The Founding Fathers & Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill"

When I first officially joined my church, my pastor had a talk with the new members in which he stressed that he was "fireable." He reminded us he was accountable to the elders of our church, who held the right to remove him from the position of lead pastor if such a thing should become necessary. My pastor's embracing of this is, to me, among the traits of a true leader. 

President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" includes a provision that would make it impossible to charge a president or vice-president with contempt of court when defying a judge's ruling. This would render court decisions mere suggestions. 

In our debates and musings on "what the Founding Fathers would do," none of us can reconcile those men's vision of government with the intention of Donald Trump to be immune and independent of court rulings. He has declared himself above the law, and his executive power to be free from the checks and balances that made our system of government so unique in its inception. 

And, on a more philosophical note, the provision in this bill - which soon heads to the Senate - finds the president declaring himself accountable to no one, his decisions free from resistance, his views and agendas exempt from the principles of basic American government. This provision is Trump's conscious effort to render himself untouchable, and clothe himself in far more power than he already has.

If we support this kind of autocratic action, we no longer have a right to invoke the ideals of America's Founding Fathers in our sociopolitical sermons. 

A Note on Forgiveness & Consequences

Without going into details, I'm currently in a situation where I'm dealing with the consequences of hurting someone.

(Not like, legal consequences or anything, just like...spiritual, emotional ramifications.) 

The pain and sadness that's come with this have been a good reminder to share this message with fellow Christians: God will forgive you, but He's not obligated to bubble-wrap you from the consequences of your sins. Under the New Covenant we're free from being condemned to eternity without God for our sins. But this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, figuratively or literally.

If you commit a crime, God is faithful to forgive you when you repent, but the state will rightfully prosecute you.

There are even still consequences when the person(s) you've wronged has forgiven you. Consider someone who's been hit in the face with a cinder block (no, this was not my offense) - Christ has paid the penalty for that sin on the cross, but the face of the victim will take a long time to heal. Their forgiveness won't make their wounds any less painful or sensitive to the touch, any less swollen or blue. And their forgiveness certainly doesn't obligate them to trust you again, immediately or maybe ever.  

Let us strive to live under God's grace rather than trample upon it.