Something’s happening in our country that should concern all of us. We’re not just disagreeing anymore, we’re treating each other like enemies. People used to argue about which policies were best for America. Now we’re arguing about whether we’re even the same America. When our leaders paint their opponents as evil instead of just wrong, how can we ever find common ground?
Here’s what I see happening more and more: we’ve gotten comfortable turning people into caricatures. Instead of wrestling with what someone actually believes, we slap a label on them, “bigot,” “fascist,” “snowflake”, and suddenly we don’t have to listen anymore. Once we’ve painted that picture, everything they say gets filtered through our worst assumptions about them. It’s not about proving them wrong; it’s about making sure nobody takes them seriously. The person doing the labeling gets to feel righteous while shutting down any real conversation before it starts.
This is why so many genuine disagreements get called “hateful” today. Someone who believes what the Bible teaches about marriage isn’t being hateful when they treat people with kindness and respect. A parent who’s concerned about what their children are learning isn’t being hateful when they speak up at a school board meeting. A pastor who preaches about sin and repentance isn’t being hateful when his heart breaks for people he loves. These aren’t attacks, they’re expressions of deeply held convictions about what’s true and what’s best for human flourishing.
Real hatred is different. Real hatred wants to tear people down, to hurt them, to treat them as less than human. That’s contempt, not disagreement. And we need to know the difference if we’re going to have honest conversations about the things that matter most.
So how do we move forward? We need wisdom. Jesus never backed down from hard truths, especially when people’s souls were at stake. When religious leaders were hurting people with their hypocrisy, he called them out directly. When Peter was compromising the gospel, Paul confronted him publicly. But notice something: they spoke from love, love for God’s truth and love for people, not from a desire to win arguments or score political points.
That’s what we’re missing today. If our words are just tearing people down without building anything up, we’ve lost our way. But if we stay silent while harmful lies spread, we’re not being loving either. Sometimes love requires us to speak difficult truths.
This matters for how we live together as neighbors and citizens, not just as believers. If we keep treating each other as enemies, no amount of laws or police will bring us together. You can force people to comply, but you can’t force them to trust each other. Just like the gospel teaches us to oppose sin without destroying the sinner, we need to learn how to oppose bad ideas without destroying our neighbors.
Here’s the truth: when you throw dirt, you lose ground. Those quick shots that make us feel like we’re winning? They’re actually making us weaker. We’re tearing down our own credibility along with everyone else’s. There has to be a better way, and I believe there is, if we’re willing to choose it.