When a Nation Forgets Its Soul
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people…”— Isaiah 10:1–2
Budgets are moral documents. They speak not just of numbers, but of the soul of a people. They tell the story of who is valued and who is discarded. In this early draft of the 2026 budget,1 we see clearly the vision of a nation that has forgotten its soul.
The proposed budget cuts are not abstract—they are intimate, personal, and brutal. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program is on the chopping block, which means millions of seniors and low-income families could lose the ability to heat their homes this winter. Rental assistance programs, including Section 8 housing, face over $26 billion in cuts, pushing already-vulnerable families closer to homelessness. The CDC’s Chronic Disease Prevention division—which provides community-based care and screenings for cancer, diabetes, and heart disease—is being dismantled. These programs often serve Black, Indigenous, rural, and low-income communities already suffering from historic neglect.
The administration also proposes eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities—silencing rural libraries, community theaters, and school arts programs. Entire communities will lose access to music, poetry, history, and imagination. The State Department would lose more than $26 billion, slashing humanitarian aid, diplomatic peacebuilding, and refugee resettlement programs. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security would gain $43 billion—further militarizing the border, expanding family detention centers, and fueling mass deportations. And the military? The president is requesting over $1 trillion in defense spending. Drones, not doctors. Walls, not wellness. Bombs, not books.
This is not merely bad policy. It is theological malpractice.
In these choices, we are witnessing a theology of empire—a worldview that worships power, wealth, and control. It is a theology that believes security comes through violence, that strength is found in domination, and that the poor are disposable. But this theology is not of God. It is idolatry. And the prophets have always known it.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said:
“We must stop treating poverty as a consequence of individual failures and start recognizing it as a result of policy violence.”
He called for the “total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty,” not as a political preference, but as a spiritual imperative.
Jesus echoed the same call. Over and over again, he lifted up the poor, healed the sick, broke bread with the forgotten, and declared blessing over those whom Empire had cursed. The gospel he preached was good news to the poor, and judgment for those who hoarded power.
We are not just debating policy. We are standing at a spiritual crossroads. The budget we pass is a declaration of who we believe God is—and what kind of world we are building in God's name.
And yet, we are not powerless. We are called—perhaps now more than ever—to remember the soul of this nation, to resist not only through protest, but through prayer, neighborliness, sacrificial generosity and political imagination rooted in compassion. The soul of a people can be wounded, yes. But it can also be restored. We are the ones who must do the mending.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What values does your personal “budget” reflect—your time, your money, your energy?
How are you being called to resist policies that cause harm to the vulnerable?
Where do you see the soul of your nation being wounded—and where do you see signs of its healing?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for A Nation Losing Its Way
God of the Poor and the Powerless,
We turn to you in a time of great forgetting.
We have wandered from compassion, abandoned justice, and mistaken cruelty for strength.
Yet still you whisper to us of another way—a way of mercy, dignity, and beloved community.
So awaken us, Holy One.
Awaken our conscience when budgets are written in blood and indifference.
Awaken our imagination when the powerful insist there is no alternative.
Awaken our courage to speak, to stand, to serve.
Give us the faith to act with tenderness in a harsh world.
The resolve to organize when others retreat.
The love to remember that the soul of this nation lives in how we care for its most vulnerable members.
We remember. And we rise.
Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Holding The Budget Like Scripture
Find a quiet place today—somewhere you can sit with intention. Bring with you a printed summary or article outlining the proposed federal budget cuts. Let it rest in your hands as more than policy—it is a spiritual artifact, a snapshot of what those in power believe about who matters.
Read it slowly. Notice your reactions. Where do you feel anger? Grief? Numbness? Let those emotions rise without judgment. As you sit with the document, begin to imagine the people behind each line item:
A single mother losing her rental voucher.
A grandmother turning off her heat in winter.
A child whose school will no longer offer music or art.
A diabetic man in a rural town losing access to preventive care.
A refugee turned away at the border.
Then, in a journal or on a blank page, create your own “moral budget.” Don’t worry about numbers—focus on values. If you were to fund the world you believe in, what would you protect? Whom would you prioritize? What kind of future would you invest in?
When you finish, let this become your prayer—a living vision of another way.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
NEW!!! On June 4, 2025, from 7-8pm ET, Join Brian McLaren, Matthew Fox and me for an exploration of “Life After Doom” inspired by Brian’s latest book. In an age of climate crisis, political unraveling, and societal collapse, many are asking: What now? What’s worth doing when the systems around us are failing? How do we find meaning beyond hope as we’ve known it? Join us and we will explore together. Register here.
June 4, 2025, 12pm ET - Jeff Chu has written a new book on a topic close to my heart: Soil! The title is “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand.” I am so pleased to be interviewing him. Together, we’ll explore what it means to cultivate “good soil” in our lives, our communities, and our spiritual practices. I hope you will register. Your registration includes a copy of his new book.
July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more.
August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf