News of Charlie Kirk’s assassination has shook me to the core. Not just because of his death and how incredibly sad his family must be, but because of what I have seen in the aftermath: some people on social media have been celebrating. Strangers online writing things like, “he got what he deserved” or “the world is better off without him” or “who cares.”
I didn’t agree with everything Charlie Kirk said. I’d say I agreed with about three-quarters of his ideas. And honestly, I might say the same about someone on the left. I lean right, but I’ve always considered myself somewhere in the middle. What I know for certain is this: no matter how much I have disagreed with some leaders on the left, I would never want harm to come to them and if harm came as flying bullet; I would mourn each of their deaths.
I keep thinking about 1968, when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Not all Americans agreed with his politics, but his death was not celebrated. It was mourned. Americans recognized that a young father, a leader, and a political voice had been taken away through violence. And I can’t help but wonder: if that same assassination happened today, would people mourn… or would they cheer in the comments section?
The Bible gives us a warning about this very thing: “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:15). That’s exactly what it feels like in America today, we are simply devouring each other.
Back in 1965, broadcaster Paul Harvey delivered a message called “If I Were the Devil.” He imagined how the enemy of our souls might destroy America from within. He said Satan would whisper that what is bad is good, and what is good is “square.” He would divide families, weaken churches, and pit people against one another until the nation was at war with itself.
When I see people celebrating the violent death of someone they opposed politically, I hear those whispers. Jesus Himself said, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another… and because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12).
Charlie Kirk’s death is not just a conservative tragedy. It is an American tragedy. Just like Bobby Kennedy. And how we respond to it, whether with cruelty or with compassion, will reveal whether Paul Harvey’s warning becomes our reality.
If I were Satan, yes, this is exactly what I would want: for Americans to devour each other until nothing is left but bitterness. We don’t have to endorse every word spoken. But we must hold on to the truth that every life has value, and that freedom of speech dies the moment we excuse violence.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” This is not just about Charlie Kirk. It’s about all of us. Every time we cheer for a death, we are agreeing with the whisper of the enemy.