Opening
Some nights I sit with the Scriptures open before me and feel that familiar ache in my chest. I read the words that formed my faith, the ones I learned as a boy, the ones that shaped my ministry. Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. They are simple words, ancient words, yet they demand everything.
When Jesus first spoke them, He was not offering a pleasant bumper sticker. He was issuing marching orders. You cannot love God unless you love people. You cannot honor the Creator while despising the Creation. You cannot claim discipleship while making a sport of cruelty.
Lately, I find myself grieving over what is happening in our country. Not because of party politics, but because a movement that calls itself righteous has grown comfortable celebrating attitudes that would have made Jesus Himself weep. I am talking honestly and plainly here. MAGA as a movement has become a force that rewards mockery, punishes compassion, and elevates power over mercy.
Look around. The headlines are not hypothetical. They are human lives. Families losing SNAP benefits. Polluted water allowed to run unchallenged. Migrants, many fleeing violence, forced into cages as if they were livestock. Healthcare snatched away from those who need it. Prison conditions intentionally worsened, as though human dignity were a privilege earned rather than a birthright given by God. It’s almost as though the entire MAGA agenda is designed to be a mockery of God Most High.
I know some of you feel the same knot in your stomach. You look at these choices and wonder how anyone can preach Christ while cheering for policies that harm the sick, the poor, and the stranger. You worry about speaking up because you love your family, your friends, and your church. You want to keep peace. You do not want to lose relationships. I understand that feeling. I have lived it.
There comes a point when silence becomes its own form of agreement. There is a time to say plainly, for love’s sake, that a movement built on cruelty cannot be reconciled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Reflection
Jesus gives us no wiggle room here. In Matthew 25 He tells us that our treatment of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned is the way we treat Him. Not symbolically. Not metaphorically. Directly. He is clear. Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.
So when a political movement fights tooth and nail to rip food away from hungry families, that is not Christian stewardship. That is active rebellion against the command of Christ. When leaders work to loosen protections that keep our water clean, they are choosing profit over creation and poisoning the earth we were asked to tend. When migrants are mocked and detained with venom, remember that the Good Samaritan was not a citizen, nor a member of the same religion as his rescuer. He was a foreigner from a despised group, and Jesus held him up as the model of neighborly love.
Some defend these actions by saying the other side is somehow at fault. But Jesus never said, Love your neighbor unless someone else did something first. He also never said, Care for the poor only if you can guarantee nobody takes advantage. In fact, He said the opposite. If someone takes your coat, give them your cloak too. When someone demands one mile, walk two. The Gospel does not authorize cruelty. It commands generosity even when generosity feels risky.
And let us speak about the tone that has become common. The smirking, the name-calling, the delight in demeaning people in need. Let us be honest. Christ Himself was mocked. He told us plainly that when we wound the vulnerable, we wound Him. No faithful Christian should be comfortable with leaders who laugh at suffering.
Then there is the matter of truth. The current political culture around MAGA is saturated with deception. Scripture is direct here. You shall not bear false witness. Jesus Himself says, Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Truth matters, not because it wins arguments, but because it forms character. A movement that embraces lies is spiritually poisonous.
I wrestle with this as a pastor. There are people I love who have been swept into this storm. I have sat at their tables. I know their hearts. I know they are not monsters. But I also know what Jesus requires of us, and I cannot pretend that this movement reflects Him.
Call to Faithful Action
If you are a follower of Christ, you have a responsibility to examine the fruits of any movement you support. Are they fruits of compassion, humility, mercy, and justice, or fruits of anger, division, contempt, and fear? The Gospel does not give us permission to bless cruelty, no matter how loudly someone wraps it in a flag or a Bible.
I have come to believe that the MAGA movement, if not the direct action of the evil one, is certainly delighted in by him. It warps the mind of well-intentioned Christians into doing the unthinkable in the name of Jesus. It is a machine designed to insult our Loving Father.
And so, it is time, with love and courage, to walk away from MAGA if you’ve gotten involved, because you do love Jesus. Because you want to live a faith that heals instead of harms. A faith that feeds instead of starves. A faith that welcomes instead of cages. A faith that breaks the chains of oppression.
Closing Prayer
Loving God,
You sent Your Son to walk among us, to show us what real love looks like. You told us that the path to life runs through mercy, humility, and compassion. Yet we confess that we are easily distracted by the loud voices of this world, the ones that promise security at the cost of our souls.
Strengthen our hearts, Lord. Give us clarity to name injustice when we see it. Give us courage to step away from movements that glorify anger and contempt. Give us humility to admit where we have looked the other way. And give us tenderness for those who are caught in fear, deception, or despair.
Bless the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, and the imprisoned. Bless every person who is being crushed by policies that forget they are Your children. Restore their dignity. Comfort their hearts. Surround them with people who will love them as You commanded.
Make us instruments of Your peace. Make us bold in truth, gentle in spirit, and steadfast in the work of love. And lead us always toward the light of Christ, the light that no darkness can overcome.
Amen.
Loneliness is not YOUR shame to carry
So here’s the dirty little secret most people never admit:
Loneliness doesn’t always look lonely.
It looks like having a packed calendar but nobody to call when your chest tightens at 2am.
It looks like small talk, fake smiles, and pretending you’re “fine” when you’re quietly unraveling inside.
And the worst part?
You start thinking it’s your fault.
That you’re too broken, too sensitive, too complicated.
You’re not.
There’s a reason why even surrounded people feel invisible.
And it’s not because you need to “get out more”… or “join another group”… or become some extroverted version of yourself.
That lie is what keeps people stuck.
But the truth?
There’s a gentle way back to connection.
To healing.
To finally being seen, without having to perform for it.
It’s not loud.
It’s not flashy.
But it works.
And it starts with a quiet step most people never think to take…
Click here to get your copy of “Loneliness: The Silent Epidemic” and five other books I’ve written for you.
In Christ,
Father Rich