Out of the chaos will come clarity.

At least that is my hope. Amidst the incendiary rhetoric, ongoing investigations, incessant legal and ethical crises, accusations, lying, and blaming for all that’s not working, the chaos of Donald Trump’s administration may provide some important clarification for us as a nation.

The Donald will not be the clarifier. He is the catalyst, creating the refining fire of our identity as a nation. We, the American people, will be forced to clarify who we are and who we want to be in the days ahead.

One important clarification for us church-going, Bible-believing folks of West Texas is that America is not a Christian nation. We have never been, but now it is obvious. For just one example, David Brooks of the New York Times quoted a Wall Street Journal article by two of Trump’s top advisors. “The president embarked on his first foreign trip with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a ‘global community’ but an arena where nations, nongovernmental actors and businesses engage and compete for advantage.”

Brooks went on to write, “This sentence is the epitome of the Trump project. It asserts that selfishness is the sole driver of human affairs. It grows out of a worldview that life is a competitive struggle for gain. It implies that cooperative communities are hypocritical covers for the selfish jockeying underneath.”

This is an articulate version of “American First,” a simple political slogan that should be a flashing red light to all Christians.

Of course we are a nation made up predominantly of people who identify as Christian. But those of us who identify as Christian would never vote for a candidate at any level whose platform is the Beatitudes, who promises to “seek first the kingdom of God,” to love our enemies, and to turn the other cheek.

This is not a condemnation of Christianity or of our nation. This is an acknowledgement that frees us to be patriotic citizens who also recognize the inherent conflicts of being a citizen of this country and a follower of Jesus. They are not synonymous. They aren’t even very compatible. When we try to make them compatible, we abandoned the teachings of Jesus.

So what might this mean for those of us who are Christians?

For one thing, it means we have to pay attention to the presence or absence of Christian principles in policies being proposed. For example, the budget and healthcare decisions are both moral issues being treated as though they are merely financial decisions. Like many others, I get caught up in the question, “How will this affect me?” The moral question is, “How will this affect the least of these?”

Limiting or expanding vital services, basic care, and access to a dignified life for the most needy says much more about those of us who have enough than about those in deepest need.

The current chaos will force us to clarify who we are and who we want to become in many other areas, such as immigration, education, the role of science in our decision-making, and our role with other nations of the world. Each of these provides the opportunity to close ranks, build walls, and take care of our own, or to take seriously the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty and spoken in the Sermon on the Mount.

Trump’s election was assisted by many who were angry about the current system and who felt left behind economically. The question now is, will we as a nation of conservatives, moderates, and liberals continue to be driven by anger and fear about our personal situations or will we realize we are in this together and our concerns must extend to the larger community and global community.

Yes, even our enemies, however we choose to define them.

In a recent opinion article in the Reporter News, the writer stated that we cannot vote based on a candidate’s character. “Choices must be based on the issues.” I wholeheartedly disagree.

Issues come and go, issues get redefined, simplified, and complicated. Our opinions on many things change as we change and grow. I prefer to vote based on character as demonstrated in their long-term commitments and behaviors over time, not on something they say on a particular day to garner support.

We are not a Christian nation, but we can be a nation in which Christian character matters. More than party, opinions, or policies in the long run.