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 asking the question, should I hate my enemies? Now, this is prompted by an article I read this week in the New York Times, uh, that was responding to President Trump and some comments he made at the memorial for Charlie Kirk. Ah. Now, that memorial was kind of a mix of politics and religion. Some really powerful things were said. Like, for example, there was a moment where Erica Kirk, uh, the now widow of Charlie Kirk, professed her faith in Jesus and actually said that the answer to hate is not hate. Uh, the answer to hate in the gospel is love. It's an amazing thing for a woman to say who's just seen her husband be murdered and to be murdered publicly. Uh, but President Trump's comments drew probably the most attention when following what Erica Kirk said. He said this. I hate my enemies, and I don't want the best for them. Uh, he even apologized to Erica Kirk, saying, basically, I know you won't like this, and I know this is the opposite of what you said, but I hate my enemies. Now, this is interesting for two reasons. One is because hate is what led to Charlie Kirk's death. You know who else hated their enemies? Tyler Robinson, the guy who killed Charlie Kirk. He killed him as an act of hatred. So for President Trump to so nakedly admit what I think many of us thought he already believed, that he hates his enemies, uh, perpetuates a cycle there of hatred, and we hope, uh, not, but possibly more people hating more people, more violence. He's almost legitimizing it instead of calling people together. But the second problem with that, and maybe my bigger problem, is the way conservative Christian commentators have tried to justify that. People, for example, like Ali Beth Stuckey, who said, well, forgiveness is personal grace, but the government's job is to hold people responsible. She's right, of course. That is one role of the government. But President Trump didn't say, hey, Erica, I'm glad that you are forgiving, but we are going to pursue justice. He didn't put the emphasis on the government. He said, I hate my enemies. He's putting the emphasis on his own personal view of how we ought to deal with enemies. And since so many of President Trump's followers are evangelicals, it falls to me to make sure you know that that is not a biblical way of thinking about your enemies. Let me offer you some thoughts in that direction. Uh, let's start with this. The Bible says in 1 John 4. 8 that God is love. Now, what it means is not that there's a definition of love out there, and God always hits it like a scorecard, and he always gets 10 out of tens on love. Instead, what it means is that everything God does is loving. That if you want to know what love looks like, you just watch God. If you want toa know how love responds in any particular situation, look at the way God responds. Uh, part of the problem behind President Trump's ideology of how we think about enemies is that he's defining it for himself. What he's saying is, um, my friend has been murdered, and I'm angry, and therefore I feel legitimized in my hatred. I feel like love requires this. But he doesn't get to define love. Neither do you and neither do I. God is love. He's the definition. And, of course, Jesus, the God man, God in the flesh, is the one who told us in Matthew 5:44 to love your enemies. Again, directly contradicting what the President said, Jesus told us that God's call on us is to love people, not just who love us, not just who treat us well, but to love all people, including and especially our enemies. And the reason for this is a gospel reason, because we were once enemies of God. Ephesians 4. 32 says that you and I ought to forgive one another, just as God in Christ has forgiven us. In other words, if God didn't love his enemies, you and I would have no hope of salvation, no hope of eternity, no hope of forgiveness. Again, God is love, and God loves his enemies. That's why he sent Jesus. That's why Jesus came. And let me just hit on this. I understand President Trump has lost a friend, and he's heartbroken over it and angry over it. I totally get that. And part of his problem with how he thinks about his enemies is that he thinks love and justice, uh, are irreconcilable. That what he hears Erica Kirk saying when she says, I've chosen to love, not hate, is that she doesn't care about justice. But of course, that isn't what she's saying, and that's not what the Bible says. The same Bible that tells us to love our enemies and Amos5 says to let justice roll down like water. Uh, love isn't the opposite of seeking justice, but what love is saying is that what we want, even for our enemies, is rep. Repentance. Again, remember that Romans 2. 4 says that God's kindness leads us to repentance. God's kindness tells us when we're wrong. God's love tells us judgment is coming, but his desire is for us to turn away from our sin before we receive judgment. Christians aren't out there telling people that we should let murderers go or we should turn a blind eye to acts of injustice. No, justice and love can go hand in hand. Love is saying to a murderer, in this life there are consequences, but in the life to come, there are even bigger consequences. And our desire for you is to avoid those by placing your sin unto Jesus and trusting his life and death and resurrection as your hope. Listen, President Trump is the president. I respect him, I respect the position. But he's a bad theologian on what it means to love and specifically the biblical call to love your enemies. It's another reminder that we can look to our government to lead our country, but we look to Jesus to lead our hearts. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

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