond to hate with love.

I know that our options are not great right now, but that does not mean that we followers of Christ can't change the way we process our votes and prioritize what is important. I believe the most important thing to look for in any person whether it is someone running for political office or just a friend is, "How do they love?" No one is going to get it right all the time. No one is going to be perfect at it, but are they trying the best they can to love ALL the people around them like Jesus and is this what they find to be the most important thing in their lives? We have thousands of years of history that has demonstrated to us how putting money first and love later works and the results are there are still wars, there is still crime, there is still poverty, hunger, famine, lack of water, and so much more. We have one example of pure love in history and it won. Jesus died and was not kept down, he rose from the dead. Love conquered even death.

So I wonder what it would look like if we tried that instead. The truth is, you can't actually follow Christ unless you love. The definition of follow is to copy or imitate so if you are actually a follower of Christ you HAVE to love. If you are not loving you are not copying Jesus. That is the only way you can actually claim that title. And because of this I cannot vote for Donald Trump. I have not seen him love like Christ. I try very hard to be a follower of Christ, even though I fail often. I don't know who I am going to vote for yet but I do know how I am going to decide. I am going to see who tries the hardest to love like Christ. In the end, if they can attempt to love like Christ all of the other policies and decisions will follow.