Beloved First Baptist,
I am back from Turkey! Our group visited sites where Paul preached the good news of Jesus’ love, and we studied the books of Acts and Galatians along the way. Paul proclaimed the gospel while trying to hold the fledgling church together. Yet factions quickly emerged, leading Paul to write these striking words in Galatians 5:14-15: “For the whole law is summed up in one commandment, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.”
I read this passage just before hearing of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which followed closely after the assassination of Melissa Hortman. Paul’s vivid imagery of a community turning on itself felt painfully relevant to our political landscape. According to non-partisan research at the University of Chicago and Princeton, political violence is rising in the United States. Recent examples include:
Assassination of Charlie Kirk (September 2025)
Assassination of Melissa Hortman (June 2025)
Arson at Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence (April 2025)
Attempted assassination of Donald Trump (2024)
Attack on Paul Pelosi (October 2022)
Attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh (June 2022)
This troubling pattern cannot be separated from the inflammatory tone of our political rhetoric, amplified by social media algorithms that reward outrage and division. Paul’s words feel startlingly current: “If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.” His warning captures this moment—a society so fractured that it risks devouring itself through anger and vengeance. What are people of goodwill to do? What are followers of Jesus to do in these perilous times?
As your pastor, I implore you: do not join in the dehumanizing and demonizing of others. Dehumanizing language reduces the humanity of people, often by comparing them to animals, objects or diseases, which can justify mistreatment and violence. You may have reason to deeply disagree with those with differing politics. You may have cause to be angry, but when we join in name-calling and contempt, we do more than deepen the divide in our country—we wound our own souls. As Christians, we know that even those we perceive as enemies are made in the image of God. We know Jesus chose to die rather than kill his enemies. As a result, we are called to live differently.
As political violence becomes more common, our collective sense of what is “acceptable” erodes, and each new act makes the next more thinkable. We must resist that slide. Do not accept this as normal, right, or God forbid, good.
I also urge you to pause before rushing to social media to express anger and grief. It’s not that your voice lacks value, but these platforms are designed to amplify outrage, normalize harsh rhetoric and escalate tensions.
Pause. Breathe. Feel the outrage and sorrow—but don’t let them own you. Turn toward God and seek peace amid the storm. In moments like this, I find Douglas McKelvey’s prayer for One Suffering Anxiety particularly helpful:
“In such moments, I need you, O Christ, to speak into those agitated waters of my soul, calling them to calm. Speak now, O Christ! Quiet my anxiety. Still my soul.
O my soul, be still.”
By refusing to dehumanize others and resisting the urge to fuel the flames of political outrage, we are not standing idly by—we are actively contributing to turning the tide and helping to rebuild a culture of respect, peace and shared humanity. May we each find that stillness, and through it, the strength to love and resist the cycles of anger and violence around us.