“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, and you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.” — Deuteronomy 16:19
Every now and then, a story surfaces that strips away illusion. We see clearly—if only for a moment—what power has become.
Last week, The New York Times reported on two astonishing deals that expose just how far the Trump administration is willing to go to turn public office into personal profit.1 First: the UAE invested $2 billion in a cryptocurrency start-up called World Liberty, founded and owned by the Trump and Witkoff families. Second: the Trump White House approved a massive transfer of high-powered A.I. chips to the UAE—chips so advanced they had been previously restricted due to national security concerns.
The implication? The President’s envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff—who helped negotiate both deals—is profiting alongside the President’s family while shaping U.S. foreign policy. At the same time, David Sacks, Trump’s “A.I. and Crypto Czar,” a tech investor with holdings in companies involved in these deals, received an ethics waiver to negotiate on behalf of the administration.
It’s all there: blurred lines, ethics waivers, coordinated investments, behind-the-scenes dinners, and lavish praise from foreign leaders. The US president even stood in the UAE and publicly praised the very partners who are enriching his family.
What we are seeing is not just corruption—it is a redefinition of leadership itself. Public service is being replaced with private dealmaking. National interest is being subordinated to personal wealth. Worst of all, it’s happening with a smile, a photo-op, and no apparent consequence.
The Bible speaks fiercely to moments like this. The prophets railed against leaders who enriched themselves while the people suffered. Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos—all warned that when rulers blur the lines between governance and greed, the very foundations of society begin to crack. Deuteronomy reminds us plainly: bribes blind the eyes of the wise and subvert justice.
Theologian Walter Brueggemann wrote,
“The prophetic task is to tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion.”
That is our task now. Because this isn’t just about one man or one administration. It’s about the moral imagination of a people. Will we normalize this behavior? Will we grow numb to it? Or will we reclaim a vision of leadership grounded in justice, transparency, and care for the common good?
We are not helpless. But we are in danger: the danger of growing cynical. The danger of assuming this is just how the world works. The danger of losing the thread of what real leadership could be.
But prophets rise not in easy times—but in the midst of corruption. Sometimes, the most sacred act is simply to name what we see.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What is my own threshold for outrage—at what point do I go numb, and why?
How do I recognize the difference between leadership and performance, service and self-interest?
Where in my own life do I have the chance to speak truth, even when silence would be easier?
A Prayer for the Day
When Power Forgets the People
O God of justice and truth, You who lifted up prophets to speak against kings, You who called out greed, even when it wore a crown— We ask for courage. To see clearly. To name corruption. To hold fast to the sacredness of public trust. Let not our hearts grow cold. Let not our minds be dulled by the repetition of wrongdoing. Make us tender, fierce, and faithful To what is good, what is just, and what is true. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Say It Aloud
Today, find a small way to speak truth. It doesn’t need to be dramatic—but it should be clear.
It might be a conversation with a friend. A journal entry. A social post. A prayer. But say it. Name what you see. Not to stir outrage, but to awaken integrity.
The more we speak with conscience, the less alone we feel in the face of corruption and the more courage we gather to demand something better.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
September 21, 2025 - A Global Day of Listening - On the Global Day of Listening sponsored by my friends at the Pachamama Alliance, people across the world will pause—alone or together—to listen for the wisdom needed to meet this moment. By turning our attention to the Earth, to one another, and to what life is asking of us, we help seed a shift toward reverence and sacred responsibility. Sign up here.
October 18, 2025 - No Kings 2.0 Protest - Scholars of authoritarianism teach us that we need 3.5% of the population rising up to disrupt the rise of authoritarians. The last protest had over 6 million people in the streets in the US (more around the world) which was one of the largest protest in US history. We need to double that number. So here we go again. The movement builds. See you on the streets.
October 20-24, 2025 - FREE Online 5-Day Summit on “Made for These Times: Spiritual Leadership for a World in Crisis.” Political extremism. Climate collapse. Cultural fragmentation. People of faith across the globe are asking: How do we lead with clarity, courage, and compassion in a time like this? REGISTER HERE.
October 23, 30, November 13, 20 2025, 7pm ET - In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next, A 4-Part Online Series with Dr. Matthew Fox, Cameron Trimble, Ilia Delio, Diana Butler Bass, Caroline Myss and Luther Smith. We are living through the unraveling of many old stories—about who we are, why we’re here, and how we are meant to live together on this Earth. As these inherited narratives collapse under the weight of climate crisis, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection, the question becomes clear: What story will guide us now? REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
NEW!!!!!!!! July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and my amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.
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.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/trump-uae-chips-witkoff-world-liberty.html?referringSource=articleShare
We ARE all in This together - interlaced and inextricably entangled in holy love and in the patterns of damage this meditation samples. I'm grateful for G Charles MacDonald's empathy and accurate understanding. The facts are friendly, perhaps crucially (!) so when pain-full and/or inconvenient. What/Whom I know as G-d Is the most fundamental Fact - reassuring and en-cour-aging, heartening. And so, I abide. My threshold for outrage remains functional despite immense triggers that might cause overload or exhaustion or learned helplessness. Pain, fear, outrage (or in-rage) et al., are useful messengers, horrible masters. The challenging issue I most often encounter is not numbness - the disconnection I encounter inwardly comes at the point of turning experience into action; and opportunities to cross that threshold, to live into Truth - that threshold is present(ed) multiple times a day. The 'we' in which I live, move, have being and act/react/remain inert sees no stranger and incarnates the elements Jesus highlighted: G-d, neighbor as self, self as discovered. I believe we/they distinctions-as-barriers are a category mistake; we are all This together, and G-d Is with(in) and among us all, centered everywhere and every when, bounded no where/no when. Being and doing are integral fractals, phases of a larger unity, it seems to me. I think this meditation is framed mainly about being 'out there' and doing 'in here.' True enough - no short article can express everything our community awareness could reveal. (And surely much of what I've written will seem gibberish to some - the confusion at Babel has not been entirely eradicated at Pentecost.)
I am a Canadian looking in and I don’t understand how the American people can sit by and watch this train wreck happen. The American people are losing, and they haven’t felt the full weight of that lose yet, everything. In the beginning it was north and south and now, red and blue. However, it is worse than that because it would seem that the blue are just observing while the red are fractured into zealot MAGA and corrupt billionaires.
GOD has given us the tools but, we have to do the work……