Everybody is a Donald Trump anymore. Everybody has turned so mean.

And since I am a Christian, it is even more upsetting that Christians are mean, too.

I am referring to mean conservative Christians who shout ugly things about gays, transgenders, and whoever else to the rooftops. And, I am referring to mean liberal Christians who name call and hurl insults at their conservative counterparts.

Somehow, both the liberals and the conservatives ended up with God on their side. Amazingly.

The liberals like to make everyone look stupid, and the conservatives like to make everyone look immoral. One group shouts stupid, one group shouts sinful. Both groups like to toss around the phrase “What would Jesus do?” insinuating that the other group was not behaving as Jesus would, since both groups seem pretty convinced that they know what Jesus would actually do.

Poor Jesus. What a tug of war he’s in.

And, how forgotten he is in this battle to be heard.

My mom ran into the issue of transgender at her women’s golf group. She loved golf and she was competitive. She wanted to win, or at least have a chance. Miss Anne, a male-turned-female, joined Mom’s group and that ended the competition. Miss Anne drove the ball like a man, though she was in a women’s league, and my mom was a 70-something-year-old woman who only taken up the game a few years before.

Mom was stressed over this, and not sure what to do.

I suggested that Miss Anne play from the men’s box. Seemed legit to me. If I were Miss Anne I wouldn’t mind that request, and would be able to see the fairness in it. Mom decided to pray about it.

A few months later, I asked what she decided. Mom said she wasn’t going to bring it up. She didn’t want to hurt Miss Anne’s feelings. She was going to try and be less competitive. Having played my mother in Scrabble for most of my life, I can attest to the tremendous sacrifice this was for a woman who revealed in competition.

It bothered me because it felt unfair to my mom. I kept thinking, if I were Miss Anne, I would get it. I wouldn’t be offended by that. I said as much to Mom, but the matter had been settled for her with prayer. The person, not the game, was now more important.

Here’s the thing. Morally, Mom did not consider Miss Anne’s lifestyle choice as “right,” but morally, she chose to treat her kindly and with respect.

Here’s the moral of this story: It is possible for people to work out their issues without the liberals or the conservatives getting involved or even having an opinion. I had an opinion, but my opinion wasn’t relevant to the situation. This was Mom’s to decide. The legislators didn’t even have to vote on it.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as asking Jesus what he would actually have you do, as opposed to asking what he would have others do.