Escaping Snares

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It’s been six days at this writing since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. It has been a tumultuous time in the United States. I was very sad that an earnest young man was gunned down because he was saying things that others vehemently disagreed with. That is so tragic on many levels. 

I do not watch the news generally. I do read some articles online but I, for the most part, take what I read with a grain of salt (taking information with a “grain” of skepticism). I have a healthy (I think) respect for historical context and a firm belief that this world is not our home. So however tragic and alarming current events are, and how absolutely senseless and terribly sad for those who loved him, I know that this too shall pass. When my mother passed away from ovarian cancer in 1983 when she was 49 years old, it seemed as if life would stop, but it didn’t. We are simply players in a struggle between good and evil on this groaning planet. But I thank God that Jesus has earned the victory for us through His death and resurrection. I rejoice greatly in that.

This morning as I sat down to read, write, and pray I thought I would try to do some research on who Charlie Kirk was. I have never been a follower or really knew that much about him. As some claim, was he really a racist? How can that be said? Why is it being said? So I started to Google the subject and read AI pop-ups and I quickly understood that was not a trail I was going to follow. People who believe that critical race theory is true and that white people have inherent privilege say he was a racist mainly because he said he didn't believe in that.  It seems to me they are twisting his rejection of that mind-meld into something it is not. Other people honor him as if he were a perfect example of manhood and Christianity…and both portrayals are foreign to me to get obsessed with and I will tell you why…we all see through a glass darkly. To dive into the endless information on the internet trying to get a truer picture of what he believed and what happened and why people are saying what they are saying became clear to me that it would be a colossal waste of my time. Too much distraction. There has never been another person on this earth worthy of complete honor other than Jesus Christ. What we read online is going to deceive us if we are not careful. How else did a young man convince himself that murdering Charlie Kirk was a solution? Apparently this troubled person was a devotee of the internet and the make believe world of gaming. What a beast has been unleashed on the world through the internet! What power to deceive and persuade.

I was reading in 2 Timothy today and verse 26 of chapter 2 caught my eye…”and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will”. So it is possible to be captured by the devil and to become a soldier in the wrong army, doing the will of that deceitful being who opposes the kingdom of God from gaining any ground in the lives of this world's inhabitants.

In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter writes to be sober and vigilant because the adversary, the devil, walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. The young man that killed Charlie Kirk was an open door to the will of an evil persuasion. We know from Ephesians 6 that we need to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. That strength is achieved by putting on the whole armor of God - a belt of truth (Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light); a breastplate of righteousness (achieved by being in right standing with God through salvation); correct footwear (the readiness of the gospel of peace); the shield of faith (to put out the flaming accusatory arrows shot at us); the protective headgear, a helmet of salvation; and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. We must also pray at all times. We must remain alert. In other words, we must build ourselves up in Christ. This won’t be achieved by bombarding our brains with the opinion of others easily uploaded online.

And so I end this with a caution and an encouragement: avoid the force of the crowds and draw near to God. It is written in that fearless sword of His Word, the Bible, that when you draw near to Him, He will assuredly draw near to you. In these troubling, confusing times that is where I want to spend my time, drawing near to Him.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you”.        James 4:7-8a