Rick Perry and Jesus: Strength and Weakness
"One of the most pressing questions facing the world today is, 'How can we oppose evil without creating new evils and being made evil ourselves?'"
-Walter Wink
It was at the end of our youth group. Most already left to catch a ride home from their parents, but a few high schoolers remained. They wanted to discuss Rick Perry’s anti-lgbt commercial called “Strong.” The video went viral on youtube within hours of its release. It prompted others to post their own videos on youtube, mocking Perry. Even Jesus Himself got in the act.
“What Rick Perry said … well … it made me sad,” one of the students said.
“Sad,” I responded. “Why sad?”
“Because it’s not Christian.”
Wait. Wait. I had to call a time out, because this was powerful. You know when you have those moments when you sense something big, I mean Big, is about to happen? I tried to calm my mind so that I could ask a question that would take us further into the Perry controversy.
“What’s not Christian about it?”
“He’s putting down another group. And he’s saying that gay soldiers who sacrifice their lives for us are somehow deficient. I don’t care where you stand on the military and war. That’s not Christian.”
(Note: This young lady is fiery. She knows where I stand on war, which is why she brought it up. She’s confrontational, argumentative, and sometimes stubborn. And she’s all kinds of wonderful.)
“Okay. Well, how would you respond to Rick Perry. As a Christian. Because there are all kinds of people responding to him. They’re mostly mocking him. Is that a good Christian response?”
“Well, no.”
I pressed further. “So, how would you respond?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’d probably try to listen to his story. Try to understand where he’s coming from. Try to reason with him.”
At this point I was feeling bold, so I said something like, “Listening is great. Do that. But,” and maybe I should have stopped here, but, I decided to keep going. “You can’t reason with people. It won’t work. He has plenty of ‘reason’ to say what he said. He’d even quote the bible. And then you could quote the bible back. No, the only way for people to change is to see the consequences of their actions. To see that you’re sad. Stay sad. Let people see the hurt. And then move on. Leave the sadness and the hurt behind. Don’t let the hurt own you; let love own you. Which means don’t fight evil with evil. That only turns us into the evil we oppose.”
Sad. I think that’s the right response. It’s sad because Rick Perry used Jesus to “put down another group,” as my high schooler said. Still, there is truth in Perry’s commercial. Faith can make us strong. But a faith that scapegoats others is the wrong kind of faith. In fact, it’s a weak, demonic faith. The faith that will make us strong is a Jesus-like faith that seeks to include others, especially those “others” that make us uncomfortable, into a community of love. As hard as it is for my feeble heart to admit, Jesus seeks to include Rick Perry into that community too.
A faith that challenges us to love and include those we vehemently disagree with – that kind of faith will make us strong.
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How did you respond to Rick Perry’s video?
Can we “reason” with people who have differing points-of-view? Why/why not?
What do you think of the statement, “The only way for people to change is to see the consequences of their actions?”
(For insights on the Iowa Caucus and scapegoating, see "A Unique New Year's Resolution and the Iowa Caucus.")