How Should We Respond?

Article Written By Pastor Phil Bray

What is the proper and godly response to the horrific tragedy that took place this week in our country? As the news began to break, our emotions exploded forth in a swirling experience of confusion. We felt shock, disbelief, anger, grief, more anger, despair, and hopelessness. The world seemed suddenly darker, like a bank of clouds suddenly covering the sun. The shock of a political assassination of this magnitude has twisted our souls. We are filled with agonizing sorrow for Charlie Kirk's young family, and we are filled with fury at the callous and hate-filled celebrations of people across the spectrum of social media. How can people say such horrible things? How should we respond?
There is in each of us a desperate desire to do something, to help, to defend, to protect the grieving family. We want to silence the evil talk of foolish people who act as if the gruesome murder of a fellow human being is a good thing. We want justice, but we also want revenge. We want someone to pay for this barbaric act of cowardly cruelty. We want to feel safe again. We want to feel safe sharing a difference of opinion regarding politics, theology, and ideology with those who disagree with us. What are we to do? How do we respond to something like this? For most of us, we must allow the governing authorities to do their jobs. We must acknowledge that it is not our job to catch and punish the killer. According to Romans 13:4, the government "is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil." God established governments for the good of the people governed, and part of that responsibility is catching and punishing evildoers when they perpetrate acts like this upon innocent members of society. But is that all? What about all these emotions? What about all these awful and cruel social media posts? What are we to do?
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I have found Romans 12:9–21 particularly insightful, encouraging, and humbling during this time. "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good" (12:9). Our love for others must be real, unfeigned. That love begins with an abhorrence of what is evil and a white-knuckled clinging to what is good. We should be repulsed and disgusted by the murder of another human being, regardless of who they are. Even if we disagree with their ideas and theology, we should never celebrate murder. Ever. We should cling to what is categorically good in life. "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality" (12:10–13). Are your posts, your texts, and your words characterized by brotherly love or hatred for others? Are you diligently striving to give preference to one another, rather than demanding your own way? Are you persevering in tribulation and devoted to prayer? Do we spend as much time praying for those we disagree with as we do posting about them, mocking them, or attempting to shame them? I know, people are saying horrible things online. Pray for them. Pray for God to convict them. Pray for God to forgive them. Pray for God to change their hearts and open their eyes to the reality of His existence and His ways.
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse" (12:14). This one is hard, isn’t it? What are we to do when we are persecuted, when those we love are persecuted, when people in our "camp" of ideological opinions are persecuted? Are we to spew verbal and typewritten curses at our enemies? No. We are to bless and refuse to curse. This would eliminate much of what constitutes social media today, wouldn’t it? So you are saying we should not fight back? We should just let them spew venom? We should not curse them for this evil? Not according to the Scripture. We are to bless and curse not.

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep" (12:15). Now is the time to weep. It is time to weep with the Kirk family, for something devastating and horrific has occurred. It is a time for mourning, for crying, for sorrow. It is right and good to weep with those who weep. "Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation" (12:16). Charlie Kirk exemplified this verse, along with the rest of this passage, didn’t he? He was kind. He was humble. He was gentle with those who disagreed. He did not speak with condescension or contempt to those who disagreed with him or sought to insult him. Are you wise in your own estimation? When we are chiefly concerned with communicating our thoughts to the world without genuinely seeking to understand why someone believes what they believe, we have become arrogant. When we are rude and hateful, it is because we smugly believe everyone who disagrees with us to be an utter fool. We are not concerned for their well-being. We only want to destroy them. We will never convince anyone to change their beliefs by being haughty and condescending, and yet our social media posts are filled with this kind of contempt. It is most likely because we are not interested in dialogue and understanding so much as we are interested in generating a lot of laughs and likes for verbally body-slamming the other side.

"Never repay evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all people. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (12:17–19). The word "never" really stands out here. When is it appropriate to treat others with the cruelty and contempt with which they are treating you? When is it appropriate to load up and go looking for someone you can fight with to release the pressure of anger and grief building in your soul? When is it legitimate to get even with people who do barbarous things and who say cruel things? NEVER. It is never appropriate. We are to respect what is right, even when everyone else doesn’t. We are to NEVER take our own revenge. We entrust the situation to God, knowing that He will justly and perfectly exact vengeance. So should we just let people get away with these kinds of crimes? No, by no means! That is why God established human governments, for the good of the governed, protecting the governed from the murderous whims of the few. Criminals should be punished. I believe there is even a biblical argument for exacting the death penalty for the crime of murder. We are image-bearers of God. This is a very serious crime, and the consequences are very serious indeed. Those consequences, most of the time, are not ours to administer personally. Never take your own revenge. Never seek to get even. If possible, so far as it depends on you, strive to live at peace with all people. Are you truly pursuing peace?

How then should we respond to these people? What are we to do when we are mocked and ridiculed, when people whom we love and respect are mocked, ridiculed, and humiliated? "But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head" (12:20). Treat people how you would want to be treated, regardless of how they actually treat you. Treat people with the gentle kindness that comes from Christ. When you speak and post with kindness, despite the vitriol directed at you or at those you care about, you are following the way of Christ. Charlie exemplified this beautifully in life. Our love for others should be without hypocrisy. Treat people with kindness, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion—even if they do not treat you that way. Finally, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (12:21). You will never overcome evil with more evil. The anger of man does not accomplish the righteousness of God; it does not exhibit the righteousness of Christ that should exist in your heart as a believer (James 1:19–20). Do not allow evil to swallow up the good in your life. Rather, by being and doing good as God is good, you will in time overcome evil. What is good? It is the attitudes, words, and behavior that correspond to the perfect character of Christ. Speak the truth in love. Speak with kindness and mercy, regardless of how you are spoken to. Strive for peace so far as it depends on you. Never take your own revenge, and overcome evil with good rather than allowing evil to consume you and drag you into the swamp of rebellion and misery with it.

These days are hard. Return to the Scripture. Devote yourself to prayer and imitate Christ. How do we respond to this awful situation we find ourselves in? We must deny ourselves, take up our cross of suffering, and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34). We must love others like Jesus loved us—He demonstrated His love to us by dying the death we deserved while we were still enemies, spewing venom and hatred toward Him (Rom. 5:8)! We must trust God, the judge of all the earth, to do what is right. We must imitate Christ, beloved, for we are followers of Christ. "Let your light shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).