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Not sure if you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last week.

• The death of Charlie Kirk
• Colorado high school shooting
• Ukrainian woman stabbed to death in Charlotte

Before you write this off, hear me out—I’m not here to promote anything political. This isn’t that kind of email. I just want to ask you one question:

Might you be fighting the wrong fight?

Every time tragedy strikes in our country, a predictable pattern follows: we turn on each other. Something horrific happens, and our first instinct is to look for someone to blame. That search for blame drives us to pick sides, hurl accusations, and attack anyone who even hints at disagreement.

We take to the digital streets—posting, commenting, and arguing with people we’ve never sat across from, never shared a coffee with, never looked in the eye as a fellow human being with a story. If we’re honest, most of us don’t even want to know the story. We just react. Soundbites, headlines, and algorithms we don’t control end up controlling us.

And so, we fight.

We wage war against people—but people aren’t the real problem. What’s truly driving these external wars is unseen. We can’t see the cause, but we feel the effects everywhere.

So what is the real problem? What’s the root behind all this chaos?

I’ll give you both a REASON and a ROOT.

REASON: Our battle is not against “flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:10–18) The person across from you—online or in real life—is not the enemy. There is a darkness at work, an unseen evil that infects every corner of our world. It is supernatural. It is the force behind every tragedy.

ROOT: That same darkness doesn’t just exist “out there.” It lives within us. The public display of evil always starts in the private dungeons of the human heart. It’s shocking, but true: the root of evil is in us.

This is why so many of us are fighting the wrong fight. If you’re in digital brawls, breaking relationships, or throwing careless words into the chaos—whether from the center of the fight or the sidelines—you’re aiming at the wrong target.

The fight isn’t out there, with anybody else. The fight is in here, within our heart.

Fight the darkness within yourself. Resist the pull of bitterness, anger, and division. Push back against the thoughts and emotions that only lead toward distraction, destruction, and ultimately death.

As a missionary to American culture, I beg you—fight the right fight. Not against your neighbor, but against the darkness in your own soul. Choose compassion instead of contempt. Choose care instead of criticism. Choose community even in disagreement.

Because it is in our differences, in our diversity, that the light of Jesus shines brightest.

I love you all!

Please Pray For...

1. The Local Church to be God's instrument of healing and revival in our nation, despite political, and racial barriers (2 Chronicles 7:14).
2. The kindness of God that leads us to repentance would be daily reflected in our relationships (Romans 2:4)
3. The training, coaching, and deploying of students into God's mission on both College and High School campuses. (Unified & Young Life) (Ecclesiastes 12:2 & 1Timothy 4:12)