Jimmy’s Table Podcast

I believe the world is changing. And the world I grew up in from the 1980’s isn’t going to be the world I die in.

The global “world order” is being shaken. Populist and authoritarian political movements are shaping the political landscape. People are becoming more divided. There’s a disdain for capitalism and free trade. And as nations become increasingly nationalistic, they are becoming strongly anti-immigrant.

So, how are we to navigate all these changes? I believe the key to living through these anxious times is found in the apocalyptic literature of the Scriptures.

In this podcast, I look at “the beasts” that dominated the visions of the books of Daniel and Revelation, and examine how their prophetic visions of the future can inform us today. And ultimately, how the kingdom of God, which is represented by a Lamb, stands in stark contrast to the beasts the dominate the world.

I’ve been through good times and bad times. I know what it is to suffer loss. I know what it’s like to hit rock bottom. I know what it’s like to go through dark times. I know what it’s like to discover joy in the midst of sorrow. And I know what it’s like to have my joy made full. In this podcast, I share about walking through the grief of an unexpected divorce. I talk about what it’s like to rebuild your life after divorce, and ultimately, what it’s like to find the fullness of joy all over again.

With every election season, it’s not uncommon to hear various celebrities say that, “If such and such politician gets elected, I’m going to move to another country.”

Naturally, people get offended over such words. And seldom do these celebrities actually act on their words.

But they express a sentiment that has been echoed by many voices throughout the years. Even if all they do is half heartedly mean these actual words, there’s often an underlying existential angst that’s taken up a place in our souls that expresses a dissatisfaction with our present world order, and what the future may hold.

In this podcast, I explore the angst behind these sentiments, and what the longings of our hearts concerning the outcome of elections ultimately teaches us.

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

~C.S. Lewis

Our hearts are not satisfied until they are satisfied in thee…

~St Augustine

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God….13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11:8-10; 13-16 (NASB):

We live in a world that suffers from a deficit of joy. As a result, we chase things that we think will make us happy, and while going from one high to the next, we never quite find what we are looking for, and only end up coming away empty handed.

In this podcast, I explore the difference between happiness and joy. And while there can be some overlaps between happiness and joy, we’ll see that happiness is ultimately grounded in temporary experiences. Whereas joy is an internal disposition of the heart, engrained into the fiber of who we are as a person. We’ll learn that joy can exist even in the midst of dark and scary times, and that joy can be the very source of the strength we have to fight out way out of that darkness.

Ultimately in this podcast we learn that there is good news for us at this Christmas season: joy is a gift of God, and that joy is for everyone.

I was listening to, “The Remnant” podcast recently, in which Jonah Goldberg and David Brooks made a fascinating observation: When people are successful, they love to take all the credit, but when they fail, they love to blame someone else.

Take for example, when you get a promotion or a great new job: You got it because you are super talented, worked hard, and pulled yourself up by the bootstraps. But when you get laid off… it’s because Joe Biden and the Democrats have ruined the economy.

This of course, is a story as old as time. And it manifests itself in a variety of ways throughout the history of the world. The Romans blamed the Christians for the decline of their empire. Hitler blamed the Jews for the decline of Germany. Republicans blame the Democrats, and the Democrats blame the Republicans. Children blame their parents for why they are so messed up, and Boomers blame Millennials for why their country is no longer great.

And the funny thing is, we often play this blame game without much in the way of any evidence. At best we have a few anecdotal type stories that we use to shame “the other,” and to support our preferred narratives.

Just this morning, for example, I noted on Facebook how gas prices had fallen below $3 a gallon near where I live. And immediately, as if by natural reflex, without any supporting evidence, over half a dozen of my family and friends started conspiring, that the reason for this was that old senile president Joe Biden was causing gas prices to fall, because we are heading into the 2024 election, and he has to rig the economy in his favor.

And I only point this out, not to shame my family or friends, but to show how people are already preemptively preparing a narrative, to explain why Donald Trump might lose the 2024 presidential election. They could never admit, for example, that Trump might just be a politician the majority of Americans don’t like. Rather, it must be because Joe Biden managed to artificially lower gas prices so as to cause the masses to believe the economy is doing better than it seems. But of course, if Donald Trump manages to win the 2024 election, it’ll be because they believed they backed a superior candidate that everyone else liked too. And all stories about gas prices and elections being rigged against them, will simply be forgotten.

So the question then is, why do people behave this way? Why do people love to glory in their successes, but blame others on why their life sucks? And why do they so quickly resort to strange conspiracy theories to explain such notions?

I think we do these things because it gives us a sense of control we have over our lives. When everything goes according to plan, we feel like a wise chess grandmaster, aggressively pushing pawns and sacrificing queens as we skillfully plot our path to victory. But when we lose, we get angry and defensive, and feel someone is somehow cheating us out of something that rightfully belongs to us. Therefore we lose, not because of something we did or did not do, but because there’s a smoke filled room in which people are conspiring against us.

And we tell ourselves such stories, I believe, because it ultimately comforts us. It gives us a sense of control over our lives, because we feel deep down inside that if it were not for this “other” person or group of people, then our lives would be unfolding before us as planned.

For example, if you were to read the founding charter documents of Hamas, as I recently did a few weeks ago, they spend a lot of time spelling out that the only reason they don’t control Palestine presently, is because world Jewry has engaged in a 150 year old plot to take over the world through banks and the media. But Hamas ultimately believes they’ll overcome the Jews as a result of their struggles against them, because Allah will ultimately bless their efforts to kill Jews wherever they may hide.

Such shows how nutty Hamas leaders are in their thinking. They currently are failing because of the global conspiracy of Jews, but one day they’ll succeed because Allah has got their back. So, which is it?

I don’t claim to be a fundamentalist Islamic terrorist theologian. So I’ll leave such questions regarding Divine providence up to them to figure out. But I only bring them up, because fundamentally most of us naturally think the same way. The natural gut reaction of our inner theologian isn’t much different than theirs. Our theology just involves different actors, but like a good Hallmark movie, involves the same plot over and over again.

Maybe, just maybe we all need to learn to write a different story line? But that story line is one that scares us to death to tell, which is why we don’t tell it. Instead we prefer to tell the story in which we get to play the blame game.

The truth is, life is scary. It’s full of random events that happen, often unexpectedly, with little that we can do to control the outcome of such events.

We can work hard, save, invest, and play by all the rules, only to unexpectedly lose our job when there’s an economic downturn.

We can exercise, eat right, get a good nights sleep, yet still receive an unexpected cancer diagnosis in the prime of our life.

We can lovingly wine and dine a romantic partner, get married, and pour our entire life into that person, only to watch them cheat on you anyway.

When such things happen, when life throws is an unexpected curve ball, it’s so easy to seek an explanation that allows us to blame someone else, and to find comfort in those explanations.

But such is the easy way out.

For it’s harder to admit we live in a world in which we aren’t God and that a lot of things are going to happen that are far outside our ability to understand and control.

It’s far harder to give yourself over to that reality, and to simply fling yourself into the hands of God, and trust that whatever happens in your life, both good and bad, that things are ultimately in the hands of God, and that you are willing to trust Him no matter what the outcome of your circumstances and actions might be.

We ultimately engage in constructing narratives that blame others for when things don’t go our way, because we ultimately don’t want to let go of the sense of control we feel we have, and are ultimately failing to trust God with our lives.

And in the process, we instinctively blame Joe Biden, the Jews, immigrants, or a lot of other people that we are secretly suspicious of as being somehow engaged in a plot against us.

And that’s not to say there aren’t powerful people in this world plotting against others. There certainly are such people.

But our instincts shouldn’t be to look for a boogeyman to blame, but ultimately, to throw our lives into the hands of the God who we can trust.

Would Jesus vote for Republicans? Would Jesus vote for Democrats? Would Jesus vote for Donald Trump? Would Jesus vote for Joe Biden? Or… would Jesus even vote at all?

There’s nothing in the Bible that says we should vote.

There’s nothing in the Bible that says we shouldn’t vote.

I believe the decision to vote ultimately boils down to an area of Christian liberty (Romans 14). One can vote, but one can also NOT vote, and that’s perfectly okay.

But, is voting always wise?

In our current political environment, where we have become increasingly polarized politically as a nation, it seems increasingly unwise to vote. To do so almost seems to require we compromise our witness as Christians, especially as more and more political parties attempt to co-opt the Church for their own political gain.

I might be speaking hyperbolically here, but imagine a scenario if we had two candidates running for office: Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Please tell me, which of these guys you would vote for? Would you vote for Hitler or would you vote for Stalin.

I would personally vote for neither. And I don’t think Jesus would either.

I can imagine it now. If those were our only two options on the ballot, there would be a fierce debate and division within the church over which candidate to support. And people would be making fierce defenses of each, and denouncing as demonic anyone who voted otherwise.

But some of you might be pragmatic and say, while you like neither candidate, those are our only two options, so we should vote for whichever one we deem the lesser of two evils!

And part of me can’t help but just sigh over such a depressing notion.

Such is just a notion that we should vote for the sake of voting, and that voting itself is a civic virtue that we should all be engaged in, regardless of how bad the choices.

That sounds smart in a way. And maybe that’s fine if we can vote in a vacuum, in a completely emotionally detached way.

But most of us probably can’t vote in an emotionally detached way. We either love our candidates or hate them. There’s seldom an indifference. And that love or hatred of possible candidates often seems to warp us on the inside, which has the ability to impact us spiritually.

When I sit there and think who would Jesus vote for if He could vote, I can’t help but wonder if Jesus would even vote at all? As I close my eyes, pray, and read the Scriptures, I can’t help but think… no, Jesus wouldn’t vote at all. And while we might have the liberty to do so in Christ, I wonder how many of support a candidate, without compromising something of who we are in order to do so.

Should you vote? I’ll leave that up between you and the Lord.

It’s so tempting to view the latest war between Israel and Gaza as a black and white issue. One side is evil, and the other side is good. And while it may comfort us to deal in absolutes, if you dive into messy history between Israel and Palestinians, you’ll soon discover things aren’t always so clear, and that things are very complicated.

In today’s podcast, I discuss a thought provoking article shared on Twitter by Isaac Saul, an American Jewish news reporter who lived at one time in Israel. He wrestles with the complicated history of the Jews and the Palestinians, as well as the brutality and atrocities committed by each side, and how that has led us to the clash between both sides.

After reading his article in length, I also discuss this issue from what I believe should be the Christian perspective on the war between Israel and Gaza, which I believe should be from the perspective of the crucified Christ. For it was on the cross that Jesus cried out, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”

Those words were deeply ironic words. For if you had asked the Roman soldier that crucified Jesus that day if he knew what he was doing, he could have told you exactly what he was doing and why as he crucified Jesus. And the same goes for the Jewish leaders, who turned Jesus over to be crucified by the Romans. They knew exactly what they were doing. Yet in all this exactitude and certainty, Jesus still cried out to God to forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were really doing.

Finally, I turn to one of my favorite prophecies, from Isaiah 2:1-4, and how this prophecy offers us hope in the midst of nations that are hell bent on war.

It is my hope that today’s podcast will help put you both in the shoes of those who live in Gaza, and those who live in Israel, and ultimately that you’d be able to look at them through the eyes of Jesus Christ on the cross. This podcast doesn’t offer any solution to the war that is taking place between Israel and Gaza. But I hope it will open your eyes to what’s going on, and to ultimately allow your heart to be formed into that of Christ’s heart for both sides in this feud.

Pastor JD Greear said something in a sermon that got a lot of attention this past week. Clips circulating on Twitter showed Greear chastising people for not practicing hospitality in the church, showing up to service late, leaving early, and neglecting the lonely.

As summarized in an article on Christianity Today, in the sermon Greear stated “You treat church like a religious show.” Then, pointing at his online viewers, he says, “When people say that the church … feels like a big production, you’re the problem.” The video cuts to a wider camera angle featuring him standing on a large, well-appointed stage, in front of an audience sitting in movie-style seats and flanked by at least two massive hi-def screens, one of which features the pastor himself.

The irony of this, and Greear’s seemingly lack of self-awareness, was not lost on many. After all, how can Greear chastise people for treating Sunday mornings like nothing more than a religious show, when he is seen as propagating the very thing he’s ultimately being critical of.

You reap what you sow.

And while I want to show nothing but charity here to Greear, as in the broader context of the sermon , he’s trying to fight against larger cultural treatment of the church as nothing more than religious entertainment— all to which I say nothing but amen!

But in fighting against the thing he’s sorta helped create, such would be the equivalent of a bar owner complaining about all the drunks that frequent their establishment. He might wish people drink more responsibly, but at the end of the day, he’s ultimately happy to sell as much booze as possible.

And lest anyone think I’m trying to single out Greear here, I’m not, as I don’t know all that much about him and his ministry, and what I have heard largely tends to be good, I wish in this podcast to draw attention again to a theme I’ve talked about several times in the past before, and that simply has to do with the way we do church.

In the Evangelical and Pentecostal circles I’ve run in over the years, I can’t help but notice how increasingly our churches have become platform centered. And although we tend to lack a formal liturgical structure like you might find in the so-called “high church” traditions, we have a structure that has become practically sacrosanct just the same.

So much so that if you go to your typical church service today, you can almost always expect the exact same format, with little variation. Every service starts with some brief greeting and announcements, shaking of hands, 3-5 songs, an offering, a sermon, a final song, maybe an altar call, and a final time marked with prayer and a benediction.

And regardless of the size of the church, all this happens on a stage, with everyone more or less looking on in a passive sorta way. At best people might clap and sing along, or shout amen, but generally speaking audience involvement is pretty low, and sometimes even frowned upon.

Over the years I’ve stirred a little trouble by looking at all this and wondering why we can’t change the formula a bit? Maybe church shouldn’t be so platform centered? Maybe we should have multiple people share on Sunday mornings? Maybe some of that sharing should be rather spontaneous, instead of part of a well scripted act of oratory and formal sermon preparation delivered by professionals? Maybe we should do the sermon first, and the singing last? Maybe we shouldn’t have cameras everywhere that broadcasts a sermon to 10 other campuses where people watch on jumbo screens?

Yet here we are. Stuck to a formula that grew out of the great revival movements of the 18th and 19th centuries. In those days much of Christianity centered around traveling charismatic preachers and a group of singers who’d float from town to town, preaching the gospel and starting churches. People would gather in mass around their preaching and singing performances, and then start churches that followed the structures of these revival and tent meetings.

Such has been a feature of the Evangelical movement since the days of Wesley and Whitfield, and it’s always existed throughout the centuries. It’s a feature, and not a bug.

But in the past 15-20 years or so, we’ve really taken this basic format and baptized it in steroids. To the extent that our Sunday morning church “experience” is now more or less a slick rock concert, featuring a specially anointed Ted Talk level speaker. Increasingly, everyone on the stage is a paid professional performer, and everyone in the audience is just a spectator that shows up to be entertained.

As the article I cited earlier from Christianity Today so aptly pointed out, the medium has become the message. When the primary center of a church is what happens on a Sunday morning stage, where everyone is a paid professional performer, you’ve essentially communicated that everyone else is just a passive spectator, whose only real purpose is to come to church on time and to be entertained with religious content.

And while guys like JD Greear might be sincerely trying to fight against that by making some pretty bold statements from the pulpit, he’s ultimately fighting a losing battle that he cannot ever hope to win. Because the medium has become the message. And there’s no chance you can challenge or change that so long as you continue to reinforce in your actions the very thing you preach against.

My proposal today is a very simple one.

Maybe, just maybe!!! we shouldn’t turn church into something centralized around a performance that happens on a platform for people sitting in pews?

The church is supposed to be a household of faith, the family of God, and a community that ultimately gathers around Christ.

We should resist any notions that turn the church into a theatrical performance or play, an elaborate production to be merely consumed.

While there’s a place for platforms, when what takes place on a stage is the centrality of our Christian experience, we’ve deeply erred.

Our Christian experience should focus on gathering together around a shared meal, and living out our faith together, as we share our lives in Christ.

It should not be centered around what happens on a platform on Sunday mornings. And while there certainly is a place for such things in the life of the church, I can’t help but notice when I read the pages of the New Testament, that the 18th and 19th century revivalist based format that we’ve baptized in steroids is nowhere to be found in Scripture.

Instead what we read about are groups of people who primarily gathered together to share their lives together in Christ, to dedicate themselves to following the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, to share a common meal together, to pray, to sing, and to mutually encourage one another in their faith.

And while there were special times of gathering together in larger audiences to carefully listen to someone preach a lengthy sermon, or series of sermons, such wasn’t the primary focus of the life of the church.

What happened when the church gathered in living rooms and at dinner tables was of primary importance. And if we operated as such, sermons like Greear’s, where he’s encouraging everyone to not be tardy to church, or to leave early, would be an unusual thing to hear.

If we read the pages of the New Testament correctly, church gatherings were more of a potluck type event, than a Sunday morning performance put on by paid performers for people sitting passively in pews.

Today, we aren’t anywhere near that. Which deeply grieved me. And apart from burning everything down and starting over, I’m not sure how we ever get back there. It’s hard to unshut a door.

But, one thing is for sure, we won’t get there as long as we continue to feel the need to put on elaborate religious productions for people to consume like it’s their favorite TV show.

And we certainly won’t get there as long as we continue to financially compensate people for putting on such productions.

In the end, the only reforms we’ll see to all this is when people have a change of appetites, and when those who primarily responsible for doing the cooking start giving us meat instead of cake.

Such will ultimately only happen when all parties involved hunger for a church centered around Christ, and Christ alone. Until then, we’ll only continue to see more of the same, and things continuing to drift in the direction we have long been headed down.

If you have ever been even remotely interested in the topic of UFO’s, this week is probably one of the most interesting ever in the history of the subject.

As reported, speaking under oath in front of the House Oversight subcommittee on National Security, former Airforce Major David Grusch, who lead a government taskforce on Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP), gave some rather electrifying testimony regarding the more than 650 documented instances of unknown flying objects being identified by U.S. Navy pilots that fly in a way that seem to defy the laws of physics or known technology.

Furthermore, Major Grusch stated that since the 1930’s, the U.S. military has been in possession of the remains of crashed UAP’s, and has been trying to reverse engineer their technology. As part of the recovering of UAP’s, what was identified as “nonhuman biologics” was found in the remains. Major Grusch claimed to have sources and witnesses that could substantiate his testimony, although none have yet to come forward to corroborate his testimony.

Countering his claims, the Pentagon and Department of Defense have stated, “they have not discovered any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.”

The simplest, and most likely explanation, is that these UAP’s are the advanced experimental technologies of other enemy nations, such as China or Russia.

Yet for many others, these UAP’s are considered to be possible evidence of extraterrestrial life that has visited us from another world. It’s certainly an exciting possibility, and I don’t think it’s an idea that we can entirely discount, especially when you consider things like the video that the Pentagon has released, showing UAP’s that appear to be doing things that defy explanation.

But the recording of strange phenomena in the sky isn’t itself proof of aliens visiting us from another planet. It’s simply proof that there’s some things happening in this world that we’ve yet to be able to easily explain. And simply jumping to the conclusion “…and aliens from other planets…” is a leap of logic that defies both evidence and reason.

And if we follow the philosophical principle of “Occam’s razor,” that is, the logical idea that the simplest explanation is to be preferred to a more complex explanation, then concluding that the UAP phenomenon is something extraterrestrial in origin instead of something from Earth is definitely a violation of Occam’s razor.

First of all, to date, there has been no verifiable evidence that we’ve encountered intelligent life from outside our planet. While there is no shortage of individual claims of people claiming to have encountered alien beings, such stories have ultimately zero independent evidence to validate those claims.

Second, while there are incredible odds that, mathematically speaking, life should theoretically exist on other planets in the universe, including the possibility of intelligent life, it is highly unlikely that such life could ever make contact with us, let alone visit us.

Indeed, the lack of evidence of intelligent life outside of our own planet has created what is known as the “Fermi paradox.”

Based on the Fermi paradox, the line of reasoning goes that there are billions of stars within our own Milky Way galaxy. And within those billions of stars, there are yet billions upon billions of planets. With a high chance of probability, there must exist other numerous Earth like planets that share a similar habitability to our own planet, upon which life could possibly spontaneously develop and thrive. And based on this, there must be a chance that these other Earth like planets could undergo a similar evolution regarding intelligent life, and the ability of that life to harness technology in the same manner we have. And at some point, those alien civilizations may have even set out to explore the universe like we have, and possibly even been more successful.

But so far, in spite of the mathematical odds, there is zero evidence such has ever happened. Because if it has happened, in the words of one of the scientists that developed this theory, “Then where is everybody?” Instead, there is “Great Silence” from the heavens.

Not only is there “Great Silence” from space, but when you consider that there are billions upon billions of planets within the Milky Way galaxy alone, what are the odds that any intelligent life could actually find us, identify us, and then actually attempt to communicate with us, let alone visit us? And when you consider that mankind has only been generating radio frequencies since the late 1800’s, out of all the billions of planets that aliens could possibly visit, we’ve only been generating noise outside our planet for a little under 150 years.

And when you consider that the Milky Way galaxy would take millions of years to cross moving at the speed of light, what are the odds that aliens within our galaxy would have actually detected the radio frequencies our planet has only recently been emitting, out of all the other billions of planets that exist, decided they want to visit us, and possessed the technology to actually defy all the known laws of physics in order to do so.

Another factor to consider is that if the theory of evolution is true, and life spontaneously generates from complex chemical reactions, then if intelligent life was also birthed on other Earth like planets as a result of random and spontaneous mutations, then what are the odds that other intelligent species like us also co-exists at the exact same time we exist in the history of the universe? It is much more likely that if such civilizations actually exist, that they have either long ago gone extinct, or will only exist sometime in the future. The odds of our simultaneously existing and visiting each other seems astronomically impossible.

And finally, if I might have a little fun in a tongue and cheek sorta way, but why is it that UFO’s and the bodies of dead aliens are always in the exclusive possession of top-secret “Deep State” level departments of the government? Why isn’t there a trailer park in the hills of West Virginia that has successfully recovered the wreckage of a UFO, put it on display for all to see, and mounted the head of E.T. in some rednecks living room wall next to the 6 point buck that shot last Fall? If E.T. exists, some guy named Bubba is more likely to have him than some scientist at Area 51.

And if someone from the government showed up to try and confiscate the remains of a UFO or E.T., I’m pretty sure that some strong believers in the 2nd amendment would put on a show that would rival the Branch Davidians and the government raid of their compound in Waco, Texas, and we certainly would have heard of such a thing by now.

So to state it rather plainly, I find the idea that only the government would possess the remains of E.T. to be a little too conspiratorial for my liking. I find it more likely that Bubba’s got E.T. proudly on display in his doublewide than the government is in sole possession of aliens.

Also, speaking of alien wreckage, how is it that alien civilizations are so advanced as to create spacecraft that can defy the laws of physics to visit us from millions of light years away, and perform crazy maneuvers in the sky, yet they can’t avoid something as simple as a crash landing on our planet or being shot down by a hot shot U.S. Navy pilot? How is it that they are crashing all over the place to begin with? Why would their physics defying spacecraft suddenly fail in such a way as to allow themselves to be captured?

As a result of all these consideration, following Occam’s razor, that the simplest answer is the most likely one, it is much more likely that the UAP’s identified by the government are the result of phenomenon and technology developed here on Earth, than something from a civilization that has come from another world.

Side note: In case you are wondering, as an Evangelical Christian, what what are the theological implications of alien life on other planets? How should a Christian understand these issues? My thought is simple: Where the Scriptures are silent, I will try to remain silent. And instead of trying to make any conclusive declarations from Scripture with things I don’t believe the Scriptures directly address, or to do things like peg the identity of aliens to angels and demons as some have, I’d rather simply say, the Scripture has nothing to say directly about the idea of life existing on other planets. And if it does exist, this should not in any way challenge the claims of our faith that Jesus Christ is Lord of heaven and Earth. Some might be uncomfortable with the level of uncertainty this creates, but that’s okay, as Christians we should be comfortable with a faith that’s a little less certain on some things. We don’t have to have an answer for everything.

Some of the most popular news and video content on social media are those short clips that circulate where one political pundit and commentator “owns” someone else in a debate.

“Own” enough people frequently enough on some hot culture war topics, and you’ll become a rockstar who makes a career for yourself as you dish out “hot takes” that “burns” your political enemies.

This is literally how individuals like Rush Limbaugh, Ben Shapiro, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and others have made careers for themselves. They did it by frequently “owning the libs,” and receiving a lot of applause for doing so. And such is a tactic and formula that many Rush Limbaugh wannabes have tried duplicating time and time again as they have sought to grow their own following.

And, with this sorta culture existing among right wing conservatives, it made it very easy for Donald Trump to find fertile ground to dish out his brand of politics, which sought to capitalize on this perpetual political angst among conservatives, who were always more than willing to make a rock star out of those who are willing to be reckless and unkind with their words.

Whatever your politics are about Donald Trump, his popularity is undoubtedly the result of his willingness to engage in behavior that slams, humiliates, and attempts destroy his enemies by saying whatever over the top thing he deems necessary in the moment to emerge victorious over his opponents.

It’s a mindset and behavior that many conservatives have long embraced and baptized as not only something that is tolerable, but something that is to be celebrated. For in doing so, people who feel that the political left and the powers of the government are out to get them, it makes individuals like Trump into a sort champion to those on the right. Trump’s tirades make people feel that he sticks up for them in the political arena, and isn’t afraid to hit back at the bullies they believe are out to get them.

Therefore, anyone that comes along who is willing to “own the libs,” is someone that causes many on the conservative political right to salivate. Engage in this type of behavior, and you’ll always have a platform in their circles. This has been the case long before Trump, and will remain the case long after Trump. It’s something that is deeply embedded in the DNA of the politically conservative right.

But as a Christian, this bothers me. Especially since I am a quasi conservative politically right leaning guy, and I see many of my fellow Christians who also have such political leanings being swept up into this mindset.

But can I say something today? And it might be sorta controversial for me to say, but I’m going to say it anyway:

“Owning the libs” isn’t a Christian virtue, or fruit of the spirit.

Rather… kindness is a fruit of the spirit. And kindness is a fruit that I believe people are starving for more of these days.

Kindness begins with the recognition that everyone, including your enemies, are created in the image and likeness of God. And as such, they deserve to be treated respectfully and with a sense of reverence, for they are ultimately the reflection of something holy. As a result, you should aim to treat someone else as if they were God. And the last I checked, trying to “own” God isn’t exactly the most prudent of behaviors.

Kindness is a behavior we engage in out of a sense of empathy. Jesus said we should treat others like we treat ourselves. It’s the so-called “Golden Rule.”

So with that in mind, let me ask you, how would you like to be treated?

Would you like to be reviled, mocked, humiliated, and be otherwise “owned?” I don’t think any sane person wants to be treated in such a way. So then, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, why would you want to “own” someone else, or support and be regularly entertained by those who engage in such behavior?

It’s really a very simple idea, treat people with kindness because you want to be treated with kindness in return, and don’t give a platform to and empower people to be unkind on your behalf.

As a result of these things, handling people with a rough and tough sorta mentality is out of the question. We should have no desire to “own the libs,” or applaud and cheer on those that do.

Kindness is a completely opposite mentality. Kindness is a mentality in which we have a tender hearted mindset towards others, that leads us to treating them in the same way God treats us.

As the apostle Paul stated, it’s “the kindness of God that leads us to repentance.” Treating people with kindness— not harshness, not rudeness, not smacking us around, or treating us as we deserve to be treated— those are the things that ultimately change us in our posture towards God. And if being kind towards us is how God changes our hearts and minds, then it is the same kindness we should show towards others if we ever hope to change their hearts and minds.

The desire to “own the libs” is nothing more than wanting to get one over on someone else; to put them in their place; to stand over them as a champion of righteousness. Such a thing might make for some feel good activity about yourself, and might make for some entertaining news clips and increase your social media following, but it’s not an attitude than anyone professing to follow Christ should even remotely entertain.

“Owning the libs” is contrary to how God treats us, and how we should treat one another. We are called to treat others kindly, no matter how they might be treating us. That doesn’t mean we don’t speak the truth, and to sometimes do such in bold ways. But in an age where harshness and uncivil attitudes prevail, kindness is the type of boldness we need more of in this world.

Any fool and coward can “tell it like it is,” and they frequently do. But it takes a wise person to control their tongue, and to speak to others with the type of kindness and tenderness necessary to change hearts and minds. And last I checked, nobody ever had their mind changed as a result of being owned and being read the riot act.

Anyone can be nice to those who are nice to them, or nice to those with whom they have a vested self-interest. But what about being kind to those who are hostile towards you, and maybe even someone you count as your enemy?

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that even godless pagans are nice to those who are nice to them, and to those whom they have deep personal ties. So there are no brownie points in heaven for you loving on those who love you back.

On the other hand, someone who not only isn’t nice to you, but someone that actively plots against you, who doesn’t have your best intentions in mind, and would be counted as your enemy. Treating those persons with love, respect, tenderheartedness and kindness? That’s something entirely otherworldly.

Treating those who are hostile to you with kindness is something that belongs to those who are sons and daughters of God. It’s an attitude of those who are truly righteous, and not those who pretend to be righteous by owning the libs.