Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?
Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?
By Terry James
There continues to be much turbulence stirred within the American government and America in general. I’ve written a number of times here that I believe God Himself intervened in the 2016 presidential election. He, I’m convinced, answered the prayers of the people called by His name–Christians. He turned the American ship of state around–or at least began that process of steering in a better direction.
Donald J. Trump, a man who was and continues to be far from a godly man, in my view, was nonetheless chosen by the Almighty to head the project to at least slow if not completely halt globalism’s takeover of the United States.
Globalism, I believe, is the conveyance Satan intends to use to take America down the pathway to the eventual installation of his man of sin, Antichrist. That intention has been greatly slowed with the election of Mr. Trump, and the fallen one isn’t happy. The uproar amongst his many minions, both demonic and human, is witness that gives testimony to Lucifer’s enragement.
Donald Trump is God’s man of the hour, even though not a godly man. In that regard, I support God’s decision totally, as anyone who reads these commentaries knows. I continue to believe that if the other candidate had won the election, the effects, especially for those of us who value American ideals as founded and who believe that God’s Word, the Bible, is truth, would have been terrible.
One day, perhaps soon, the U.S. and the world will experience those feared results of losing such elections. For now, however, there is a Heaven-sent reprieve and we must support godliness and a movement back toward God’s way, rather than continue on the path to destruction.
This is why I–we as Christians–must call out ungodliness when it pops up its ugly head, no matter where it does so.
That brings me to the title of this article “Mr. President–Cursing or Blessing?”
The turbulence I mentioned at the outset was full-blown in the White House the week of July 14. It was no doubt stirred and fanned by the breath of the old serpent, the devil. The winds of inter-White House turf war continued this week just past.
President Trump, always one to keep the mainstream media–and the rest of us as well–off-balance with his actions and tweets, did so in his own inimitable fashion. He removed his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, and replaced him with Ret. General John Kelly. But, it wasn’t that cut and dried.
Mixed in with the shake-up of White House staff was the matter of the desire–the absolute necessity, in my view–to get rid of the so-called leakers. These holdover personnel from the previous administration were wreaking havoc on the president’s efforts to move forward with his agenda.
Sean Spicer, the communications director was also let go. In his place came one Anthony Scaramucci. We know now that this mouthpiece seems to have no boundaries on usage of language. And that is what inspired this commentary.
Mr. Scaramucci, chosen by the president to clean out the leakers, began his new job by talking with a reporter of The New Yorker–the hip New York City magazine that looks down on the rest of us as most generally just not with it.
The president’s new man in the communication director’s seat indeed began to communicate. He did so in a cursing rant he thought was, but in actuality was not, “off the record.” It was so bad that it apparently caused Chris Wallace of Fox News to blush when he read it.
Wallace said, “I’m no choirboy, but his [Scaramucci’s] language took even me aback.”
It was anger, framed in sewer language, whether real or feigned for impact, that to this point we hadn’t had a close associate of a sitting president use. I’m no choirboy, either, having grown up amongst my male peers as a youngster in junior high school, high school, university, and even the U.S. military. The report of Scaramucci’s vulgar tirade made me feel uneasy. I don’t like one so closely associated with my president using such ungodly language. It somehow dirties–sullies the office.
Of course, I realize that this president sometimes uses less than godly language himself. I don’t like that, either. This I say for those of you who were about to ask “Well, how about Trump’s language?”
When I first heard the report of Anthony Scaramucci spewing forth as he did, my mind began searching for words I once heard reported as spoken by our first president on use of vile language.
I soon found the quote. It was George Washington, then the head general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, issuing a written command. That command said the following:
The General is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a fashion; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it. (Source: George Washington, Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York [3 August 1770]; reported in American Masonic Register and Literary Companion, Volume 1 [1829])
We have, of course, become a profane nation in ways that would make our first president wonder, no doubt, how the Lord of Heaven could let us proceed farther as a country. As much as I back Donald J. Trump and his much-beleaguered presidency, I must ask the question: Mr. President–cursing or blessing?
How can we expect the continued blessings of the Almighty when we allow such cesspool thinking and expression as Mr. Scaramucci used, representing a president of the United States, therefore representing us?
Anthony Scaramucci might be a tough, New York guy who uses street language to get things done. He did not have the right to use such while in an office that represents the rest of us, many of whom still prefer a more godly means of expression.
It is good that another general of excellent reputation, General John Kelly, evidently, according to reports, feels the same way. Scaramucci’s vulgar tirade to the New Yorker, in concert with his demand to be allowed to bypass the new chief of staff, General Kelly, was asked to leave the communications position he had occupied for only ten days.
Wise decision, Mr. President. Please consider the following in regard to your own language.
God’s Word says the following in use of language for the Christian–a tremendous number of those who voted for you:
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4: 29)
Even more to the point, James put it this way:
But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. (James 4: 8-15)
–Terry