You’ve heard the story, right? Maybe you’ve seen the video. (Or an earlier one.) Congresswoman Lauren Boebert from Colorado made a joke suggesting the only hijab-wearing member of Congress, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, is a terrorist.
I’m curious: What was your initial reaction when you heard? For me it was a mix of anger, sadness and embarrassment, due in part to a weird mix of commonality with Boebert: She’s the representative for my district, we both claim to be Christian and we both speak out about Muslims.
Before I share a couple thoughts and suggest a response, let me make some disclaimers:
- Yes, I probably am crazy to write about this.
- No, Ilhan Omar does not need me to defend her. (And to be clear: I’m not defending Omar’s policies and beliefs. I am defending her right to be a person.)
- I think this would matter less to me if Boebert weren’t vocal about her Christian faith. She referenced it in her apology (20 seconds in).
How should we think about this situation? And as people who love Jesus, is there action to be taken?
For starters, it wouldn’t kill me to take a quick check up on my own loyalties. I’d like to say I’m most loyal to Jesus, then country and family, but he and I both know it’s often my own sweet self at the top of the list.
Secondly, for anyone who claims to be a Christian, there’s no free pass based on, “Well, she did really bad things first!” We’re not talking to a seven year old about why he hit his sister.
What can we do? We can heed Paul’s admonition, “that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made. . . for kings and all those in authority. . . .” We can vote. We can train our kids to love like Jesus and attack ideas, not people.