I heavily debated whether or not to weigh into the “political” climate of our day.  It’s a sticky subject, and most people have already made up their minds about things, so what is my voice going to change?  It can be polarizing, and I have friends in both camps (and I’d like to keep it that way, thank you very much!).  But I also think logic and reason need brought to the conversation, and for that, I may be putting my neck on the chopping block, but the more I pray about whether or not to say anything, the more I sway towards speaking reason into the darkness.

When I scroll Facebook (I’m not proud of myself for doing that, but I must confess that social media is a drug I also periodically consume), I see fiery darts aimed at Charlie Kirk and anyone who agrees with or supports him.  What I do not see, however, are those fiery darts being reciprocated.  Maybe you’ve seen a loose cannon or two, but I haven’t seen a single person who loves Jesus raise their proverbial sword to fight back with hatred or anger.  I don’t think the silence = fear because there isn’t silence.  I do see people boldly celebrating the legacy he left behind.  I just don’t see people who support him engaging in the argument, and their support of him has almost nothing to do with his politics but rather his faith.

I will be honest, I didn’t listen to him too much before he died.  I’ve seen much, much more of him and his wife since his passing, and what I think the media is trying to convince people of (correction: what I know the media is trying to convince people of) is that he was some kind of a nationalist, racist, homophobic jerk.  If you want to know the truth about the man, try listening to him… in fullness, not sound bites that can easily be taken out of context.  Charlie Kirk was none of the above.  Patriot, yes?  Nationalist, no!  But those were very secondary to being a citizen of Heaven.

Charlie’s greatest passion was Christ, and how he lived out this passion most readily was to attempt to bring logic and reason back to college campuses by debating that generation regarding hot button issues, by allowing them to debate him on their subject of choice, in order to point us all back to truth and reality.  I feel a little like the kid in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” saying this, but this generation of young people has been indoctrinated to believe some pretty crazy things, and we, who haven’t fallen for the lies, have dirty socks stuffed in our mouths, knowing that if we speak up we will be cancelled, lose friends, be called “haters”, etc. (just like Charlie who is getting smeared across the internet for standing up for what he believed in).  He was, as faithfully as he knew how, defending his Christian beliefs regarding right and wrong, and was murdered for it.  The world hates Jesus.  But Jesus loves back.

What I find more remarkable than Charlie’s life is his death!  All the opposing viewers and all the media want to slander him up one side and down the other, yet I witnessed his wife say, from the stage of his memorial service, that she forgives the boy who shot Charlie because of Jesus who cried out from the cross “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” and because Charlie would’ve forgiven him.  In fact, she reminded us that his murderer was exactly the kind of person Charlie Kirk devoted his life to rescuing from destruction and deception via his college campus debates.

What I’d like to reiterate is that there is something blatantly, boldly missing from the social media smear campaign: People retaliating to the character-assassination of Charlie Kirk.  I just don’t see it.  I see people praising Jesus for Charlie’s life and legacy, and crying out prayers for his wife and kids.  I see people (even his wife) rejoicing in the goodness he is now experiencing in heaven!  I even see droves of people being reconnected to the Church, as a result of his passing (Genesis 50:20!).  And I see a man who, though just as imperfect as I am, sought to live his one life well (likely much better than I do, in fact), and although he was killed for it, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” (John 12:24-25).

To those who believe the rhetoric you are being fed, I’d encourage you to listen again, this time not through the lens of what you’ve been spoon-fed by the media, but believing this was just a man trying to live his one life really well, and was willing to die for what he believed in.  This was a man who left a legacy of peace in his wake, who devoted his life (even knowing it might cost him everything) to stand up for truth.  Don’t let him be dehumanized.  He was someone who deeply loved his wife, kids, country, and especially God.

To those who align with Charlie’s spiritual beliefs, be emboldened!  Not to simply speak the Truth, but to speak it in love!  In Acts 4, upon being released from prison for their faith, Peter and John met with their companions to pray together.  In verse 29, they spoke these words “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence.”  The early saints didn’t pray for protection!  They prayed for boldness to keep preaching!  It says in verse 31 that “when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”  Hallelujah!  He answered their prayer with favor!

Those early Christians knew what mattered more than their physical freedom was a) that they glorified God, and b) that they were faithful to God by loving others enough to share the Gospel with them, even if it may have cost them their life.  All but one of those early Apostles was killed for their faith.  Actually, to be more specific, the martyrs were killed for speaking the Truth even when it was offensive, and contrary to the pagan gods of their time, and the rituals they demanded (ie: child sacrifice, sexual immorality, etc.).  These believers stood up for the whole Truth, not just “Jesus loves you,” but also “Jesus is calling you to repentance from your dead and decaying way of living.”   And they did it out of care and compassion because they knew what I also know which is that the abundant Life of Christ is infinitely better than the false sense of freedom you get when you walk contrary to Him.  Sin is a slave master who pretends to be a friend and convinces you to fear the One who actually is a Friend and who liberates us from its slavery!

Oftentimes, when we treat fiction as fact we miss truly setting people free.  For example, when we affirm that gender can be contrary to the body parts we are born with, we fail to offer people true help for the identity crisis (not only gender identity) they are having.  We never tell them the Truth that they were intentionally and beautiful designed by Someone who makes masterpieces, and who loves them more than they could ever love themselves.

It needs said that I am not detached, prejudice, or critical (except maybe of Christians who are more concerned with being liked than being honest and loving) in saying this.  I say this as someone who has a very, very dear friend who is transgender, who I love with all my heart!  I am not coming from a place of judgment, nor am I ungrateful that this particular struggle has never been a temptation for me, but by reiterating the lie, we lead more and more people into a pit where they are never given true remedies, or led to the knowledge that they have a glorious Maker who handcrafted them in their mama’s womb.  This topic is like cutting at the jugular for many of us, and I know I risk a lot by raising it to the surface.  I am broken for my sweet friend, knowing their body reflects a deeper struggle that I desperate long for Jesus to liberate them from, and I desperately “pray that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened that they would know the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe!”  (Ephesians 1:18-19).  I have never had the gender-conversation with my friend because that is a secondary issue, and it just hasn’t come up.  If it came up, I’d have to be honest, but the deeper issue is that they don’t yet know the Love of Christ, and if we all dance on our tip toes so as not to get “cancelled” or maligned or called mean names, we do our friends a disservice by caring more for our own reputation than for their liberty.  If it comes up, I hope my friend would remember how much I love them, and filter my honesty through the lens of my deep and abiding love!  And that they would know that God calls us to repentance to liberate us, not to control us.

And finally, I’d like to say, I’d really appreciate it if those of you who were willing to read all of this would not “cancel” me, nor metaphorically (or literally) kill me for saying what I’ve said.  As I’ve said, I’ve got friends on both sides of the fence here, both spiritually and morally, and I care a whole lot about ALL of you.  If you’d like to have a kind, friendly conversation about these things, I’d be happy to engage.  I would hate to stand in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s martyrdom, and not be willing to lovingly stand for the Truth, but I would also hate to lose friends simply because we disagree on right and wrong.  Just because I may disagree with you doesn’t mean I love you any less.  And who knows, maybe you’ll discover that not all people who disagree with you are prejudice jerks.  (Also, let it be known that, in the littleness of my experience with his debates, I haven’t actually seen anything political.  I’ve only seen him defending his morals.  It may be that the FB algorithms love me and know that I don’t want to watch political stuff.  Or it may be that what we define as “political” is actually an issue of morality or spirituality, but when we think in terms of politics, it seems as though we are trying to control one another, rather than defend our beliefs.)