24 years ago, four planes were hijacked and used to kill thousands of innocent people in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. For some across the world, who viewed Americans as colonizers, meddlers, murderers, and greedy enslavers, these deaths were viewed as good.
Yesterday, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered while exercising his First Amendment rights to express his faith and his political beliefs. For some across the world, who were harmed by his views, this death was viewed as good.
I knew, as a digital missionary, the next few hours were going to be horrific, as Christians took to their social media pages to call for better deaths than Charlie, or for more deaths of Charlie-like figures. And I was right. Some called for the death of liberals while others cried for the death of Christian Nationalists. I had so many conversations with people on all sides of the political spectrum late into the night. Many were calling everyone on another side the worst kind of names, lying through generalizations just hoping it would soothe their pain.
In a world in which there is one Truth, the truth of Jesus, it can be tempting to call the death of another person, particularly a person you disagree with, good.
For innocent Afghans and Iranians killed in a retaliatory war, for American and Afghan soldiers fighting to protect and defend their way of life, for businesspeople and first responders going about their daily lives on and in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, there were no good deaths. There were only dead deaths. For the families of all of these people, across continents and communities, there were only empty dinner tables, unhappened weddings, and unrealized dreams.
The work of the Devil is to divide, to split us into camps of “us” and “them.” The work of the Devil is to convince us that there is a good death, a victorious death, a death that will finally solve all of our problems, all of our uncertainties, all of our pain and heartbreak this side of heaven. Reject his tactics. Reject the anger that rises in your throat when you think of someone you hate. Reject the craving for revenge. Reject the temptation to celebrate the loss of the opportunity to repent. Reject empire. Reject your very nation. Surrender all of the good and the bad to God.
You want truth, friend? Here’s truth.
There is no good death. Destroy that idea from every corner of your mind.
There is, however, a very good, very real Resurrection. There is a coming back from death. There is unity in Christ’s body. There is the life that is available for all who believe. Life for Republicans. Life for Democrats. Life for people who want to see America made great again. There is life even for those who cry for and facilitate good deaths.
In the coming days, you will hear from many people who will ask you to celebrate a good death, to pray for a good death, to hope it comes swiftly and profoundly. When you hear this, picture the Devil, for it is his body and his voice in the throats of the friends you love. And as you picture the Devil, pray for the deliverance of that person’s soul. Pray that God would break the bondage of anger and tribalism. Pray that God would come and that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.
When we arrive on that perfect day, finally satisfied against hurt and pain and death, we will find ourselves with people of all different ideologies. We will indeed find tribes and tongues of every nation, not just the nations that looked like us or talked like us.
The Devil is hungry for your division. He is hungry for your hatred and anger and despair and demonizing of your siblings.Do not feed him.
Instead, talk about the good life that you have received after your own death. Talk about your joy. Talk about the resurrection you have witnessed. Talk about the unity you’ve experienced in the Kingdom of God, the tearing down of men and women, gentile and Jew. Plead of blood of Jesus and Jesus alone.
No death will ever make you feel better. But I know a life that will.
Bryce Van Vleet is the #1 selling author of Tired Pages and Before We All Die Let’s Have One Last Chat by the Fireside. He also hosts the podcast Death in Dakota, sells poetry art here, and masquerades as the spoken word artist Liihey. You can support him by clicking through blog posts or donating (scroll to the bottom of the page).
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