Many distractions in this life lead a person away from their true path. Even as I put these words together, I think about everything that has nothing to do with my writing. I’m thinking about my career and need to find a job that will get me out of constant underemployment. I find myself looking around the café where I write. I watch others talk, wondering about their lives and why they seem to have understood something that I haven’t.

Sometimes I think about my history of making bad decisions historically. I think about my bills, my kids, my past partners, my family, and sometimes I just generally feel sorry for myself. Meanwhile, good work must be done. God’s work must be done. Yet the distractions and temptations of this world keep me far from the ministry and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Nathaniel Manderson

As I reflect on the temptations in my own life, I realize that today’s evangelical leaders have fallen prey to the temptations offered by Donald Trump. More importantly, these temptations are eerily similar to the temptations that the Devil offered Jesus Christ before Jesus began his ministry.

For those who don’t know this story, According to the Bible, before Jesus began his ministry, there was a time when he went into the wilderness to fast and prepare to do his work. At that time, the Devil came to Jesus to offer the same three temptations that lead everyone away from their true path. These are also the same temptations that Trump has offered to the evangelical movement.

The difference is that – unlike Jesus – the evangelical movement has chosen to follow Trump as he leads them further away from God and closer to the path laid out by the Devil himself.

The first temptation was an offering of bread to Christ, who would then have been starving. Christ’s response was that man does not live by bread alone.

I admit that having more money and more bread is as much a part of me as anyone else. I want to give my daughters more, and every time I have to explain to them why I can’t afford this or that, it breaks my heart. And yet, the pursuit of money has the potential to distance me from my true calling as a teacher and counselor.

Trump offered the evangelical Church a lot of bread, cheaper bread, more money and the opportunity to live like Trump. A few invitations to Mar-a-Lago, a few trips on the Trump plane, continued tax breaks, and an economy that primarily benefits already very wealthy evangelical ministers.

In all areas of life, when big money becomes the end goal, services deteriorate, art suffers, truth is distorted, and the Church is no different.

Moreover, evangelical leaders are terrified by this message. They twist themselves in theological knots, teaching and preaching that it’s okay to become a millionaire and be a minister. I don’t know if that’s the case or not, but I do know that there was a specific message that the temptation to greed harms the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ.

“Trump offered these evangelicals a bag of cash and these leaders will do anything to get their hands on it.”

Suddenly paying living wages to the working class, providing opportunities to the disadvantaged in America, or welcoming foreigners are evil, and giving tax breaks to billionaires becomes the foundation of the Christian faith. Trump offered these evangelicals a bag of cash and these leaders will do anything to get their hands on it.

The Devil’s Second Temptation is protection and security. Christ’s response was not to put the Lord God to the test.

This is an interesting temptation that we find in life. The desire for comfort, security, and protection is something that most people think about a lot. Throughout my career, I have longed for job protection, but have found it difficult when you are committed to telling the truth. Diplomacy has never been my strong point and my career has long been a struggle. I wish that wasn’t the case, but it proved to me that sometimes job security becomes more important to people than job integrity. I see it in the evangelical support of Donald Trump.

Trump’s inclination towards protection and security is clear. He talks about it all the time. He will protect Christians from the evil forces of the liberal movement. The left is attacking your guns, your ability to speak publicly about your Christian faith, and your children themselves are in danger of conversation from the great virus of the woke mob.

Fear not, evangelicals, Trump will protect you.

The problem with this message, besides it coming from the devil, is that there was never a promise of safety when one followed the teachings of Jesus Christ. The promise belongs to the disciple to serve, to love his enemies, to heal the sick, to minister to the poor, and to love those in prison. That’s hard to do when someone is at home on their couch and only cares about the rights of those who agree with them.

“Jesus Christ did not live a safe life, a protected life, or a comfortable life. »

Jesus Christ did not live a safe, protected, or comfortable life. These comforts of protection and security would have been a false temptation that would have thrown him off course, just as Trump’s security temptations have thrown evangelical leadership off course.

Satan’s final temptation is the most obvious. The Devil offers Christ all the power in the world. All Christ has to do is submit to the authority of the Devil.

I barely need to write this section because the truth is stronger than anything I can express in words. Typically, people support politicians based on their personal interests. I’m no different. My fight for first-generation, working-class students has been at the heart of everyone I vote for. I am not looking for power per se but more opportunities for the people I love. The idea of ​​having more power and influence in this area is naturally a temptation within me, but perhaps it could further pull me away from my calling to be on the front lines of this work.

Power corrupts, as it did with the evangelical support of Donald Trump.

Don’t pick on Robert Jeffress, but no one embodies the collapse of this temptation better than him. This man loves the power of the White House and the power that Trump has provided him with. Pastor Jeffress will create all the theology he needs to bring Trump back to the White House.

I often listen to this guy on the radio. He is a very good speaker. As good as it gets. In a story he shared, he explained how he managed to charm himself into the Oval Office during a school trip when he was a teenager. Since then, he’s been doing everything he can to get back into that office.

“The temptation of power prevents a person of faith from supporting the opportunities of all those they claim to help. »

All Pastor Jeffress had to do was submit to the authority of Donald Trump. The temptation of power prevents a person of faith from supporting the opportunities of all those they claim to help. Once these ministers have tasted this power, nothing else can satisfy them.

My recent job is as a hospice chaplain. It’s a job that connects with a person on a very deep level. Every day I am faced with families trying to say goodbye to a loved one and a person trying to say goodbye to life.

This is not as peaceful a transition as many might believe. There is great anxiety, loss of control, anger. What I have discovered is that for people of faith, those who have succeeded, those who have failed, those who have done things right and those who have done everything wrong, death comes regardless. Their lives up to this point rarely matter.

These last few days have been difficult and sad. The comfort of this world has left them. Electricity, security and money are all gone. In the end, these are just meaningless activities. These pursuits lead a person away from their true path. They affect relationships, careers, art, writing, politics and faith.

I find that the teachings of Christ and the teachings of the evangelical Church go in opposite directions. The evangelical Church is moving closer to the Devil and the temptations of Donald Trump and further away from a man who served the poor, healed the sick, loved his neighbor and taught his followers to do the same.

American evangelicals have stopped listening to Christ, which means they are currently listening to the Devil.

Nathaniel Manderson was educated in a conservative seminary, trained as a minister, ordained by the American Baptist Churches USA, and guided by liberal ideals. Throughout his career, he has been a pastor, guidance counselor, school counselor, high school teacher, and advocate for first-generation and low-income students, as well as a paper deliveryman, construction worker, package handler, and all what he could do to take care of his family.

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