If You Think Trump is Bad, Meet This Guy

You may like or dislike President Trump, praise or protest his policies, or support or seek to derail his political career. Our current president of the United States has his share of flaws and egregious behavior, but he is not the enemy. Trump may be vulgar at times, but he is not the villain. He may antagonize, but he is not the accuser. You may disagree with him, but he is not our deceiver.

Our most important fight is against the being we know as Beelzebub, Satan, or Lucifer.

In Genesis, Satan took the form of a serpent and pushed Adam and Eve to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. Consider this: This sinister being is singularly responsible for bringing sin into the world. I can't think of a worse enemy than that—can you?

He also destroyed Job's life, led King David to disobey God, and attempted to steal God's throne (Job 1:6-2:8, 1 Chron 21:1, Is 14:13). In the NT, he's known as the devil (the Greek translation of Satan). By him, Jesus was tempted in the desert, Judas was led astray, and Paul was given a thorn (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 22:2, Cor 12:7).

Satan hated them, and he hates you.

The Devil is the Epitome of Evil

His nature is pure wickedness. As Graham Cooke says, "He is malevolent. He's not ambivalent in how much he hates you." That is why John 10:10 states, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." Read that again, Satan's mission is only to destroy everything you love in this world. Political leaders don't have that power.

We generally find a mix of laudable and lowly traits in politicians and always need to push back on them, whatever your political flavor. They need to be held accountable. But the Bible is clear that the Number One person you need to be on guard against is Satan.

1 Peter 5:8 states, "Be of sober Spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." Or, think of Satan as like a Bad Santa because "He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you're awake," and he knows how and when to tempt you. A man with wispy hair and a European-born wife will never have that power. Fear the former; pray for the latter.

Spiritual Armor is Made for Spiritual Battles

Satan's mission is to devour your relationships, destroy your ministries, attack you with disgusting thoughts, and overwhelm you with fear. He has nothing but hatred and hostility for you, and there is not an iota of good in him.

We don't fight our adversary with political action, civil discourse, or telekinetic powers. Spiritual fights require spiritual weapons. As Ephesians 6:12-18 states:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..." (ESV).

This military accouterment wasn't designed for us to fight Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Putin, Xi, or Donald Trump, or any person on earth. Our armament is spiritual, and it's meant to battle the diabolical. It doesn't matter whether you picket the president or lionize the current leader in the USA; the question is, are you fighting the critical battle on your knees?

Prayer is our first weapon. That's why Jesus taught us to pray, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matt 6:13). Certainly, this applies to us today.

The Prophet Daniel prayed with longsuffering but didn't receive an answer. Heaven was peeled back in Daniel Chapter 10, and we get to see the real battle taking place (vv. 12-14).

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

This is your primary battle—angels against demons. Light against darkness. Heaven against hell. The purest good toe-to-toe with the purest evil. Not Republicans vs. Democrats vs. Independents.

The most important battles are won with prayer. Have you heard the phrase "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?" Likewise, don't bring a social media post or a picket sign to a battle that's won only by spiritual weapons. Words are cheap, prayer is costly. Prayer makes you humble.

I'm all for making our diverse voices heard, but the most deadly weapons for change include the sword of the Spirit, the belt of truth, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith, and shoes carrying the gospel of peace.

We Fight From a Place of Victory

Evil also originates through our own sinful choices, and many leaders have been under an evil spiritual spell. Hitler murdered six million Jews and millions of others. Stalin directly executed at least two million Russians, but his death toll was more like ten or twenty million. Pol Pot executed about a quarter of the Cambodian population at the time, or about 2 million souls.

Yet every battle is always a spiritual one first. And we fight from a place of spiritual victory. Colossians 2:14-15 describes how Jesus canceled our debt, "nailing it to the cross," and how "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." Ultimately, "the great dragon" will be "thrown down," but we must deal with his evil schemes until the final Judgment Day (Rev 12:9).

Our hope is Christ, and not a political leader, whether you love the current president or not. God's reign, increasingly on earth, is our only hope. That is why Jesus tells us to pray, "Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Rest is our weapon, praise is our power, peace is our protector, and the Cross is our crossbow.

Start with the Biggest Bully

When I watch MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) on TV, several different matches are scheduled for each event. The importance of the matches increases with each one: The first fights pit lower-ranked fighters against each other, then higher-ranked fighters, and the last fight of the night features the championship matches.

As Christians, we need to do the opposite: Start from the top and work our way down. It's God's plan for you to begin battling the biggest, baddest dude in prayer—you know, the one who hates your guts and wants to end you at all costs. After that, you can work your way backward.

The vast majority of leaders, even the ones you loathe, are not the Prince of Darkness. Politicians are neither deities nor demons. Most are fallen people trying to do their best, but their motivations are divided between doing what's right for the citizens and special-interest groups and staying in power.

Just as Trump isn't our primary enemy, he isn't our Savior either. It's tempting to change our society through politics first before changing the spiritual atmosphere. Keep the Lord first in your life and worship and trust in Him only. Love him with an even bigger love than the scorn you have for Satan.

Make the Spiritual, Practical

Indeed, God loves it when we make our faith practical. He smiles when we fight to pass laws to prevent business titans like BlackRock from buying and selling single-family homes. The Lord agrees with our advocacy for better support for families with foster care or for more funding for homeless shelters. Where is God? He's with the least of these.

In my circle, I bring awareness to what God is doing amongst the Iranians in Europe and teach how Iran is crying out for democracy. These are the real battles we must fight on earth. The Iranians chant "Death to Khamenei," the current leader, but I want to show not only who ultimately detests them, but who infinitely loves them.

Whatever your cause or causes are, work for that good, but be sure to make fisticuffs with the Prince of Darkness a priority. Start each day by putting on the spiritual armor of God in prayer. As Henry Nouwen states, "The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it."

Here's a good litmus test for your spiritual life? Who do you hate? If the devil isn't at the top of your list, something is awry in your spiritual life. Regardless of who is in charge of your country and who you voted for, as Followers of Jesus, we are commanded by Scripture to pray for our leaders (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Unless you want to follow a different book.

As you practically bring God's Kingdom to earth, don your spiritual armor each day to win over your one true enemy. Don't lower your soul in focusing on a lesser foe. But the King has your back. He's already beaten the enemy, though we may not see it yet. Could you keep the main fight the main fight?