I’ll keep this short and sweet since I’m sure most of us have been inundated with news of the horrific murder of conservative and Christian Charlie Kirk, but I do think there’s a lesson here to be learned for those of us in the church. I’m not the first and I won’t be the last to note the complicity of the media in Kirk’s assassination. The vilification of his person over the years could not but lead to such an act of violence as that which occurred on September 10th. Not only were Charlie’s views detested, in large part because of their consistency with the Christian worldview, his views were often distorted by those who desired the destruction of his character and reputation. It is this sin, the sin of slander, that has so jumped out at me in the days following his death. It’s a sin that is too readily shrugged off in the church.

Sure, most in the church wouldn’t go so far as to perch in a sniper’s nest, yet many find nothing wrong with misrepresenting or even flat out lying about their brothers and sisters in Christ for personal gain. We so often hear from the left that speech is violence, and in one sense, they are right. Slander is a form of murder, and just as the media is complicit in the murder of Charlie Kirk through their concerted attack on his name and character, so too are you complicit in an act of murder if you slander those with whom you disagree. We need to stop viewing slander as some sort of innocuous sin with no real consequences. Matthew 15:18 tells us that, “…the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.” Out of the heart come evil thoughts, false witness, and slander, and the one who unrepentantly makes a practice of these will not enter the kingdom of God. There is no justification for such wickedness.

Many years ago, a pastor of mine spoke against slander and gossip by using an example from the film, Doubt. Instead of badly explaining the concept of gathering feathers, I’ll link the clip.

Only a few years later, our church experienced a tragic split where the implements of slander and gossip were used in an attempt to destroy the name and ministry of that same pastor. The feathers had been loosed and there was no getting them back. And worse still, these are never mere feathers, not light and airy, but deadly as the plague and cutting as knives.

Let us remember Proverbs 6:16-19:

¹⁶ There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
    and hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked plans,
    feet that make haste to run to evil,
¹⁹ a false witness who breathes out lies,
    and one who sows discord among brothers.

Please continue to pray for Charlie Kirk’s family, for Christians under persecution around the world, and for holiness in the church. And let us practice the guarding of our tongues.

Until next time, salutations & selah.