The Art of the Kingdom Deal
When Truth Is the Opening Bid
Renaissance Ministries Newsletter | April 13, 2026
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”
— Proverbs 23:23
“Let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.”
— Matthew 5:37
The Dealmaker’s Playbook
Michael Smith, a thoughtful observer of American politics, recently shared his reflections on President Trump’s negotiation style — insights drawn from The Art of the Deal and decades of observation. His analysis is worth considering:
Three rules of negotiation:
- Be prepared to walk away — sometimes no deal is better than a bad deal
- Tell your opponent the truth — it’s the last thing they expect
- Drop a huge demand when your opponent tries to wear you down — it shifts momentum
Smith observes that Trump’s critics are perpetually baffled because they refuse to take him at his word. When he tells them exactly what he’s doing, they assume he must be lying — because they would be lying. Their framework cannot accommodate a negotiator who means what he says.
The result? His opponents negotiate against a phantom — a Trump of their imagination rather than the Trump who wrote his strategy in a bestselling book thirty years ago.
The Paradox of Strategic Truth
Here is where it gets interesting for Christians.
Smith’s mentor taught him that “telling your opponent the truth… always throws them off balance.” This is a negotiating tactic — weaponized honesty. The truth is deployed not because it is right, but because it works.
And yet… it does work. Why?
Because we live in a world so saturated with deception that simple truth-telling has become a superpower. In a room full of liars, the honest man is unpredictable. No one knows what to do with him.
Scripture anticipated this:
“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Proverbs 28:1)
The righteous can be bold because they have nothing to hide. They can state their position plainly because they aren’t running multiple deceptions that might collapse under scrutiny. Truth is not merely ethical — it is strategically superior in the long run.
The Kingdom Negotiator’s Dilemma
But here is the tension: Can a Christian adopt the full negotiation playbook?
Smith describes tactics of strategic vagueness — revealing “just enough to get your opponent to keep moving toward a close” while keeping “as many options open as possible.” This is not lying, exactly, but it is not radical transparency either.
Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” He also said, “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
How do these fit together?
The distinction may be this:
- What we believe must be stated plainly. No ambiguity about ultimate commitments.
- How we pursue it tactically may involve prudent timing and strategic emphasis.
Jesus did not reveal everything at once. He spoke in parables that revealed to the ready and concealed from the resistant. He told His disciples certain things “when you are able to bear them.” He withdrew from confrontations when the time was not right, and engaged them when it was.
This is not deception. It is wisdom — knowing what to say, to whom, and when.
The Outrageous Opening Bid
Smith notes that dropping a “huge demand” shifts momentum and puts your opponent on the defensive. Trump’s critics call this reckless. His supporters call it leverage.
What would be the Christian equivalent?
One nation under God.
Not as a nostalgic slogan. Not as a culture-war talking point. As an actual proposal — a nation that formally acknowledges God as its source, that grounds its laws in His character, that measures policy against His standard.
This is my opening bid. It is stated plainly at drthomasforpresident.com:
Our prosperity, freedom, and existence depend upon acknowledging God as our source.
Is this outrageous? By modern standards, yes. It is so far outside the Overton window that most political operatives would call it disqualifying. A Christian nation? In 2026? You might as well propose monarchy.
And yet — this is exactly what we believe. If the Kingdom of God is real, if Christ is Lord of all, if there is no domain exempt from His rule — then this is not an opening gambit. It is the truth.
The question is not whether to state it, but whether we have the courage to do so.
The Problem with Unseen Opponents
Smith’s analysis assumes a negotiation with a visible opponent across the table — someone who can respond, counter-offer, and eventually close a deal.
But the Kingdom negotiation is different.
Our true opponent is not the Democratic Party or the secular establishment or the media. Our opponent is “principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
You cannot negotiate with demons. You cannot make a deal with the father of lies. There is no compromise position between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness.
This is why political strategy alone will never be sufficient. We are not merely trying to win an election or shift the Overton window or achieve policy goals. We are engaged in spiritual warfare, and the weapons of that warfare are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4).
The deal we seek cannot be closed at a negotiating table. It can only be closed in the hearts of men — one by one, soul by soul, as the Spirit moves and transforms.
Truth as Strategy, Truth as Identity
Here is where Smith’s insight circles back to something deeper than tactics:
“When people observe the process… then go out and assert nefarious intent or that he doesn’t know what he is doing, what they are showing you is that their intent is nefarious and they have no clue what is going on.”
In other words: People reveal themselves by how they interpret others.
The liar assumes everyone lies. The schemer assumes everyone schemes. The person who cannot imagine genuine truth-telling will always project deception onto the truth-teller.
This is diagnostic. It tells you who you’re dealing with.
And it points to a profound Kingdom principle: Our transparency becomes a mirror. When we state our position plainly — “We seek a nation under God, grounded in His law, transformed by His Spirit” — the response we receive tells us everything about the respondent.
Those who are hungry for truth will recognize it. Those who are parasitized by lies will call it fanaticism, theocracy, or worse.
Either way, the truth has done its work. It has sorted. It has revealed. It has drawn the line.
The Christian’s Negotiating Posture
So what does this mean practically?
1. State your ultimate commitments plainly. No equivocation. No softening to make the Gospel palatable. “Jesus is Lord” is not negotiable. “One nation under God” is not a bargaining chip to be traded away for political advantage.
2. Be wise about timing and emphasis. Not everything needs to be said in every context. Jesus told His disciples to be “wise as serpents.” Prudence is not deception. Knowing when to speak and when to be silent is a spiritual gift.
3. Be prepared to walk away. If the deal requires compromising your identity in Christ, there is no deal. Better to lose the election, lose the job, lose the relationship than to gain the world and lose your soul.
4. Use truth as your primary weapon. In a world of spin, truth is disorienting. In a world of manipulation, sincerity is unpredictable. Your opponents will not know what to do with someone who simply says what they mean.
5. Remember who the real opponent is. The person across the table may be an adversary or a potential convert. The real enemy is spiritual. Fight accordingly — with prayer, with fasting, with the Word of God, with love that overcomes evil.
The Deal That Cannot Be Negotiated
The vision I have laid out — a Christian nation, a people transformed, a government that acknowledges God — cannot be achieved by negotiation.
There is no opponent to bargain with. There is no middle ground between “one nation under God” and “one nation that pretends God doesn’t exist.”
The deal closes only one way: heart by heart, as the Spirit moves.
This is why the Christos project exists. This is why the Voting Network matters. This is why the fellowship gathers every week.
We are not trying to win a negotiation. We are trying to be faithful witnesses — stating the truth plainly, living it consistently, and trusting God for the outcome.
The opening bid is on the table: One nation under God.
The question is not whether the world will accept it. The question is whether we have the fire to keep proclaiming it until the King returns.
A Prayer
Lord, give us the wisdom of serpents and the innocence of doves. Give us the courage to state Your truth plainly, without softening it for those who will reject it anyway. Give us the patience to know that this deal closes not at a negotiating table but in the human heart — and only by Your Spirit.
Make us faithful witnesses. Make us bold proclaimers. Make us a people who mean what we say and say what we mean — because we serve the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Renaissance Ministries
One heart to make Christ King
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
— John 8:32