Yesterday was Saturday, July 13th and as my family commenced our Sabbath celebration Meghan informed me of some shocking news, Trump had been shot during a rally in Pennsylvania. We had just sat the kids down and started a movie, and I had just begun rolling out the first pizza dough - we took a pause and watched what news we could find. Through what has come out over the last twenty-four hours I just have a couple of comments to make.
In the Marine Corps, there is a phrase we use all the time, it almost takes on a satire-ish use, but the truth of it still resounds, simple as it is. "Words have meaning". Don't make your intent to "destroy" when you really mean "neutralize" - words have meaning(I'll spare you the nuance of the definitions of tactical tasks). Now since 2016, we have been hearing things like "Trump is Hitler, he is a fascist Nazi, etc." It is generally accepted that during the WWII era, killing Hitler would have been seen as an act of global good. One side of our political aisle has been treating these two men as equals, so it follows that any "good" person today should carry out an assassination attempt, for it would be a global good. - Words have Meaning, we need to be consistent, wild exaggerations and bravado have consequences.
Leadership is enacted, not claimed - strength is tested in adversity, not in controlled environments. I can't think of a less controlled environment or a more adverse situation than to be shot at. I can't think of a better snapshot in time to reveal a man's strength, resolve, and leadership than those seconds immediately following bullets flying over his head or even into his own body. We saw Trump not cower behind his security detail, but immediately lead. In a situation he had never encountered or trained for, his response was strong. I respected this, and though there are many things I don't respect about him, this moment proved to me his intentions to lead.
Nothing is new under the sun. Like most scenarios, we blame sin on the object - but sin is of the heart. We like to blame drunkenness on the object of alcohol, porn on the ease of access to the internet, murder on guns, and addiction on drugs - but these are all problems of the heart, and sin is not picky on its outlet. We could find many things to blame in this situation, and I'm sure many political analysts and news hosts will do so with a pointed political agenda. But we know this is the result of unrepentant sin. James 4:1-2 says that we lust and do not have so we murder. We covet and cannot obtain. Politics are very complicated, but what happened yesterday resulted from sin in a man's heart.
May we understand the times and what to do about it.
these are interesting times, but men of Issachar with eyes in their head are able to understand them and know what we ought to do (1 Chr 12:32)
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