Revenge is not a Christian practice

Revenge is not a Christian practice

“Vengeance is mine” saith Lord Trump. When your gospel is “Get even,” you have nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity.

President Donald Trump lives for vengeance. President Trump’s second term has the feel of a Shakespearean revenge tragedy like Hamlet and Richard III. Or for our television saturated culture, House of Cards. Since his return to office, his purpose has been dubbed, “The Revenge Tour.”

There’s no amount of Calvinistic predestination, Wesleyan free grace or Pentecostal tongue speaking capable of making “revenge” a Christian state of mind.

Yet participation in revenge doesn’t seem to bother MAGA evangelicals. This seems strange because the Hebrew and Christian scriptures consider revenge more of a threat to following Jesus than lust.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says clearly, “If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also” (Matthew 5:39). “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Paul insists in Romans 12, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves.” Indeed, he says, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink, for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Revenge is a timely topic. Mr. Trump has pressured the Justice Department to seek vengeance on all his alleged political and personal enemies. His revenge soaked mind has even made him fearful of late night comedians such as Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. And MAGA evangelicals follow the chief of revenge to the very gates of hell.

America has taken the wrong road by turning right on “Revenge Boulevard.” Millions of Americans have ignored the “NO RIGHT TURN” sign at the intersection of “Democracy Road” and Revenge Boulevard. The writer of Proverbs repeatedly warns us not to follow “men whose speech is twisted …. Whose paths are tortuous, whose tracks are labyrinthine” (Proverbs 2:12, 15). The man of revenge “tracks towards the dark side” and his “house inclines toward death” (Proverbs 2:18).

His MAGA evangelical followers don’t care how much Trump flaunts his insatiable desires for revenge. Instead they revel in Trump’s revenge as if it’s their personal moment of getting even.” As Trump promised his followers, “For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.”

I am convinced MAGA embraces Trump because he has freed them from the shame of a civic morality bathed in diversity and equality. Tired of being shamed by feminists, gay rights activists and community organizers, MAGA rushed to the false promises of Trump that he would take away their shame and replace it with pride.

All of MAGA feels wronged and betrayed. Therefore, Trump’s revenge is actually justice. We have seen this pattern from the beginning of Trump’s presidency. In 2016, political pundits thought Trump’s lies would end his chance of being president. It turned out the lies didn’t matter. MAGA heard Trump’s lies as truth.

This gave Trump a sense of invulnerability. If lies are truth, then revenge can be justice. Trump spoke a large truth about himself: ‘I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them..”

Revenge has become the dominant policy of Trump’s administration. Not the war with Iran. Not inflation. Not the midterm election. Trump would sacrifice his majority in both houses to have his revenge.

MAGA lacks patience with political realities. Not for them the political philosophy of John Locke: “Tyranny is the exercise of power beyond right, which nobody can have a right to. And this is making use of the power not for the good of those who are under it, but for his own private, separate advantage. When the governor, however entitled, makes not the law, but his will, the rule, and his commands, and actions are not directed to the preservation of the properties of his people, but the satisfaction of his own ambition, revenge, covetousness, or any other irregular passion.”

MAGA shares Trump’s revenge lust. They like watching Trump bring down those he despises. Mark Andrejevic has noted Trump’s “jouissance” – which provides a kind of pleasure in revenge shared with MAGA.

According to Reuters, the targets of Trump’s revenge include

Federal officials                                                     269
Former government officials                             104
Law firms                                                                     29
State and local officials                                           11
Universities                                                                 10
Media                                                                               9
*Data includes those singled out publicly for retribution and others targeted in sweeping purges of those perceived as enemies or disloyal. And this doesn’t count the garden variety attempts of Trump to get even for personal slights.

Revenge has become the dish best served over prayer by MAGA evangelical preachers. When  power is centralized at the top, as it is now, the state hangs on the fragile feelings of Mr. Trump,—insecurity, jealousy, deceit, revenge, and ambition— we face historical reality – the inevitable downfall of dynasties. Every empire falls. America will too. We might be watching and applauding it without knowing.