“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”: – Romans 5:10
It is terrifying to think that the political divide in our country has become so severe that a former president and candidate for office has been through two assasination attempts in a matter of months. And yet some people seem to treat the attempts to kill Pres. Trump as some sort of joke.
The other day – with the news of the most recent assassin still only hours old – I tuned into a Black Christian radio station. And what I heard was the host – a purported Christian – making light of the assasination attempt and even suggesting it had been staged.
I had to turn it off for a moment and wonder if I was imagining things. Could it be that a Christian was on the air, laughing about an attempt to kill another person over politics? What is happening to our country? What has happened to Christianity?
It appears that there are some Christians that have been captured by the political division in our country and lost sight of the virtues of compassion, mercy, and grace. Christians should be the first to offer peace and understanding. They should be trying to bridge cultural divisions, not increase them.
Meanwhile, our culture has started to lose its ability to see the humanity of others regardless of their political positions. We have become suspicious, quick to question the motives of others and assume the worst.
I am deeply concerned about where this political division and lack of understanding might lead.
A few years ago, I met Immaculée Ilibagiza and listened to her speak about her life and experiences as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. One of the things that stuck with me was Immaculée’s description of the manipulation and propaganda that led up to and fueled the genocide.
Immaculée was very clear that the dehumanization of others was accomplished through news and propaganda, stirring up hate and violence in people’s hearts. Over time, it was enough to turn neighbors against neighbors and classmates against classmates. Violent and hateful words turned into horrifying acts with people chopping off the heads of others as though that was normal.
You might think that this is an extreme example. That it could never happen here. But who could anticipate such horrible “us versus them” violence erupting anywhere? One thing is for sure: that “us versus them” mindset has made itself at home in our country, where the far Left and the far Right have begun looking at politics in those terms.
When one side celebrates an attempted assasination of a political opponent, we have slipped too far into “us versus them” territory.
This is very dangerous, and if we do not put a stop to it, we won’t have to worry about outside enemies coming to tear down our country. We will tear it apart ourselves through civil strife. If we continue down this road, the results could be destructive and dangerous.
And that is why I am asking you to pray with me today. Pray to heal our country and end this division.
Once you’ve prayed, please consider signing the pledge to pray for repentance and revival. Join me in making a commitment to pray every day for the soul of our country.
As Christians, we must vote our values. But we must also pray. Our country must return to God – not just in thought and word, but in deed.
