Many distractions in this life can distract a person from his true path. Even as I put these words together, I’m thinking of everything that has nothing to do with what I’m writing. I am thinking about my career and need to find a job that will save me from constant underemployment. I find myself looking at the cafe where I write. I watch others talk. I wonder about their lives and why they seem to have figured out something I don’t. Sometimes my mind wanders back to my past where I have historically made bad decisions. I think about my bills, my kids, my ex-partners, my family, and just generally all the things I feel sorry for myself for. In the meantime, good work needs to be done. In my understanding, God’s work needs to be done, but the distractions and temptations of this world keep me away from ministry and God’s teachings. jesus christ.

When I think about the temptations in my own life, I realize that current leadership evangelical church In America—which is my religious background—he fell victim to the temptations presented by religion. Donald Trump. These temptations are eerily similar to the temptations the devil offered Jesus in the desert before Jesus began his ministry.

For those who don’t know this most told story Gospel of LukeJesus goes into the desert to fast for 40 days and prepare for his work. Meanwhile, Satan comes to him and offers the same three temptations that can lead anyone astray from their true path, at least as Christians understand it. These are the same temptations that Trump offers to the evangelical movement; The difference is that the evangelical movement has chosen to follow Trump, who is leading them away from God and closer to the path set by the devil himself.

The first temptation was the offer to turn stones into bread. Jesus would have been starving at the time, but his famous response was that man does not live by bread alone. I must admit that the thought of having more money (more bread, both literally and figuratively) is as powerful for me as it is for anyone else. I want to provide more for my daughters and it breaks my heart when I have to explain to them why I can’t afford something. Yet I also understand that money has the potential to lead me down a dangerous path, away from my true calling as a teacher and counselor.

Trump offered the Evangelical church plenty of bread and the opportunity to live as he wanted. There are invitations to Mar-a-Lago, trips on the Trump plane, tax cuts for the wealthy, and, on a larger scale, an economy built to benefit the wealthiest people in our society, including prominent evangelical ministers. As money becomes the ultimate goal in every aspect of life, society is undermined, art is damaged and facts are distorted. The church is no different. Meanwhile, evangelical leaders are afraid of this message. They tie themselves in theological knots by teaching and preaching that it is okay to be both a millionaire and a preacher of the gospel of Jesus.

I don’t know if it is or not, but I do know that there is a specific message in the gospel about the temptation of greed, and I know that temptation can undermine the teachings of Jesus Christ. One way or another, for many evangelical Christians, paying decent wages to the working class, providing opportunities to the disadvantaged, and welcoming foreigners have become bad things, and giving tax breaks to billionaires has become the foundation of the Christian faith. Trump has offered evangelical leaders nearly unlimited amounts of cash, and those leaders will do anything to get their hands on the money.

Satan’s second temptation is the offer of protection and security. In the gospel he encourages Jesus to jump from the roof of the temple; If he is truly the son of God, his father will surely protect him. Jesus says we should not test the Lord God. This is an interesting temptation we often encounter in life. The desire for comfort, security and protection is almost universal. For example, I have longed for job protection in my career, but that is never guaranteed when you are determined to tell the truth. Diplomacy has never been my strong suit and my working life has been a struggle. I wish it wasn’t like this, but over time it taught me that safety sometimes becomes more important to people than their own integrity.

I see this in the evangelical support of Donald Trump. His offer of protection is open and something he always discusses. He promises to protect Christians from the evil forces of liberalism. He tells them the left is coming for your guns. They will persecute you because of your Christian faith. Your children are in danger of being converted by the “woke” crowd on college campuses, on television, and in big cities. Believing Christians, never fear that Donald Trump will keep you safe.

The problem with this message, other than that it comes from the devil, is that there is no promise of safety for those who choose to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. In fact, it is the follower who risks his own safety by choosing to love his enemies, heal the sick, serve the poor, and love the outcast, imprisoned, or powerless. This is difficult to do under any circumstances, but especially for someone sitting at home on their couch and only concerned about the rights of people who agree with them and think like them.

It should be clear that Jesus Christ did not live a safe life, a sheltered life, or a comfortable life. Just as Trump’s temptations led evangelical leadership away from their true mission, promises of protection and security could lead them astray.

The last temptation offered by Satan and Trump is the most obvious. Satan offers Jesus power over the entire world and all he has to do is kneel before Satan and submit to his authority. I feel like I need to write almost nothing here; The truth of this is greater than anything I can put into words. People often support politicians for what they perceive as their own personal interests. I am no different. My fight for the working class and the first-generation college students I work with and support has been at the center of my politics. I don’t seek power as such, but I certainly do seek more and better opportunities for the population I love. The idea of ​​gaining personal power and greater influence is a natural temptation, but it can still distract me from my true calling on the front lines of this business.

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Power corrupts, as in the case of evangelical support for Donald Trump. priest Robert Jeffress While this is not the only example, no one better represents the corrupting power of this temptation. This man loves the power of the White House and the power Trump gives him. Jeffress will create whatever theological statement he needs to make in his efforts to return Trump to the White House.

I often listen to Jeffress on the radio. He is a good speaker, at least as good in the evangelical field. He likes to tell how he was coaxed into the Oval Office while on a school trip to Washington as a teenager. This may be a more instructive analogy than he realizes, because Jeffress has been doing his best to get back into that office ever since. In fact, all he had to do was submit to Donald Trump’s authority. This temptation, the corrupting power of power, can prevent a person of faith from supporting those he claims to help. Once these ministers get a taste of this power, it is like an addiction. Nothing else can satisfy them.

My last job was as a hospice chaplain, ministering to dying people and their families. This is work that stays with you on a very deep level. Every day I encounter families trying to say goodbye to their loved ones and people trying to say goodbye to life. No matter what many of us want to believe, this is not always a peaceful transition. Sometimes there is great anxiety, loss of control and anger.

What I have learned is a great but simple truth: Death comes for all of us, no matter what. People of faith, successful people, unsuccessful people, people who believe they are doing everything right, and people who are doing almost everything wrong. Their lives before the final stage don’t matter much, and those final days are often difficult and sad. The comforts of this world have left them. Power, security and money are all gone and end up as futile pursuits. These things—the temptations of Trump and the devil—only tend to divert a person from their true path, distorting their relationships, their careers, their family life, their art or writing, their policies and beliefs.

I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of the Evangelical church in America are going in opposite directions. The evangelical church is getting closer to the devil. He capitulated to Donald Trump and moved ever further away from a man who served the poor, healed the sick, loved his neighbors and taught his followers to do the same. Evangelical leaders have stopped listening to Jesus. There is only one more alternative.