It was difficult watching the video of President Trump being shot at by someone who may have thought he was doing the right thing based on the hate filled rhetoric that is flooding our news and opinion shows on television and social media. We rejoiced that he was not seriously wounded, but then wept when we found that the errant shot took the life of another American who was protecting his wife and daughters. This is not the America we want for our children and grandchildren.
Some are saying the other side has crossed the that we cannot tolerate. Others say the genie is out of the bottle and are talking about retaliation. This is an understandable reaction in light of being called deplorables, a danger to democracy and a host of other vile and patently false descriptives. The point is do we want to become just as hateful and divisive as those who spew lies and hate on the six o'clock news? All that would do is put us in two armed camps that will one day explode into more and more violence.
Does not responding in kind mean we quietly accept the rules of those who despise our country and wish to turn it into a socialist “paradise” where we don't even know the difference between a man and a woman? Hardly!
Matthew 10:16 tells us “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” What does that mean? Ronald Reagan told us to “trust but verify” things we are told. It means having three uniformed police officers – along with other armed security in plain clothes - at our church on Sunday morning. It means being welcoming, but watchful.
What it doesn't mean is hating our fellow Americans who have been taken in by the false promises of those who would divide our country. In doing so we only confirm the division they are creating in our land. Martin Luther King Jr once said, “I have decided to stick to love...Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Jesus said, “love your enemies.” What neither of these said was that it would be easy. If we are to be united again, we need to build bridges, not burn them.
What can we do to change those who hate us and the country we love? Nothing! We can do nothing to change them. It is up to us. II Chronicles 7:14 tell us “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Are we willing to admit our own short comings and try to fix them?
But you it's not fair. It's not our fault! Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but we allowed things to go this far out of hand. Is fixing the blame more important than fixing the problem? If it is the problem will remain unfixed.
Abe Lincoln was in a similar situation. We may be just as divided as in the early 1860s. He concluded his second inaugural address with the following:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.
The solution is simple, but it sure won't be easy.