I’m heading off to a local coffee and cinnamon roll establishment in a few minutes. A young man and I meet on Tuesday mornings to discuss things religious. We’re currently reading and discussing Paul Earnhart’s book Invitation to a Spiritual Revolution. The book explores Jesus’ sermon on the mount. It’s easy to read, hard to live. That’s true of the Bible, too.
It’s been a hard week. An assassination of a young man—which should have been a wakeup call to the dangers of over-the-top political animosity—has, instead, increased the vitriol, tension, and hatred that characterizes our country. Name calling has become the norm, and it often explodes into violence. Of course, Jesus addressed such behavior head-on when he cited the second greatest command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Don’t fool yourself into justifying hatred of Democrats or Republicans because they’re not your neighbors. Of course they are. In the parable of the good Samaritan Jesus said our neighbors aren’t just those who live next door to us (Lk. 10:25-37).
Earnhart wrote: “Not only do bitter feelings put one in jeopardy but so also does the contemptuous abuse they are disposed to foster. How many hearts have been brutalized by words that cut like rapiers….We lash out at people in utter scorn and leave them as we intended, broken.” (Spiritual Revolution, pg. 43-44).
Here’s the thing. Our country, and perhaps even we, have lost sight of the real enemy. We think politicians are the enemy. We think the “other side” is the enemy. We’re wrong.
Let me share a story and an observation from a recent Dispatch article (September 21, 2025): Someone placed 100 red fire ants and 100 black ants in a jar. At first nothing happened. Then someone aggressively shook the jar and dumped the ants back on the ground. The ants fought to the death. The red ants thought the black ants were the enemy. The black ants thought the red ants were the enemy. But the real enemy was the one who shook the jar.
Do you identify with red states? Blue states? Do you find yourself seething with anger and disgust at the opposition? If so, then you’ve misidentified the real enemy. Ask yourself, who is shaking the jar? (Jn. 8:44). It would be better to identify with Christ who came seeking the lost (Lk. 19:10). That includes all of us. Here’s the question: When we hate or when we call names, are we helping Jesus in his mission of atonement or are we helping the real enemy?
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