Headlines about billionaire businessman-turned-presidential candidate, Donald Trump, fill our Facebook newsfeeds and dominate the news. His racist remarks, misogynistic jabs, and constant insults seem to have taken over the political discourse, and many of the people in our pews are cheering him on. How did this happen? There’s nothing wrong with speaking confrontationally if truth is communicated. But even necessary confrontation should be loving, even sorrowful, not gleeful and domineering. Biblical confrontation should be neighbor-focused, not egocentric. Jesus was certainly known for delivering strong words, but even his most confrontational words were focused on the wellbeing of his opponents. He said some particularly harsh things to the Pharisees: “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matt. 23:33). Still, a few verses later, we see him grieving over Jerusalem. There is none of the self-centered glee in Jesus’s ...
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