Jonathan Lange: Only Passionate Love Can Lower The Temperature

My heart aches for America.

My heart aches for the wife and children of Corey Comperatore. He’s the retired firefighter who leaped at the first rifle shot to put his body between his family and subsequent bullets.

My heart aches for James Copenhaver the 74-year-old who sustained life-altering injuries, from bullets intended for President Trump.

My heart aches for Marine Commandant, David Dutch, who was shot not once, but twice.

My heart aches for Melania and Barron Trump—and all of President Trump’s children. To them, he is neither a political target nor an icon. He is a husband, a father, and a grandfather. Imagine Melania’s daily angst while entrusting her husband to the same people who sent him out on stage during an active security threat!

My heart aches for this republic. When citizens are robbed of the right to elect a candidate—whether by assassination, election interference, or lawfare—the consent of the governed is denied.

My heart aches for the citizens of the world who have no say in American politics but who will be affected—for good or for ill—by whether the D.C. Swamp is reined in or further weaponized.

For all these reasons and more, it was good to hear President Biden say, “I want to speak to you tonight about the need to lower the temperature in our politics.” Certainly, that sentiment is shared by all.

When incendiary words encourage the burning of cities, destruction of institutions, and assaults on political figures, it’s high time to dial them back.

But even as repeated headlines blared out the phrase, it proved insipid and hollow. One searches in vain for any meaningful elaboration on what a “lower temperature” would look like. Absent that, it is only empty rhetoric.

Let’s try a different approach. Instead of chilling speech to the point of lukewarm spittle, let's warm things up. It is passivity—not passion—that allows evil to flourish. Only love, not tolerance will temper the flames.

St. James explains why this is so. “[T]he tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. . . but no human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:6, 8).

No human being can tame the tongue. That must come as a grace from God. And that special grace is called love. As lawlessness increases, the love of many has grown cold (Matthew 24:12). I submit to you that coldness toward one another is the cause, not the cure for our disease.

To tame the tongue requires the blaze of love, not the blasé of mere toleration. Tolerance commits only to inaction. Tolerance turns a blind eye to the neighbor. Tolerance is deaf to injustice and evil. But when your fellow-citizen is under assault, he needs you to see, to speak and to act. He needs your love.

Love goes out of its way to defend a neighbor in need. Love takes sides in the battle between good and evil. Love risks life, limb, money, and reputation to prevent harm from coming to the loved one.

Corey Comperatore exhibited the fire of love when the bullets started flying. He did not shrink in self-defense. He put his life between the source of injustice and those whom he loved. In the act, he gave up his life, but gained his humanity.

Comperatore’s example should lead us not only to love our families, but to love every fellow citizen. Of course, few will ever have the opportunity to block a bullet. But all can participate in his courage. It is in the small things that God changes the world. Start there.

How will this look on the campaign trail? How will this look on the editorial page and on social media? It means that when you see your opponent unfairly criticized, you do not remain silent. When you see a lie told, you do not let it slide.

The trouble with tolerance is that it has glorified inaction and commended cowardice. The fire of love calls you to something higher. You are called to defend your enemies no matter what the cost to your reputation, your business, or even your life.

Stand up and fight for strangers, for political opponents–even for your bitterest enemy. Give no quarter to evil—even when it seems to benefit your cause. With ardor and passion, you can confidently trust that no matter what it costs, you will gain so much more.

Jonathan Lange is a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod pastor in Evanston and Kemmerer and serves the Wyoming Pastors Network. Follow his blog at https://jonathanlange.substack.com/. Email: JLange64@protonmail.com.