A Wolf in Wolf's Clothing
“Your leaders are like wolves who tear apart their victims. They actually destroy people’s lives for money!”[1] I recently came across this scripture and it literally halted me. I immediately thought of the response of our president to COVID-19. The more I meditate on this verse, the truer it seems. How terribly sad.
There’s another scripture in the book of Ezekiel that also stands out. “Again and again you remind me of your sin and your guilt. You don’t even try to hide it! In everything you do, your sins are obvious for all to see.”[2] These verses also made me think of our president, his incessant stream of misbehavior, and the seemingly blind support he enjoys from a large number of evangelical Christians.
A recent video produced by The Lincoln Project interweaves clips of Donald Trump cursing, insulting people, and boasting about shooting someone with breathless endorsements of his faith by evangelical leaders.[3] The video begins by showing a scripture from the book of Matthew that says, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.”[4] After viewing the video, I concluded that our president is not a wolf in sheep’s clothing but rather a wolf in wolf’s clothing. As Ezekiel wrote, again and again he reminds us of his sin and guilt without even trying to hide it.
Our president fondly recites a poem called The Snake when he speaks against immigration. The poem tells the story of a woman who, after taking a sick snake into her home and reviving it is bitten by the snake. The woman asks the snake why he did this as she notes she will surely die. “Oh shut up, silly woman,” replied the reptile with a grin, “You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.”[5]
The irony of Donald Trump reciting this poem is amazing. Tens of millions of people and the Republican party have invited the president into the White House despite full well knowing who and what he is. He is now inflicting unimaginable damage on our democracy, country and world. Even worse, his behavior coupled with the unwavering support he enjoys among a large number of evangelicals has significantly impaired the ability of non-Christians to see who Jesus really is and to hear the Gospel. This is a terrible thing. (For a telling example of the message people are getting, watch the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ2L-R8NgrA.)
I challenge every person who reads this article to ask God to open their eyes to any way they’re being deceived by our political leaders and to take a stand against the pervasive hate, injustice, hypocrisy, and untruth we see in our government.
FOOTNOTES: [1] Ezekiel 22:27, NLT [2] Ezekiel 21:24, NLT [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoglNFN5-Js [4] Matthew 7:15, NLT [5] https://bit.ly/35ZQLHU