May God be with the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. Yesterday, a husband and father was killed, a political figure who, because of that particular calling, brought many friends and detractors. There are a few categories that come to mind, and each has unique challenges and responses to what has taken place. This is by no means perfect, but it is a mumbled attempt to think through and issue challenges regardless of where we are.
First, there are those who looked up to and admired Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk had a tremendous impact, especially among younger generations. Many gravitated toward his boldness in addressing important issues in the public square. I have already seen comments such as “you don’t hate them enough” pouring in from those who agree with Charlie on a variety of issues. But, as many people have already shared from Kirk, violence happens when dialogue stops. Beware of the temptation toward wrath. For Christians, God reminds us that vengeance is his, he will repay. God does perfectly; we tend to pile chaos and evil on top of chaos and evil.
Another temptation is to lump all from a political category together. Political discourse, even sharp political discourse, can be a productive endeavor. But there is a distinction between attacking ideologies and individuals. Further, ideologies are not image bearers, and image bearers cannot be reduced to ideologies. The “they are all evil over there” rhetoric is not only unhelpful but also fails to consider the reality. Each person is a sinner and in need of redemption. Every side is not immune to the pervasiveness of sin or being influenced by the forces of evil. This is not me two-siding the issue at hand, but it is a call for everyone to examine their own heart and not to compound evil with evil. Be careful of dehumanizing, manichaean language. The purpose of confronting and debating ideologies is to help one’s neighbor.
Second, there are those who may have never heard of him or don’t care a lot about politics or political discourse.
Politics does matter because people and civilizations matter. It is not ultimate, but that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. There is a tendency to self-righteousness or a kind of detachment that elevates oneself above the fray and criticizes those who care about politics. It is true that not everyone is called to political involvement in the same way, but be careful of seeing tragic events as individuals who are too focused on politics. I don’t think we can care about politics too much. But we can care about it in a way that is disordered. It’s easier to label something as dangerous or unimportant so we don’t have to think about it than to embrace it in its flaws and seek to make it better by God’s grace.
Third, there are those who had disagreements with Charlie Kirk
There is a particular temptation for Christians living and working among the elite in society to find common ground by punching right. While Christians should critique error wherever it is found, when a person garners respect and attention by always attacking those to one side of them, it is formative. They see themselves as prophetic and more enlightened than others. They easily develop a “I’m not that type of Christian” attitude. Instead of finding greater unity among those who follow Jesus, they begin to find it in their distinction from other Christians, ultimately developing competing allegiances. So it is, even amid death, there can be a quicker instinct to distance oneself than to mourn. To qualify our words rather than merely call out evil. It is true that not every qualification does this, but we should examine our own hearts.
Tragedy has a way of drawing out the ugliness of our own hearts. We each have particular temptations. But for Christians, our response to the issues of the day matters just as much as our advocacy of policies and positions. All of life is under the Lordship of Christ. And may we reflect him well in all of it, knowing that our true hope is not found in our imperfect pursuits but in the one who perfectly pursued us. Because of the work of Jesus, we have hope that death and destruction will not have the final say; we have hope for the new heavens and new earth. And by God’s grace, we can give others a glimpse of that future hope through our present obedience.
Boonstra Babble 