Fight the right enemy

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12 NIV

Upon hearing of Charlie Kirk being shot I was thinking maybe he had survived.  When the report turned into news of his death, I found myself surprised at my reaction.  I was mad.  I have heard news reports of people being killed before.  Usually, I have normal reactions to negative news.  It matters but it doesn’t make you want to go join a search party.  I was surprised that day to feel like I would have joined the effort. 

As news spread, I saw reports of people actually taking joy from his death, like he got what he deserved.  That did not help my anger, but it did lead to a question in my head, “Is this how someone with dark or brown skin feels when they hear the report of the killing of someone who looks like them?  I found myself examining why I am not stirred to action more regularly. 

I saw friends posting things that could be summarized as sounding like “They won’t stop this until we stop them”.  “It’s time for us to take the fight to them.”  There was nearly an overt call to fight and I completely agree.  We should fight to the death, but we have to aim our weapons at the right enemy. 

Democrats blame Republicans.  Republicans blame Democrats.  They both blame Independent voters.  Each race blames another.  Conservatives blame Liberals.  Liberals blame Conservatives.  I could go on and I am sure you could too.  But every one of those accusations is wrong.  The enemy is not even the man who pulled the trigger.  I am glad his father talked him into turning himself in and I would like to hug that father for the conviction it took and the pain he felt knowing his son will never see freedom or even life by the end of this. 

Our enemy is not “them”.  It is “him”, the devil himself.  He is an equal opportunity hater and he is good at his job.  We go blindly along attributing blame to someone we don’t even know and we get so consumed by the fight we forget the wishes of our King:  Love.

Think about times when someone has died while trying to change something or trying to lead a cause.  In many cases, when the champion of the cause dies, so does the cause.  I realize there are some exceptions to this.

The greatest exception is the death of Jesus Christ.  He died to save me, specifically.  More importantly, He came back after His death.  If you are not a believer, I beg you to do the research.  Read the bible.  Honestly open your heart for one second and ask Him if He will fill it.  He will.  The death of Jesus made Christianity explode.  It is still expanding even today.  But it faces a challenge. 

I think we are staring at a time when Satan himself has caused us to turn hate into normal.  We may hate for what we think is a good reason: murder, racism, crime, among others.  But think about it, we are not called to not hate.  If we reach a point where we have zero hate, we have really only reached indifference - neutral or lukewarm.  We are not called to this.  “So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”  Revelation 3:16 NIV  That does not sound like something I want God doing with me.

No!  We are called to go beyond that, all the way to love.  We are called to have audacious, sacrificial love - for everyone.  Both sides of the conversation.  The victim.  The shooter.  The other party.  Our neighbor.  People who hate us.  Everyone.  That’s a big order.  We have a bigger Savior.

God does not dish out hate, only love.  Satan cannot dish out love, only hate.  Even with the right motivation to start, if we plant hate in ourselves, we are planting our own destruction.  I expect inconsistency from the world, but I see believers arguing about politics like either party has a monopoly on the love of Jesus.  That is absolute nonsense.  As a believer, if that is all we have to offer, we have nothing.  If that argument is present, we are still only speaking in a language of the presence or absence of hate.  That is not good enough.  We are called to love.

I am not saying that we should accept everything that happens.  I am not saying that all things are hopelessly far from ever being changed.  I think we can change.  What I am saying, is that if we start with hate to accomplish it, we are in an unwinnable battle.  We have been tricked into fighting the wrong enemy using the wrong weapon.

If we plant our hope on being able to achieve perfection here, we have lost.  If we plant our hope on any human to fix things, we are lost.  If we honestly believe that one political party is evil while the other is good, we are lost, and so are the people who think the exact opposite of any political party.  Perfection, while admirable, cannot be achieved here. 

The one and only way for us to find true peace - in spite of death - in spite of war - in spite of hate – in spite of anything, rests in the arms of the same Jesus who died and then came back.  For me.  For you.  If we miss that, nothing we can champion here will matter.  If we truly accomplish that, nothing we cannot change here will stop us from casting out hate to make room for love. 

What do you do when you are mad as hell about current events?

In whom do you place your trust?

Challenge:  Love.  Hope.  Be a witness.  Pray like a warrior, we are in a fight.  Charlie Kirk was never the eternal answer.  He only pointed to the answer:  Jesus.  Maybe it’s time for you and I to do the pointing. 

Rick Claiborn