A Focus on Enemies

Who do you think loses when someone focuses on enemies rather than solutions?

Aaron Burr didn’t begin life as a villain. He began with ambition, talent, intelligence, and a genuine desire to shape the young nation. But somewhere along the way, Alexander Hamilton became the gravitational center of his imagination. Slowly, Hamilton became the center of his emotional universe. Burr stopped pursuing his own purpose and started pursuing a rival. And when our enemy becomes our focus, our world shrinks. Our imagination collapses. We lose touch with our own calling.

Burr “won” the duel, but the victory cost him his future. It’s a cautionary tale: when we fixate on enemies, we end up losing the very thing we were trying to protect.

Duel

Which is why the story of Jesus washing feet — including Judas’s — feels so radical. Jesus refuses to let an enemy define His posture. He refuses to let betrayal shape His imagination. He stays rooted in His purpose, grounded in the Father, steady on the solid rock. While Burr’s story shows what happens when you let an enemy consume your focus, Jesus shows what happens when you refuse to let an enemy steal your identity.

So, when friends are constantly making Trump the focus of their derision, and other friends are constantly seeking to “own the libs” with their own derision, I find myself grieving a little. People I love seem to be wandering away from Jesus into the shifting sands of culture — sand that moves under you, sand that sinks, sand that cannot hold the weight of a soul.

And underneath all of it, I see something human: people who felt the world was spinning too fast, rewriting norms too quickly, dismissing boundaries they cherished — felt labeled, derided, unheard. And on the other side, people trying to carry every concern — every minority’s pain, every planetary crisis, every dietary rule — felt righteous but exhausted, anxious, and unseen in their own way.

Both sides, in different ways, ended up with their feet in the sand. Both sides lost sight of their purpose. Both sides let enemies set the emotional agenda.

And Jesus keeps inviting us to step out of that sand and back onto the solid rock of the way that washes feet -- even Judas’s.

If we’re going to claim that we follow Jesus — more than a political side or individual — we need to reopen our imagination, our emotions, our purpose, and our understanding of the world. Take a breath. Take a break. Not to listen to the other side, but to listen to the One whose deepest desire is to heal our world.

In the political realm, the question is: What solutions can we agree on and work together to provide?

In the spiritual realm, the question is: How do I recognize that God’s grace extends to the “just and the unjust” — whoever they might be?

We’re about to enter a season where political commercials, press conferences, debates, and rallies will try to pull our attention toward hating the other side. It’s so important that we call candidates to explain the choices, plans, and proposals that will seek to meet the needs of all Americans.

On Sunday, I’ve been asked to preach again. I’m preaching on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet… including Judas. If you’re interested, you can watch it live at 11:00am (Irish time) or recorded at DEC.ie on YouTube. Maybe invite someone you know you would never agree with politically to watch it with you and serve them a meal. (Blow their minds.)