Dear President Trump,

I want you to know that some of us Democrats love you very much. While some are working on it, others strongly disagree with your policies and do not love you at all. I am trying to help them see the value in loving you, even as someone they view as opposing their beliefs. Though I, too, disagree with many of your policies, I recognize that you are acting according to what you believe is best for the country.

That said, I am concerned about the biblical consequences of your policies. In a democracy, people live by different moral standards, but Evangelicals believe we should all follow biblical principles. When two of Christ’s followers asked if they should bring fire down on those who were not following him, he simply replied, “no”. And thus began the hope for democracy. Many Democrats use a different framework and may not see their actions as sinful. However, from an Evangelical perspective, morality is central to the challenges our nation faces.

Evangelicals often compare America’s moral decline to Sodom and Gomorrah, believing that God is punishing Democrats for it. Yet in Revelation, Christ was crucified in a city spiritually called Sodom. Does this mean he preached against their immorality, or did he try to teach them about loving their enemies—just as he did in Jerusalem?

Jesus chose the company of a prostitute over that of the religious leaders of his time. He believed their lack of love for her was a greater sin than her prostitution. When he told another woman in a similar situation to “go and sin no more,” he acknowledged that her behavior needed to change, but he also recognized that her heart was already full of love.

By Jesus’s standard, those who feed and clothe “the least among us”, believers in him or not, will enter the kingdom of heaven. The “least” does not refer merely to the poor, but also to our enemies—for he taught that there is great reward in loving our enemies, surely including entrance into the kingdom. If we fail to do so, he taught that we are headed for destruction.

Mr. President, my concern is that if you do not love your enemies, the consequences of punishing the Democrats will be serious. Even if you believe you are acting as God’s instrument of judgment, the same standard will be applied to you if you do not love them. One cannot punish and love at the same time unless the effort has first been made to teach them how to love their enemies, to give them hope that they can stop hating others.

As someone who loves you very much, I pray that God finds you loving your enemies. Please reconsider your approach. Love your enemies—the Democrats—and teach both them and the Republicans to love each other. When love leads the way, our moral differences will be easier to resolve, for love does no harm.

Sincerely,

A Democrat

Can we save our democracy?