Trump is asking for our vote, not our blessing

I write this because I'm somewhat disturbed that there are still conscientious Christians out there who won't vote for Donald Trump even though they know Hillary Clinton is a far less palatable choice for their values and beliefs.

My simple message is this: Trump is asking for your vote, not your blessing.

Our president is not our priest or pastor: the role of the office is principally temporal and of the material order, with spirituality a guiding light, for sure, but not the overriding concern that dictates what can or should be done down to the minutiae of each decision or act.

In an ideal world - definitely not the sin-tainted one on this side of the last judgment - we won't have to bother with characters like Trump because there won't be any dangers or challenges that require the style and flexibility of leadership that more often than not comes in a less-than-exemplary moral package.

Consider our military. We wouldn't even need one if we had no enemies with the capability and/or intent to harm us. But the fact is there are, and while it's always a worthy cause to negotiate for lasting peace where possible, in the meantime we need plenty of head-bashers and a**-kickers. You have to be alive to even have the chance to do a deal; and the stronger your physical position vis-à-vis your adversary, ironically the more you can achieve without resorting to additional violence.

We don't expect our troops - especially our best men and women who bear the brunt of the fighting - to be such nice guys and gals, do we? I sure hope not!

And ultimately that's what the presidency is: commander-in-chief. As St. Paul would say, there's a reason that human authority is symbolized by a sword - of course it so happens that the one wielding it is less than likely to be a great example of loving your enemy, but in a world full of sin it's a compromise that God is perfectly willing to allow.

We want a commander-in-chief who can actually do very difficult things and get those under him to actually do difficult things, too. What we don't want is a flabby moralist who, under the guise of being "enlightened" and "open-minded", is just another pansy terrified of political incorrectness and bad poll numbers.

So in conclusion, my fellow Christians still reserved about or downright hostile to Trump: just ask yourself what your vote actually means - what the presidency itself actually is. In the end, if you're crystal-clear about what it is you're actually granting to the candidate you vote for - and what you're not - your conscience shouldn't bother you at all at night.