FAITH WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A BRANDING STRATEGY

I can’t help but think about Matthew 21 whenever I hear that Donald Trump is selling Bibles. The image is jarring — faith being packaged and marketed like a product, tied to political identity. In that moment, I imagine Jesus walking into the temple courts during Passover, where pilgrims were crowded around money changers and animal sellers, trying to navigate the transactional demands of worship. The place meant for prayer and connection with God had become a marketplace. Jesus’ response was immediate and uncompromising: he overturned the tables and declared, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.” Worship was never meant to be commodified, and faith was never meant to be leveraged for personal gain or political branding.

This idea is reinforced in John 13:35, where Jesus told his disciples that everyone would know them by their love. Not by what they sold, promoted, or posed with, but by the tangible, active love they extended to others. Faith is not a symbol to display. It is an action to live.

This truth becomes even more vivid in Matthew 25:35–40, where Jesus describes what faithfulness looks like in the real world. He talks about hunger, thirst, strangers needing welcome, people lacking clothing, those who are sick, and those imprisoned. These were immediate, life-or-death realities in first-century Judea. Hunger was constant. Water was precious and scarce. Travelers relied on hospitality to survive. Clothing was not guaranteed, illness often led to social isolation, and imprisonment stripped people of almost everything. To follow Jesus meant entering into these realities, seeing the suffering, and acting to alleviate it.

Modern leaders give us concrete examples of what this looks like when faith is lived. George W. Bush launched PEPFAR in 2003, saving over 25 million lives by funding HIV/AIDS treatment around the globe. Jimmy Carter has spent decades building homes with Habitat for Humanity, restoring dignity and stability for thousands of families. Barack Obama expanded health coverage for over 20 million Americans through the Affordable Care Act and strengthened nutrition programs that fed millions during economic downturns. Even infrastructure projects like federal clean water and lead pipe removal reflect the same principle: meeting human need in practical, measurable ways. This is faith expressed through action, not slogans.

Then consider the contrast. In 2025 and 2026, policies implemented by Trump and many MAGA-aligned leaders show the consequences when faith is treated as a marketing tool rather than lived as mercy. Asylum hearings are being canceled or fast-tracked for denials, leaving vulnerable people without due process. Refugees with pending court cases face detention, and some are deported to third countries without notice. Hundreds of thousands are stuck in legal limbo, and ICE agents have made arrests of people who are already under active protections. Policies like these actively hinder the ability of people to survive and thrive. They stand in stark contrast to the call to “welcome the stranger” and “care for the least of these.”

At the same time, Trump’s sale of “God Bless the USA” Bibles demonstrates a clear shift from substance to brand. Faith becomes a commodity, and loyalty to a political identity is elevated above the tangible care of those in need. Even criminal convictions, admissions of sexual assault, avoidance of taxes, and other transgressions have not diminished the political influence of this brand. Faith is no longer about living mercifully; it is about signaling allegiance, performing identity, and selling an image.

Scripture repeatedly draws this distinction. Matthew 21 warns against turning sacred things into profit. John 13 tells us love is the defining marker of discipleship. Matthew 25 measures faithfulness by how we feed, clothe, welcome, heal, and visit. Jesus did not measure devotion by who held a Bible or who waved a flag. He measured it by how deeply people entered into the lives of those in need and alleviated suffering.

Holding a Bible in your hand does not make you a disciple. Selling one does not make you righteous. Living faith means extending mercy even when it is inconvenient, difficult, or costly. It means feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, and standing with the imprisoned. It means turning our actions toward others rather than turning sacred things into products.

As Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for Me.” The question is not who is holding a Bible. The question is who is living it.

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Christian Nationalism Isn’t Christian—or Patriotic

Christian nationalism sounds comforting to some people. It wraps faith and country together and promises order, morality, and safety. But when you slow down and really look at it—through the Bible and through American history—it quietly falls apart. Not because people are evil, but because the idea itself misunderstands both Christianity and patriotism.

Christianity begins with Jesus, so His words matter most. When Jesus stood before a Roman governor—facing trial, punishment, and death—He was asked about His authority. This would have been the moment to claim political power if that had ever been His plan. Instead, Jesus said plainly, “My kingdom is not of this world.” He didn’t say His kingdom wasn’t important. He said it wasn’t built through governments, armies, or laws. Jesus rejected the idea that faith could be spread by force or protected by power. His kingdom worked differently.

Throughout the Bible, faith is always presented as a choice. God does not force belief. He invites it. People are told to choose whom they will serve, to be convinced in their own minds, to follow only if they are willing. That matters, because belief that is forced isn’t belief at all—it’s compliance. You can make someone follow rules, but you cannot make them love God. The moment faith is enforced by law, it stops being faith and becomes performance.

The Bible also draws a clear line between God and government. Jesus told people to give the government what belongs to the government and give God what belongs to God. That wasn’t a loophole—it was a boundary. Scripture even warns what happens when people try to turn faith into political control. When Israel demanded a king to rule them “like other nations,” God said they weren’t just rejecting a system—they were rejecting Him. Power has a way of replacing trust.

Real Christian character doesn’t come from laws anyway. The Bible says God looks at the heart, not appearances. Love, patience, kindness, and self-control—what Scripture calls the fruit of the Spirit—can’t be legislated. They grow from inner transformation. You can outlaw certain behaviors, but you cannot create virtue by force. That kind of change only comes from the Spirit, not from political strength.

Jesus was especially critical of religious leaders who used power to control others. He warned against piling rules on people without compassion and against religion that looks holy but has no real life in it. When faith becomes about dominance instead of love, it loses its purpose. Jesus said people would recognize His followers by love—not by political wins, not by national identity, and not by who holds power.

That’s why tying Christianity to government authority doesn’t just distort faith—it damages it.

But Christian nationalism also fails the test of patriotism.

Biblical patriotism is about seeking the good of the whole community. It’s about praying for the place you live, respecting the law, and caring for neighbors—regardless of what they believe. A healthy nation protects freedom of conscience so belief can be genuine. When the government favors one religion, freedom shrinks, trust erodes, and faith becomes something people fear instead of choose.

America’s founders understood this clearly. They didn’t all agree on theology, but they strongly agreed on one thing: religion must be protected from government power, and government must be protected from religious control. James Madison said religion is outside the authority of civil society. Thomas Jefferson believed it did no harm for a neighbor to believe differently—or not believe at all. John Adams stated plainly that the United States was not founded as a Christian nation. Benjamin Franklin warned that any religion that needs government help to survive has already lost its strength. George Washington affirmed that freedom of conscience is a natural human right.

These weren’t anti-Christian ideas. They were pro-freedom ideas—because the founders knew faith grows best when it is free.

Christian nationalism claims to defend Christianity, but it ignores Christ’s own words. It claims to defend America, but it rejects the principles the nation was built on. It confuses control with faith and power with virtue.

Christianity doesn’t need a government to be real.

Patriotism doesn’t require one religion to dominate.

Faith is strongest when it is chosen.

A nation is healthiest when conscience is protected.

Mixing the two weakens both.

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