Three Biblical Principles for Christians After Charlie Kirk’s Death
Charlie Kirk with his wife, Erika Frantzve, and two children
I tend to shy away from politics and political articles, since my theological convictions get me into enough debates and hard conversations. YPT’s focus is on biblical and theological depth in youth ministry, so I’ve chosen for YPT to “stay in our lane” and remain silent on most social and political issues. But the murder of Charlie Kirk is a significantly public event that has flooded social media and news to the point that even nonpolitical teenagers are talking about it. Many of them who were on social media between the shooting and the announcement of Kirk’s death saw video footage and graphic images of the shooting—whether they wanted to or not. Now, they are personally affected by this incident.
The way parents and youth workers talk about this will matter just as much as the content of what we say. For that reason, I want to offer a few biblical principles that may help us collectively grieve and seek unity as a nation.
Ask the Lord to grow the Fruit of the Spirit within you
If you are a Christian then the Holy Spirit is conforming you to the image of Christ. As someone who recently wrote a book about that topic, it’s been on my mind a lot: how can we embody and reflect God’s image faithfully in our world. Really, that question is all about becoming more like Jesus. And isn’t that what we’re seeking… individually and as the Body of Christ?
The Apostle Paul answered that question this way,
“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:19–26)
As Christians, we are called to repent and turn away from worldliness. This involves many of the temptations and emotions that come most naturally during a time like this: anger, bitterness, divisiveness, etc. There are good reasons to feel those emotions, but the Lord calls us away from them and towards Christlikeness instead. This doesn’t minimize the reality of what’s happened, but the Fruit of the Spirit ought to shape the Christian response. Christlikeness is the way forward.
Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to come angry
We are living in a culture that’s increasingly fear-driven. Both political parties are guilty of feeding their constituents adequate fear to keep supporting their candidate, and both parties have “the receipts” to back up their claims. When we keep a list of reasons to be angry, and the cycle ever continues.
But Christians are not called towards anger, and we should seek spiritual solutions not worldly ones.
“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” (James 1:19–20)
“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:32–36)
A spiritual response is shaped by glory and goodness of God, applied to our world. A worldly response seeks to accomplish “God’s mission” with the same tactics that the world uses (fear, manipulation, power, etc).
Jesus is our savior and our example. If we choose any other example or model for how we overcome evil in ourselves and in society, then we’ve lost our way. We must turn the other cheek, carry our cross, and love our neighbor and our enemies. This is simply biblical Christianity.
This isn’t easy. The frustration is real. Another man is dead, whose wife and young children will never hear him say “I love you” again. Politics aside, this is a high profile murder that many of our kids watched on social media. It should cause us to grieve without turning it into a political “whatabout” statement. We need to relearn how to grieve without feeding more anger.
If Jews and Gentiles worship together then so can Republicans and Democrats
Gentiles conquered Israel and made Abraham’s children pay taxes to Caesar, obey their governors, and submit to their military. Yet, Israel continued to believe God’s promise to restore Israel’s glory and power, for the glory of His name. The animosity and division between Jews and Gentiles is hard for most Americans today to fathom.
During the Early Church, Jews and Gentiles worshipped together, sacrificially gave to provide for each other, and considered one another brothers and sisters in Christ.
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13–14)
“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:28–29)
In Christ, Republicans and Democrats who worship Jesus Christ as Lord have an eternal bond they do not and cannot share with others in their party who are not Christians. Do we truly believe this? Will we talk about men and women in the other party with this in mind, or will we throw the same political grenades everyone else is launching?
The way I speak about people who are in the other political party will affect my relationships with fellow church members. If I flippantly demonize people from the other party because I’m angry or upset, that only deepens divisions and mistrust between church members who need to draw nearer to one another. I’ve heard this from friends affiliated with both parties, and it needs to stop.
Again, this doesn’t mean we overlook our differences. Recognizing our shared faith in Christ will not erase our political disagreements, but it should change the way we discuss and debate them.
Where do we go from here?
Our culture is broken. This isn’t true because of Charlie Kirk’s murder; instead, I think his death is evidence of its brokenness. Further evidence is seen in Iryna Zarutska’s murder, far too many school shootings to number (including one in Colorado that got little airtime). We need the Lord to heal our land, and that begins with personal repentance and sincere prayer for one another.
I’m praying that Christian families can embrace the three biblical principles above and apply them to topics like Charlie Kirk’s murder and other similarly weighty topics. The way we talk about our “enemies” around the dinner table will bleed into the way our children treat their classmates who are different from them, and then the cycle continues to spiral for another generation.
