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You Don't Have to Silence Lies




One score and 4 years ago, our nation was on the precipice of war. We watched in horror as the Twin Towers fell. Our mouths agape, standing in utter shock, we held on to each other. After the attacks of 9/11, our nation had never been more united. We had never been more solidified. Together. The left and the right amalgamated into Americans that day. We plastered “Never Forget” on bracelets and T-Shirts. We flew American flags in our front yards and our apartment balconies. We slapped an American flag bumper sticker on our Fords and Chevys.

However, less than a quarter century later, we indeed have forgotten 9/11. We forgot the camaraderie we felt in the days following 9/11. We forgot the brotherhood that united us. We have become so polarized in our political opinions that children have gone no-contact with their parents. People have cut off lifelong friends just because they wear a red hat. We are starkly divided by race, by religion, by politics. 

Yesterday, a life was ended by an evil, despicable act of terror. Charlie Kirk, a well-known outspoken conservative, was holding a college campus debate in Utah when a gunman shot him in the neck, killing him. The graphic scene was caught on camera, as his debates are live-streamed, as well as filmed by the students in attendance on their personal devices. He was 31 years old, with a wife and two young children. The students in attendance who witnessed this assassination will never be the same. Each one has been traumatized for life. However, reactions of people rejoicing and celebrating the death of a man who spoke his beliefs is evil and the very worst of human nature. We have never been a nation so divided as we are today. Red vs. blue; right vs. left.

How quickly we forget.

How quickly we forget the scriptures, too. Christ was crucified for what He believed, what He taught and Who He was. Am I comparing Charlie Kirk to Jesus Christ? Of course not. One is a mortal man who sinned and was in need of a Savior, while the other was THE Savior of the world. So I’m not comparing them—I’m simply pointing out the fact that both of them were killed for what they believed in—that God is God. Charlie was an outspoken Christian who talked about his faith regularly. Kirk said, “I do not care about what people say about me. I just believe I will only tell truth. I will not compromise, and I love on the laws. All I care about is what I do, and what I do is I fight, and I know what God calls of us.”

And people hated him for it. People hated Christ for telling the truth, too. So they crucified Him. They hated Stephen and James, the son of Zebedee for telling the truth. They hated the Apostle Paul, Simon Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Jude Thaddeus, Bartholomew, James, Simon, Mark, Luke, Timothy, Philemon—shall I go on? They hated Charlie Kirk for telling the truth, too. So they killed him, just like they killed the martyrs in the early 1st century.

The funny thing is: you don’t have to silence lies—the truth will silence the lies. You only have to silence truth with death, because nothing else can silence truth. This evil we see in the world is nothing new. It’s not necessarily “getting worse,” either. We are just hearing about it more and more.

Yesterday, in addition to Charlie Kirk being assassinated, a gunman entered Evergreen High School in Colorado and opened fire injuring two before turning the gun on himself. Last week, a young Ukrainian refugee was brutally stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack on a train in North Carolina. Then a gunman went into a Catholic school, killing two and injuring 21, while they were in prayer. With so much evil in the world, it can feel overwhelming and hopeless. 

In the Old Testament, the world was so evil, God had to destroy it and only save Noah's family. Sodom and Gomorrah was despicably evil. Lot couldn't even find one righteous man. Other cities like Admah and Zeboiim were corrupt, evil and known for their wickedness. Satan's evilness no longer lurks in the shadows, but is on full display—celebrated by our mainstream media.

As Christians, we must be steadfast in our prayers and ability to stand up for what is honorable, what is just and what is true--The Truth, which is Jesus Christ. We have to keep our eyes on Him and let Him be our hope and our joy. 

“There is no greater joy than witnessing someone receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! In that moment, life begins — true, eternal, abundant life!” Charlie Kirk
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