A Time for Reflection

In the wake of the tragic shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday, there has been no shortage of speculation about what motivated the shooter to take the actions that he did. I think it’s natural and healthy that the people involved in politics and media would want to want to reflect on the culture of their trade and question how that culture did (or didn’t) contribute to the crime. Some will do so responsibly and others won’t—that’s life.

For Christians, I think this is a good time to reflect on Jesus’ message to look at the log in your own eye before trying to remove the spec in your brother’s. This is a good moment to remember that the language we use matters, and that we can disagree with people without making them into our enemies.

When an event like this happens, our natural instinct is to reach for labels that allow us to separate ourselves from the ones who committed the evil. At this moment it may be liberals blaming conservatives, but in other instances it’s Christians blaming Muslims, whites blaming blacks, the poor blaming the rich, etc. (or the other way around). If instead, our first instinct is to see the evil that lives inside ourselves we will recognize that our lines of demarcation collapse and the ones we seek to marginalize are actually our own flesh and blood.

Jim Wallis gets it right:

A central calling for Christians is to be peacemakers. Peace, we understand, is not simply the absence of current conflict, but the presence of a just community. In the midst of tragedy and violence, I believe this means every Christian must ask themselves: “How am I responsible?” What more can we do to bring peace to this world as the Prince of Peace has called us to do? What are the situations and environments that allow this kind of hate and violence to grow? How can I not only stop conflict, but also be a part of bringing about a just community that displays the positive presence of peace?

To place blame and to want to defend yourself is natural, but misses the point. Peace starts with seeing the good in your enemy in spite of the bad and loving them without condition because you recognize yourself as an imperfect person also in need of love and correction. And that’s worth reflecting on.