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The
reaction has been as partisan as we would expect. The president’s
supporters and his critics are both using the report to claim
vindication for their positions. Analysts are already speculating on
ways the parties will use it in the 2020 election cycle.
We
should not be surprised by this polarized response. Our culture has
jettisoned absolute truth and objective morality, claiming tolerance for
all viewpoints as our highest value. But this goes only halfway: many
demand that we tolerate their views but feel no obligation to tolerate
ours.
Years
ago, a wise friend explained to me the three steps of political
success: (1) convince people they have an enemy; (2) convince them that
they cannot defeat their enemy; (3) convince them that I will defeat
their enemy if they vote for me (or give me money, or do whatever I want
them to do).
In our zero-sum, for-me-to-win-you-must-lose culture, is there a better way forward?
“Columbine” is now a category
The twentieth anniversary of the Columbine massacre is this Sunday.
On
the morning of April 20, 1999, two teenagers began shooting fellow
students outside Columbine High School in suburban Denver. They killed
twelve students and a teacher and wounded twenty others before killing
themselves.
Tragically, “Columbine” has become not just a name or an event but a category.
According to the Washington Post,
226,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school since the
Columbine shooting. At least 143 children, educators, and others have
been killed in assaults, and another 294 have been injured.
The
threat to our students is clearly not over. More than 130 schools
across Denver closed Wednesday as authorities searched for a woman
reportedly obsessed with the Columbine massacre and deemed a “credible
threat to the community.” She was later found dead of an apparent
self-inflicted gunshot wound.
School
shootings have become so common that a support group, the Principals
Recovery Network, has been formed to help principals whose schools
experience such tragedy.
Combining love and accountability
How
can the Columbine survivors and families of the victims best respond to
Sunday’s tragic anniversary? The answer is relevant not only to their
grief but to our polarized society as well.
Jesus
instructed us to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27–28).
He also taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
Does this mean that we do not hold people accountable for their sins? Absolutely not.
When
someone sins against you, you are to “go and tell him his fault,
between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). If he will not listen, you
are to “take one or two others along with you” (v. 16). If he refuses to
listen to them, “tell it to the church” (v. 17a). If he refuses to
listen to the church, he is to be removed from the community of faith
(v. 17b).
If
the sin is criminal in nature, the state is to punish as “an avenger
who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” (Romans 13:4). And the
ultimate judge is God himself: “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to
the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,
says the Lord'” (Romans 12:19).
The Mayo Clinic on forgiveness
According
to the Mayo Clinic, “When someone you care about hurts you, you can
hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge—or embrace
forgiveness and move forward.” Mayo reports that refusing to forgive
causes us to become depressed, live in the past, bring anger and
bitterness into every new relationship, and lose purpose in life.
Of
course, to forgive does not mean to forget. Those who survived
Columbine can never forget that horrific day. Nor does it mean to excuse
the shooters for their heinous crimes.
Forgiveness means to release them to the God of justice and honor the dead by living faithfully.
The
same is true with regard to the political animosity of our day. Rather
than identify people exclusively on the basis of party or position,
let’s see them as God sees them—souls for whom Jesus died.
Our
gracious Father calls us to be bold but also forgiving (Acts 4:31;
Ephesians 4:31). He wants us to speak biblical truth with conviction but
also to love those with whom we disagree (Ephesians 4:15).
“Full of grace and truth”
On
the first Good Friday, Jesus prayed from his cross for those who nailed
him there (Luke 23:34). He died for them and for us: “He was pierced
for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was
the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are
healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Our Savior was “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, my emphasis). Let’s follow his example today.
NOTE: Have you seen Biblical Insight to Tough Questions?
It’s our weekly YouTube series that tackles the challenging questions we as Christians face.
I pray it’s a blessing to you. Please let us know what you think by commenting on the video.
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