“For they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” — John 12:43
Some truly incredible human beings have won the Nobel Peace Prize:
Mother Teresa dedicated her life to the poorest of the poor in the wretched slums of Hindu-dominated India, serving orphans and leprosy patients, sometimes while wearing plastic bottles as sandals so others could have shoes.
There’s Nelson Mandela, who, after rotting in prison for 27 years, became South Africa’s president and instead of destroying his enemies, worked to peacefully dismantle apartheid.
There’s Martin Luther King Jr., who, peacefully and non-violently warred against racial segregation and advocated for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
And then there’s Yasser Arafat.
He was the Muslim leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
That’s the group linked to the Black September group, which pulled off the Munich Olympics Massacre.
Arafat oversaw or approved multiple hijackings by PLO factions, including the 1968 El Al Flight 426 hijacking and the 1970 Dawson’s Field hijackings.
He was likely behind the assassination of U.S. Ambassador Cleo A. Noel Jr. and Deputy Chief of Mission George Curtis Moore during a siege in Khartoum.
His organization executed the Kiryat Shmona Massacre, which killed 18 civilians, including kids, in an apartment building.
He promoted suicide bombing.
He promoted intifada violence.
He clashed with Jordan and Lebanon, leading to the death of thousands.
He was charged in court with genocide, crimes against humanity, murder, and criminal conspiracy for masterminding a strategy of terrorism.
He also embezzled billions in Palestinian aid funds, leaving his own people impoverished.
Oh, but he signed a document in Oslo one time, so that makes him a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
And then there’s Henry Kissinger.
Dude secretly authorized the dropping of a mere 500,000 tons of bombs on neutral Cambodia.
He likely sabotaged the 1968 peace talks to aid Nixon’s election, extending the war by years so he could expand his bombing of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
He helped overthrow Chile’s democratically elected leader so Pinochet’s dictatorship could murder, torture, and disappear thousands.
Dude greenlit Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, leading to 200k deaths.
Dude supported Argentina’s military junta to disappear 30,000 of its own citizens.
Dude supported the Bengali genocide despite reports of 3 million murders and mass rapes.
Dude oversaw the nearly decade-long Laos bombings, making it the most bombed country per capita, with people still dying from unexploded ordnance still popping off today.
Christopher Hitchens attributes up to 4 million deaths to Kissinger’s policies.
But Kissinger was a fiend for recognition and used diplomatic channels to “earn” himself the Nobel after he inked one ceasefire, prompting two Nobel committee members to resign.
And then there’s Donald Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat Trump.
Now there’s an ego.
Throwing himself military parades.
Putting his own name on every building.
Verifiably lying endlessly, inflating figures, taking credit for things he knew nothing about.
Enneagram 3w4 to the bones.
Desperate for a Nobel Peace Prize.
But what are his stats?
In the minus column:
Refused to renew Biden-era ceasefires in Gaza, prolonging the conflict for political gain at the cost of thousands of civilian lives
Escalated trade wars with China triggered massive global market disruptions, effectively waging economic warfare that indirectly caused financial ruin and suicides.
Imposed tariffs on partners, increasing the likelihood of conflict by weakening allies and emboldening adversaries
Reduced humanitarian aid and withdrew from treaties and organizations, contributing to more deaths overseas
Incited domestic conflict via the January 6th Capitol riot, which caused direct deaths and injuries.
Mishandled COVID-19 response; Trump’s downplaying of the pandemic and promotion of unproven treatments caused global ripple effects, including vaccine skepticism, contributing to thousands of preventable deaths.
In the plus column:
Brokered the Abraham Accords (historic normalization agreements between Israel, UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco
Directly engaged with Kim Jong-un, which halted North Korea’s missile tests over Japan
De-escalated the Balkans by mediating the Kosovo-Serbia mutual recognition and economic normalization
Defeated the ISIS Muslim caliphate in Iraq and Syria
Ended America’s longest war and withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan
Mediated the Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Accord (which prevents a broader regional war involving Russia and Turkey)
Intervened to halt fighting between Rwanda and Congo* (*I refuse to call DRC a democratic republic because I am a Christian and not a liar)
Resolved the Cambodia-Thailand Border Settlement
Brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir (both are nuclear nations)
Decimated Iran’s nuclear capabilities and proxy activities
Brokered the comprehensive ceasefire between Israel and the Muslim group Hamas.
And then there are all the things he’s still working on — Syria stabilization, bringing peace between Ukraine and Russia, mediating disputes between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, expanding the Abraham Accords, and the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza.
This, compared to Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize for… literally nothing.
It really makes you wonder — what does an orange-skinned con artist with perfect natural hair and a pedophile bestie need to do to win a Nobel these days?
Should Donald Trump get the Nobel Peace Prize?
Some say yes.
Some say no.
But in reality, this binary is a huge false dichotomy.
The correct answer is:
“No one should require external validation from others as a motivator to seek peace on earth.”
Who cares what five people appointed by the Norwegian Storting say?
No one should seek human validation for any good they do in life.
This truth struck me to the heart while visiting North Korea many years ago.
After refusing to bow to the dead emperors (who are stuffed in glass coffins like Snow White), I was ushered into Kim Il Sung’s award room.
It was garish.
Knightshoods from African warlords.
Honorary doctorates from USSR dictators.
Peace prizes from violent thugs.
Medals and crowns and rings from all the usual crime boss suspects.
Hundreds and hundreds of awards and prizes.
Congratulations, Mr. Kim.
You did it.
You got other egotists to stroke your engorged ego.
As I walked through Kim Il Sung’s awards room and then Kim Jong Il’s awards room, Jesus’s words from Mark 8:36 rang in my ears:
“What does it matter if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul?”
For true Christians, it is not possible to habitually seek the approval of others.
Galatians 1:10 asks, “…am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
John 5:44 says, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
Anti-God world leaders could learn a thing or two from true Christianity.
Colossians 3:23–24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 2:4 says, “…we speak, not to please man, but to please God…”
1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Matthew 6:1, Matthew 23:5–7, Acts 5:29, Hebrews 11:6, and Proverbs 29:25 for further reading.
All goodness is God’s goodness.
Meaning goodness is autotelic.
Doing good is its own reward.
Because doing good — whether it’s seeking world peace, abolishing interest, jubileeing debt, or forgiving a loved one — pleases God.
The point is clear: Human beings — including you, me, and Donald Trump — should act for an audience of One.
For Love Himself.
For Truth Himself.
For Life Himself.
We should work wholeheartedly for the glory and praise and approval of the maker and sustainer of life itself.
Anything less is self-aggrandizement.
Anything less is idol worship.