by Tim Isbell, March 2026
A week or two ago, President Trump led the US to attack Iran. A friend sent me an email that led to this question: "Is it possible that if we succeed in dumping Trump and Trumpism, we may eventually look back positively on some of his warmongering?"
I wrote my friend an email response based on a Digest I was writing based on Psalm 130 for the lectionary reading set for Year A, 5 Lent. I was somewhat proud of my work, so I sent a copy to my wife, who responded, "Yes, but you didn't answer your friend's question." That led to another email, based on the paragraphs below:
Robin reminded me that we live in a world where good decisions or actions sometimes have unintended, bad consequences, and bad decisions or actions sometimes have unintended, good consequences.
I think she's right, and I also think God knew so at the very beginning. We see it in the first few chapters of Genesis. A good God created a good creation. I don't think the fall into sin was due to evil in God's heart or His error in judgment; I think it was what it was (and is what it is) because these mixed consequences somehow play a part in God's path to His future New Kingdom. The world we live in is a work in progress. I suspect the way the world works has something to do with the free will built into humans and God's ultimate desire for us to submit our wills to His. Heaven seems built on that premise.
As we think about such things, it's good to presume that God himself has never sinned and never will. His intentions for his Creation are all good. And that these are The Characteristics of God. If I didn't believe these are accurate, I couldn't trust God either. Long ago, I put my trust in this statement: God is in control, despite all appearances to the contrary. That is what I believe, that is what I have seen, and that is what I have to offer the world.