Be Like Kirk

Did you hear about the guy who was killed because his enemies considered him so divisive for being a truth-teller, preaching the Word of God, and encouraging people to stop their sinful ways? No, I’m not talking about Charlie Kirk. I’m talking about Jesus of Nazareth. 

It was Jesus who said:

“I came to cast fire upon the earth…Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53)

Jesus was highlighting the conflict between His Father’s kingdom and the world. Our Lord wanted to prepare His disciples for the challenges of following Him, which would include sacrifices and clashes with friends and family. 

Similarities Between Charlie Kirk and Jesus Christ

Of course, it goes without saying that Charlie Kirk is not anywhere near a match for the Lord. No one is. But he was a great example of a modern day, faithful Christ-follower and truth-teller who unashamedly resisted the culture, preached about the dangers of following the popular, wide path that leads to destruction, and spoke about the goodness of God.

Jesus attacked Pharisees, rabbis, and scribes who offered people false solutions and deceptive lies. He confronted the opposition face to face, but not in an ungracious, derogatory manner.  He did not care that what He said may create conflict. It is also noteworthy that our Lord did not pick a fight for the sake of a fight. It was simply by telling the truth to people who didn’t want to hear Him that the conflicts escalated. 

His truth-telling and unwillingness to go along with the world so infuriated the self-righteous people sitting in His own hometown synagogue that they tried to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff.  Of course, later they succeeded in murdering Him.

Fast forward 2,000 years and move to a different part of the world and you find Charlie Kirk. He too confronted the opposition face to face, but not in an ungracious, derogatory manner.  He too did not care that what He said may create conflict. Kirk also did not pick a fight for the sake of a fight. He sincerely wanted to wake up college-age youth. Young people have been indoctrinated by the depraved culture and many had never heard the truths Kirk was telling. It was simply by telling the truth to people who didn’t want to hear it and were afraid that others were turning to follow him that infuriated Kirk’s enemies to such a degree that they felt like murdering him was necessary.

Being Divisive Is Not a Sin

Division and divisiveness is not the goal, merely the reality. When Jesus indicated he brought division, it automatically came about as the natural tension between the values of God’s kingdom and those of a sinful society. If we choose Christ’s truths, we must realize the world will push back, causing division.

Causing division is not necessarily a sin. When one preaches biblical truths with the goal of transforming sinners’ hearts, he is attempting to accomplish Christ’s assignment. Charlie Kirk understood the assignment and sincerely attempted to accomplish it.

Those opposed to Kirk accused him of looking for trouble by being such an outspoken advocate of living by biblical values. Many lukewarm or ignorant Christians said after Kirk’s assassination that had he simply shut his mouth and been nicer, he would still be alive today. These pseudo-Christians never liked Kirk in the first place because he “said mean things.” 

In the days following Kirk’s assassination, these types of people made statements that began sensibly with, “One shouldn’t use violence…” However, they then added in the one word – “but” – that negates those opening words:

“One shouldn’t use violence…BUT…Charlie Kirk said some really mean things and was kind of asking for it.”

Kirk Was Just Stating Traditional Truths

Many of Kirk’s comments that his enemies loathed could have just as easily come straight from the Word of God. He held common sense beliefs that are found in the Bible and the Catholic Catechism, including these statements he made in past interviews or podcasts:

• “I think purity is incredibly important, and we should tell young men and young ladies to save themselves for marriage.”
• [When addressing a homosexual who questioned Kirk]: “I don’t agree with your lifestyle. I don’t think you should introduce yourself just based on your sexuality because that’s not who you are.”
• [When discussing the collapsing of the traditional family unit]: “When we’re talking to young men in particular, they must be challenged and they must be encouraged to pursue what their grandfathers’ generation did, which is to get married, stay loyally married to that person, have a big family, and provide for them.”

It was not just secular society that labeled Kirk an evil fiend because of comments like these. Unfortunately, a large number of weak or lukewarm Christians, who willingly submitted to the culture’s embrace of sexual depravity, likewise despised Kirk. These pseudo-Christians might as well have called Jesus and His disciples evil and haters as well, since Kirk’s beliefs line up with theirs.

We Need Our Clerics To Learn From Charlie

Charlie Kirk deserved accolades from authentic Christians because he boldly preached biblical values, up to the point of dying a martyr for doing so. Conversely, too many priests, ministers, and bishops who are supposed to be shepherding their flocks have lacked the courage that Kirk showed. They could learn a thing or two from seeing videos of him speaking fearlessly and proudly to non-believers and the fallen-away faithful on the fullness of Christ’s truths.

Kirk’s willingness to be counter-cultural and his courage to confront non-believers and haters awakened many. The thousands of stories coming out after his assassination are describing how lukewarm or ignorant people who never get awakened or emboldened by their pastors or preachers had to look elsewhere for a leader with a backbone, and they found such a model in Charlie Kirk.

It is almost as if Saint Paul was speaking to Charlie Kirk when he wrote the following almost 2,000 years ago:

“Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.  For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths.  As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfil your ministry. For I am already on the point of being sacrificed; the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”  (2 Timothy 4:2-8)

We may not have the ability to give a homily to a hundred fellow Catholics or broadcast a podcast to a million conservative Christians. But we do have the capability of getting the attention of a few fellow employees, a handful of extended family members, and the neighbor next door. 

With Jesus as our perfect model and Kirk as an example of a modern day disciple, we mere, lay Catholics can also preach God’s laws, albeit to a small inner circle. We too can debate someone with an opposing view or answer someone who is confused about a cultural or Church issue. We can commit to not shying away from agreeing with the doctrines and principles that society held as true for thousands of years up until just the most current century. These truths include:

• Human sexuality is a beautiful gift from God that He planned to be used solely by a man and woman married to each other and open to reproduction;
• There are no such things as “gay marriage” or “transgenderism”;
• There are only two sexes and sex/gender is not “assigned at birth”;
• Abortion is murder.

The World Hates Kirk and Hates Us

To encourage us to not let the culture/world manipulate us to turn away from Him, Christ made the following statement about experiencing animosity from secular society:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Sexual degenerates, immoral politicians, godless celebrities, propagandist media, and Marxist educational institutions embody the world these days. They tell us that our opinions must conform to the secular values of the age. Since Charlie Kirk’s statements challenged the secular culture, he became a target. He was labeled as a judgmental, close-minded extremist who needed to be “canceled.” 

His opposition became so enraged with his preaching of conservative, biblical values that “canceling” was not enough. There needed to be deadly violence. But even that still wasn’t enough. So in the immediate aftermath of his assassination, the secular culture flooded social media with despicable comments. They wrote or broadcast that Kirk deserved getting killed, his kids were now lucky to be rid of him, and others “on the right” need to be the next target in a sniper’s scope.

The world similarly hates all authentic Christians. We just aren’t famous enough at this time to be an assassin’s target. Christians living in these dangerous and dark times must be wise to the ever-growing presence of evil that surrounds us.

Christ told His disciples, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). He was sending them out into the world to proclaim the glorious truth of the gospel, but they were not to head out blindly. Christ warned them that wicked men would arrest them, beat them, and do all manner of despicable evil to them for their devotion to Christ.

While they were not to seek out affliction, they were to be prepared to face it boldly, prepared to share the gospel before all men, regardless of what may come. Furthermore, Jesus even authorized them to take swords for personal protection on the way (Luke 22:35-38). This was not a call to arms to take over the nations but a recognition that evil was present everywhere and that his people should be permitted to protect their own lives.

Christians today should likewise be prepared to recognize and face the evil, secular culture that wishes to do us harm simply because of what we represent. We are called to preach the truth of Scripture firmly and without apology. We are called to be like Kirk.

Rejoice and Be Glad

As we faithful Christians fight through the barrage of vileness coming from the culture, we would do well to keep reminding ourselves that life is short and this world is passing away. We must keep our minds on valuing the things of heaven more than the things of this world.

If and when we do experience hatred by the world, find solace in realizing this makes us more like Christ Himself. He prepared us for this and offered us His strength to courageously endure it with joy when he said:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).