Wake Up, Look Up

Hello, everyone. Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I'm Zach Weihrauch. And in today's episode, we're talking about Israel and Gaza. And we're asking the question, do I have to pick a side? Now, this is prompted by an article I read in the New York Times recently.

But to be honest with you, coverage of this particular issue is really in every media platform across our country.

And here's kind of where we are. Of course, we remember that in late 2024, Israel experienced a horrific terrorist attack costing the lives of thousands of people.

That led to hostage situations and military conflict and has now resulted in a situation where Israel has taken military control of a region called the Gaza Strip.

And according to at least one United Nations-backed group, the IPC, is strangling the hold on supplies reaching the people of Gaza.

So much so that, again, according to this group, one in three residents are going without food for days.

Hunger-related deaths are climbing and health conditions are worsening by the minute. The crisis has really been exacerbated by the fact that Israel has cut off supplies, including food, saying that terrorist organizations are taking the supplies or are redeploying the supplies, and so the only way to defeat these terrorist groups is to cut off the supplies, which means that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are often walking around for hours, if not days, trying to go from one aid site to the next to find what they need to provide for their families and to feed and care for their children.

Now, Israel says this system prevents theft, it prevents the rise of terrorism, but opponents say It's killing people, that it is a demilitarized way of killing Palestinians.

And here's the thing. In all of this political debate, it seems to me that what's really going on in our country is yet another example of the tribalism and binary way of thinking that we've bought into.

Because on one side, I'm told that I must stand with Israel, that Israel is a free and democratic country, that it is the bastion in the Middle East against militant Islam.

It's an ally to the United States, and it is a necessary friend against the dangers that can come from terrorists and militant Muslims.

And okay, I buy into that. On the other hand, I'm told the starving of Palestinian children and the needless harm being caused to innocent civilians is horrific, barbaric, and unacceptable.

Okay, no problem. I agree with that. But then here's what I'm being told as American. I have to choose one of those. If I stand with Israel, I have to turn a blind eye to the fact that Palestinians are dying of hunger in the street.

If I stand with Palestinian children who are dying, I have to turn a blind eye to the relationship between the Gaza Strip and organizations like Hamas.

I either have to be a liberal who ignores terrorism and values people or a conservative who values safety and ignores people.

But why do I have to choose between those things? Why do I have to take one side or the other? In fact, I think the Bible is pushing us towards nuance and distinction, towards the ability to avoid having to be in a tribe because my tribe is the tribe of Jesus.

He doesn't belong to either one of those views. So let me offer you a third way, not a conservative way, not a liberal way, not a Republican way, not a Democrat way, a way where you don't have to ignore anything anything, a biblical way forward of thinking about this issue.

First, let me say this, love rejects political tribalism. Jesus says it this way in Matthew 5:44, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

He's saying, you already love your neighbors, you already love your friends, and I'm not letting you off the hook to love anyone.

Which means even if you say, well, some of these supplies probably are going to terrorists. Jesus said to love your enemies. He didn't mean to ignore the dangers of terrorism.

He meant you can't starve children in the name of fighting it. You can't justify starving people because you are worried they pose a threat.

What does it mean to love your enemies? Here's the other thing. Justice is not partial. Leviticus 19.15 says, "'Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism,' In the same way that we say to Israel and must as Christians, you can't starve children in the street.

We say to Palestinians, we understand you're struggling. You cannot participate in or harbor terrorists. It's not one or the other. It's both. Children shouldn't starve and terrorists shouldn't be supported.

And what I'm really describing is a way of reconciling two things. which, of course, is our mission. We are, in the words of the Apostle Paul, ambassadors of reconciliation.

And, of course, there Paul is talking about reconciling us to God, but he's also talking about the sentiment of the gospel, that if I can be reconciled to God, my greatest enemy, my greatest threat, well, then who can I not be reconciled to?

The Bible shows us time and time again that two people who are enemies in the name of Jesus can come together, two people Ideas that seem like I can't hold them in both hands can be brought together under the banner of Jesus.

There is a way of showing compassion without being complicit. That's what I'm arguing for. I can walk and chew gum at the same time. I can hate terrorism and see the need for an ally in the Middle East, all while saying no ally of mine should be allowed to cause harm to innocent civilian children.

Listen, Proverbs 12:17 says, whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence. Friends, what if we didn't care about appeasing our political parties?

What if we didn't care about tribalism? What if Christians were the one group standing in the middle saying, hold on, both of you are telling some truth, but some untruth, and we just want the truth.

I do not have to choose between the false binaries our culture gives us. I want a safe Middle East. I believe Israel has the right to exist. I also don't want children dying in the Middle East.

And I don't have to apologize for holding those two views. And neither do you.

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