Like it or not ‘T Day’ is fast approaching. Thanks to his amazing political wizardry Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, a prospect that seems to be generating a mixture of delight and concern, both in the United States and much further afield.

I am no fan of ‘Mar-a-Lago Man’ and my unease was only intensified when I reflected on his response to the January 1 killings with one commentator suggesting it flunked three important tests, namely accuracy, decency and credibility, and in true Trumpian fashion he insisted he was right even after it became clear that the accused was not an immigrant but an army veteran from Texas! His latest destabilising comments on Greenland, Panama and Canada have not given me any reason to change my mind either. In fact, the very reverse is true.

I read an article recently in which the author stated that following Mr Trump’s first election the sales of George Orwell’s novel ‘1984’ rocketed , prompting him to ask if Mr Trump’s approach to truth and his claims of ‘fake news’ are evidence that we really are living in an Orwellian world,

It made me wonder how I would react if I was a Christian living in the United States, and as a result I found myself returning to one of my favourite passages in the New Testament where Paul tells his friends in Philippi that they should behave like citizens of heaven.

Now that seems to be quite an innocuous piece of advice, and it certainly means that I should do all I can to be a good citizen who makes an active contribution to the society in which I live, not least through my prayers for those who govern us. But it has a revolutionary ring to it too, and it explains why the early church experienced such difficulties.

Philippi was Roman colony, and its citizens wanted to live ‘the Roman way’. They also recognised one supreme ruler, namely Caesar. This is why Paul’s missionary activity could be viewed as subversive. He was clearly seeking to establish communities who pledged their loyalty to another king and had values that did not necessarily fit in with the cultural mores of the day.

It was a dangerous message then, and it is in many places today which is why on average more than 13 Christians are killed each day, and more than 365 million worldwide face persecution and discrimination because of their commitment to Jesus and His way of life.

It was a challenging piece of advice too because Paul was urging his friends to live as Jesus did. By adopting a servant mindset and doing all they could to help others. I am not living in the United States, and so I am not faced with the prospect of spending the next four years (or even longer if he engineers an extended period of office) with ‘Mr T’ as my President.

But that doesn’t mean my challenge is any easier. I have acknowledged Jesus as my Lord and King and because of that I must face the daily call to give people a glimpse of the good life that God wants us all to enjoy. That will obviously prove sacrificial and much more controversial in a society that is abandoning its Biblical roots.