When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, most people on both right and left reacted with pained human sorrow and condolences for his family and those who loved him. I have seen, however, that there is also a minority of people – some of whom are our friends, family members, and neighbors – who have reacted to Charlie’s death with either indifference (“I refuse to mourn for this man”) or hostility (“I’m glad that he was killed”).

The murder of Charlie was, in itself, a horrible evil, full stop. It deprived a family of their husband and father. It deprived the world of an image bearer of God. For those reasons alone it should be sufficient for people to respond with sympathy and sorrow. Human beings bear value, simply by virtue of their being made in the image of God. When someone desires to kill another person, they are essentially desiring to destroy God himself since his emblem is upon this person. Every death in this world is a colossal tragedy, utterly unnatural, and worth an ocean of tears. Even when the wicked are destroyed, we are reminded that our world was created good and it was corrupted. All of the death that we are exposed to on a daily basis is a tragedy and an evidence of the Fall.

Christians are hurting in this moment. If you are a Christian and are reading this, you may appreciate thinking a bit about why this is the case. If you’re not a Christian, perhaps you can at least try to understand why the Christians in your life (if you have any) may be so heartbroken over someone whom you may not have appreciated as much.

#1: The Hearts of Our Neighbors

Robust debate is happening from both the right and the left as to which camp the alleged murderer belonged in. I won’t join that debate here. We cannot know the killer’s heart. But many on the internet are willing to show their hearts to the world. Some are simply telling everyone that they are glad Charlie was killed. Others are saying it was terrible, but they aren’t sad and won’t mourn.

It would appear that some of our neighbors in this nation approve of the murder of this man who has much in common with us as Christians. Even if Christians weren’t in lockstep with Charlie on every issue, they still recognize a brother in Christ. Yet some neighbors seemed to hate Charlie—and by extension all who share his views. This may be an excellent time for us to reflect on these attitudes and why they contribute to the pain Christians are feeling in this moment. We see this hate in two kinds of responses:

The first type of response I’ve seen is one of indifference to Charlie’s death. In Scripture, we see examples of simple indifference to the death and suffering of another. A very blatant example of this was in the death of Jesus. The Gospel writers record that many people were present as witnesses, and while some mocked or approved, others simply passed by without concern. Matthew 27:39 says, “And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads…” These were not officials or executioners, nor were they disciples mourning; they were ordinary bystanders who treated the death of Christ with casual contempt. Their indifference showed itself in ridicule rather than compassion. It was an incredible condemnation of the people that so many would have a heart of indifference.

Another example is the death of the Levite’s concubine in Judges 19. After she was abused and left for dead, the people of Gibeah went about their lives as though nothing tragic had happened. The narrator even highlights the indifference of her master in verse 27: “And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold.” He shows no grief or concern, only a blunt, “Get up, let us be going.” That cold disregard is a chilling picture of sinful indifference to another’s death. The Levite is desensitized and indifferent, and so are the people of Gibeah. It’s one of the signs of a badly disintegrated culture that they would see a person abused and killed and offer no true human response.

The second type of response I’ve seen is direct approval of Charlie’s murder. The sort of person who is glad it happened, and who celebrates in an affirmative way. For example, Paul, in Acts 7, did not pick up stones to kill Stephen. However, he sat in approval as he watched Stephen’s murder. Later, after Christ awakened him, Paul reflected that he had previously persecuted the church “to the death” (Acts 22:4) and says that “when they were put to death I cast my vote against them” (26:10). He also reflects that he “tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities” (Acts 26:11). Paul could argue, “I never laid a hand on anyone,” but in later years he saw his approval and indirect encouragement as complicity and guilt.

Even if the murderer wasn’t a leftist, it does seem that some of those on the far left are willingly taking ownership of this anyway. Some of these people are close to us, and because of this, we hurt as Christians, seeing our neighbors willingly approving of such horrible and dark deeds.

#2 The Ordinariness of Kirk’s Actual Views

Charlie Kirk was someone whom I knew, primarily through 2 minute video clips of his debates with college students. I am not an expert in the man, nor have I listened to every debate or everything he has ever said.

However, I have heard enough to know that Charlie Kirk was basically an ordinary Christian who believed ordinary Christian things. He believed that women should submit to their husbands, and that their husbands should love them as Christ loves the church. Fourth-wave feminists call this misogyny.

He believed that a woman is a woman and a man is a man, and that one cannot become the other. Advocates for confusion call this transphobia.

He believed that homosexual desire does not define a person, and that such desire should be battled against, in Christ, by the spirit’s power. Many today call this homophobia.

He believed that all people everywhere should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Some in the HR department consider that racist.

All of these things are part and parcel of the Christian view of the universe. It is the sort of thing that I preach each Sunday. It is the doctrine that I received from those who came before me. And most importantly, it is part of what the church has always believed, even if it has imperfectly lived those things out.

Part of what hurts Christians in this moment so much is that Charlie wasn’t an extremist. He was a normie like the rest of us. We are somewhat inured to the reality that people attempt to assassinate Presidents and elected officials. But Charlie wasn’t a politician, he was a guy with a microphone. Because he was a normal citizen exercising his right to speak, a big aspect of the hurt in this moment is that—unlike Presidents or congressmen—Charlie felt like one of us. He was an ordinary man with mainstream Christian beliefs—beliefs that the far left abominate because they reject the Christian view of man as made in God’s image, and God’s law that is meant to govern us.

It is just a reality that for every basic, ordinary Christian conviction that exists, there is someone out there who will reject, mock, and moralize against it. And yet it is the very ordinariness of Kirk’s views that makes the response of his enemies so terrifying: they are simply all of our views. They aren’t the views of a fringe group, but are basic Christian values. Because of this, the idea that our neighbors and even family members think these things made Kirk worthy of death (or made his death unremarkable and not worth mourning) are both haunting, terrifying, and deeply upsetting. To think that we are worthless, or disposable in the eyes of some because we hold forth the truth stings to the core.

#3 The Hidden Darkness of Our Neighbors, Exposed

The third type of hurt I want to mention is the hurt that comes from seeing the darkness of our neighbors’ hearts exposed. I saw someone say earlier this week that social media is not good, because it lets people vent the darkest thoughts of their hearts when they in retrospect might look back and say, “I shouldn’t say that.”

We are able to go through life, in many respects, assuming that our neighbors are decent folks and don’t hate us. But this past week, we have seen people say, “I don’t care that a man died.” “I’m glad that this man died.” “This man was unworthy of life.” “I don’t personally approve of his murder, but I’m happy that it happened.” Things like this.

Many of us now find ourselves wondering: “How did our milquetoast, white-bread, otherwise normal neighbors become so homicidal?” “Were they always this hateful?” “Were they always willing to laugh at a dying man?”

This might seem overly dramatic, but I feel like I am not a dramatic person, and I have been unable to shake these thoughts personally all week as I’ve seen people that I know saying things like we see here.

While I do think people need to learn that you can have a horrible inner monologue without sharing it with the world, I can’t unsee what I saw this week. The human heart is unspeakably dark, and sometimes people let you see right into just what an abyss they carry around within their chests.

Sources of Hope

My plan here is really to give voice to some of the hurt that Christians are feeling. In proper Christian fashion, I think it’s important that I offer a few sources of hope so that we aren’t left in utter despair. Let me mention a few reasons for hope.

Scripture Confirms Human Nature

The Bible tells us that people are like this. God is not nearly as caught off guard by the condition of the hearts of our fellow citizens. The Bible does not give us a naïve picture of humanity. From the beginning, Scripture testifies that sin has corrupted every part of our being. Genesis 6:5 declares that “every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” and Jeremiah 17:9 teaches that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick.” Paul echoes this in Romans 3:14–18, describing humanity’s natural state as violent, bitter, and without the fear of God.

In other words, when we see neighbors react with hatred or indifference to the death of another human being, we are not witnessing something foreign to the Bible’s diagnosis of the human condition. Rather, we are seeing confirmation of what God has already said about fallen man: that apart from His grace, the heart tends toward hardness, cruelty, and contempt. There is some comfort in knowing that God already knew about the human heart when moments like this arrive.

Jesus Told us to Expect This

Christians can also find comfort in remembering that Jesus told us beforehand what life in this world would be like. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you” (1 John 3:13). Far from leaving His disciples unprepared, Jesus taught them to expect mockery, persecution, and reviling (Matthew 5:11–12). When believers encounter hostility to the most ordinary expressions of their faith, we should not conclude that God has lost control or that something unusual is happening. They are walking the same road that Christ Himself walked before them, a road that the prophets also traveled. Knowing this does not take away the sting of hatred, but it does protect us from being shaken when it appears.

Repentance is Possible

Finally, we must remember that the gospel holds out hope even for those who have expressed indifference to murder or who have rejoiced in the death of another. Peter told the crowd who had crucified Christ, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). Saul of Tarsus, who breathed out “threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord” (Acts 9:1), was confronted by the risen Jesus and transformed into the Apostle Paul. Later, reflecting on his own life, Paul could say: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy… that Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience” (1 Timothy 1:15–16). If Christ’s mercy could reach someone like Paul, then no one—even those who mock or approve of death—is beyond the possibility of repentance and salvation.

Many people kid themselves that they are good people. Probably even those celebrating or indifferent think they are doing so because they are good people. But I am hopeful that for some, hearing themselves celebrate a man’s death aloud may function as a check-engine light showing them just how dark their heart truly is. Perhaps seeing themselves in the mirror or on their phone saying things like “I’m glad he’s dead” will be a wakeup call, that God will use such a dark moment to expose their need for forgiveness.

This truth keeps Christians from despair, even when the world’s response to evil seems unbearably dark.

The Sovereignty of God

Christians also take comfort in the truth that none of this falls outside God’s sovereign rule. We do not get to choose the times in which we live or the condition of the world into which we are born. Yet God has sovereignly placed us here, in this place and this moment. Our existence is not accidental or mistaken; it is the unfolding of His wise and perfect plan. Paul reminds us in Acts 17:26 that God “made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” Likewise, Psalm 139:16 declares that all our days were written in His book before one of them came to be. Though we may feel overwhelmed by hostility or indifference around us, we rest in the confidence that God is directing history, and that He has chosen us to live faithfully here and now for His glory.

Christ Has Gone Before Us

Finally, we remember that Christ Himself has already walked this path. He lived in this broken world, endured mockery and hatred, and suffered violence at the hands of sinners. Yet He did not pity Himself or take vengeance into His own hands. Instead, “when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). Our Savior does not call us to endure anything that He Himself did not endure first. For that reason, while we mourn real evils and grieve over the hatred we see, we do not collapse into self-pity. We follow in the steps of the One who bore the cross and now reigns in glory. His path assures us that suffering has meaning, endurance has purpose, and final vindication belongs not to us, but to Him.

Christians may indeed be distressed in this moment, but Jesus meets us in our distress with real comfort. He does not minimize our grief or tell us we should not feel it, but enters into it Himself, bearing our sorrows and assuring us that He has overcome the world.