Hello my friends,

I hope this finds you doing well. Thanks for being here.

Many of you have written to me about how heavy your hearts are over the sheer disregard we are seeing towards our fellow human beings, especially the most vulnerable among us. I am right there with you. Given all of this, I wanted to look together at how Matthew 10:29-31 was used during a newly established prayer service at the pentagon and encourage us all to continue raising our voices in solidarity with the least among us in opposition to our sacred faith being misused to justify cruelty.

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​-"I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." While we are looking at a different section of Matthew 10 today, I get questions about this phrase from Jesus in that chapter all the time as well. So I thought I'd share my commentary on that passage here if you have similar questions about that phrase as well.

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​Sparrows and Tomahawk Missiles.
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Recently, at a newly established prayer service in the Pentagon, an invocation was offered by Rev. Russ Potteiger, who is pastor to Fox News contributor and now Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Referencing Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:29-31, the pastor said:

“Our Lord, Jesus said in Matthew 10, not a sparrow will fall to the ground apart from my heavenly Father. If our Lord is sovereign, even over the sparrows’ fallings, you can be assured that he is sovereign over everything else that falls in this world, including Tomahawk and Minuteman missiles, including strategy meetings and war room debriefings. Jesus has the final say over all of it.”

I just want to be clear here at the start: this is not merely bad theology—it is a dangerous distortion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It merges divine sovereignty with militarism, weaponizing Scripture to sanctify violence. If taken seriously, it leads to a theological logic that implicates God not only in the firing of missiles but in every human act of violence—including those we grieve and condemn.

What Matthew 10 Actually Says

The verse in question (Matthew 10:29-31) reads:

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

As we can see, especially when reading the entire chapter, Jesus is not offering a metaphysical proof of God’s control over all physical phenomena. He is offering pastoral reassurance to persecuted disciples—men and women facing rejection, hardship, and even death for following him. The context is personal suffering, not national security. This is a word of tender consolation, not a justification for violence.

To claim that God’s attention to sparrows implies God’s ordination of missile strikes is not only a gross category error—it strips the passage of its original message: divine compassion.

A Misuse of Sovereignty

When Christians declare that “Jesus has the final say” over Tomahawk missiles or war room strategy, we must ask: what exactly are we saying?

If this is a claim that God is sovereign in the abstract, then it should terrify us into humility, not confidence. For if God is “sovereign” over our missile strikes, then God is equally sovereign over Hiroshima, over 9/11, over school shootings, over every bomb detonated in Gaza or Ukraine. Are we prepared to say that all of these acts are equally “ordained” by God?

That is not the sovereignty of Christ. That is a theological shell game—one that hides the horrors of human agency beneath the banner of divine will.

The God Revealed in Jesus

The God revealed in Jesus Christ is not neutral toward violence. Jesus did not bless the sword—He told Peter to put it away. He did not justify empire—He was crucified by it. He did not reign through missiles, but through mercy. His sovereignty is not seen in domination but in self-emptying love.

To use the name of Jesus to baptize the machinery of war is to invoke a false Christ.

A Call for Discernment and Repentance

The church Mr. Hegseth is a member of in Nashville was co-founded by Doug Wilson, who is a prominent Christian Nationalist here in Idaho, up north. Mr. Hegseth also has a deep and what I would call unhealthy admiration for the Crusades, with tattoos to show for it.

So, even though I know their positions, I still want to urge Rev. Potteiger, Mr. Hegseth, and all who heard these words to consider the weight of what they are proclaiming. Words about God carry consequence. Public theology shapes public conscience. And when Scripture is invoked to sacralize national violence, it not only misrepresents the gospel—it bears false witness to the character of God.

Jesus has the final say, yes. But He said “blessed are the peacemakers.” He said, “love your enemies.” He said, “what you do to the least of these, you do to me.” And according to Matthew 25:45, those are the “final words” by which we will be judged.

There is nothing courageous or faithful about using the name of Jesus to justify missiles. But there is great courage in questioning the powers, in refusing the logic of redemptive violence, and in following the crucified Christ—who reigns not from a war room, but from a cross.

Let us pray and act with the humility, reverence, and love that the gospel demands. The world does not need more sanctified nationalism. It needs Christians who look like Christ.

The Theological Armor of Power

In recent years, we’ve witnessed a growing trend where religious language—particularly Christian language—is used to cloak aggression, exclusion, and domination in moral legitimacy. This isn’t new in American history, but it has become more visible, more brazen, and more explicitly connected to political power.

Many public figures now speak of violence, cruelty, or authoritarian control as not only necessary evils but as divinely sanctioned tools. Whether it's militarized police forces, punitive immigration policies, or foreign wars, the implication is often the same: “God is with us, and our enemies are evil.”

This transforms violence and cruelty from something to grieve or resist into something to celebrate—as evidence of moral clarity and divine favor. This is not biblical justice. This is “us vs them” wrapped in theology.

Passages like Romans 13 ("let every person be subject to the governing authorities") or Matthew 10 ("not a sparrow falls...") are increasingly used out of context to justify submission to state power or divine approval of state violence—without any reference to the broader biblical narrative of liberation, mercy, and justice.

Instead of Scripture guiding people to Christlike compassion and ethical discernment, it becomes a toolkit for control, a defense against critique, and a talisman for power.

This rhetoric often merges Christian identity with American identity so tightly that it becomes nearly impossible to critique the state without being labeled unfaithful or unpatriotic. In this vision, Jesus isn’t the crucified Savior—He’s a kind of celestial general draped in red, white, and blue.

This fusion makes it easy to justify cruelty—against migrants, minorities, women, LGBTQ people, or political opponents—as acts of righteousness. Compassion becomes weakness while cruelty becomes courage.

In this mindset, the idea of a “spiritual battle” becomes politicized to suggest that any challenge to a particular political ideology is “demonic.” This frames disagreement not as a difference of policy, but as cosmic war between good and evil. It dehumanizes the opponent and sacralizes the conflict. This, too, paves the way for cruelty.

This kind of theology doesn’t just distort Christianity—it actively undermines democracy, corrodes compassion, and numbs people to injustice. It teaches them to confuse might with right, certainty with faithfulness, and control with love.

And perhaps most dangerously—it makes them believe God demands it.

How this connects to “America First” theology.

“We need to take care of Americans first!”

I’ve heard this phrase constantly from many, especially whenever I say that caring for immigrants is critical.

I heard this phrase constantly as a justification to support the current administration, as if caring for Americans was its first and primary goal.

As people have said this to me, I’ve watched the rollback of food and environmental protections in our country.

I’ve watched the silencing of major outlets for the CDC that warn the public about infectious diseases.

I’ve watched programs for cancer research being critically hobbled due to funding cuts.

I’ve watched the cuts of funding for mental health.

I’ve watched cuts to the 9/11 fund that was established to care for people and first responders who suffered and died from the terrorist attack on our country.

I’ve watched the rollback on bans on the use of forever chemicals that pollute our soil and our bodies.

I’ve watched as our national parks and public lands have been put into peril and even recommended to sell, to use for mining or lumber.

I’ve watched the mass firings of federal workers, who have been dedicated civil servants their whole careers, throwing their lives into chaos.

I’ve watched the disregard of the dignity, well-being, rights, and lives of women under the guise of “pro life” and “pro family” policies.

I’ve watched cuts to funding for the Office of Violence Prevention and systems of funding for non-profits that assist domestic violence victims and prevent violence.

I’ve watched the introduction of a spending bill, the “Big Beautiful Bill” that would strip health insurance from at least 13.7 million Americans, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The bill would also cost the nation $3.72 trillion, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, exploding the budget deficit, all while handing major tax breaks to the wealthy.

The bill cuts food assistance for hungry families; Head Start classes for young kids; and Pell Grants to help people afford college and even things like funding for clean air in our elementary schools.

I’ve watched all this and more, alongside the utter mistreatment of immigrants, denial of due process, and flouting the Supreme Court.

How is this caring for “Americans first?” How is this caring for any human being?

What adds utter hypocrisy to these harmful decisions is that they are being carried out by people in power who claim to be Christian.

By people who claim to follow Jesus, who called us to care for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the destitute, the immigrant, the marginalized, and the oppressed.

They are claiming to follow Jesus while implanting decisions that completely go against his teachings.

If you are still wonder why people are walking away and rejecting Christianity right now, look no further.

Opposing the mistreatment of our fellow human beings, whether they are American or not, shouldn't be controversial.

It shouldn't be seen as a partisan issue.

It shouldn't be seen as a conservative or liberal issue.

It’s simply about opposing cruelty, which we should all care about, especially those who claim to follow Jesus.

Cruelty isn’t a fruit of the Spirit.

Cruelty isn’t patriotic.

Cruelty isn’t a virtue.

Cruelty is the behavior of the weak, selfish, and fearful attempting to get their way.

People of true strength and integrity oppose cruelty.

They don’t use it as a tool of power and control.

If we should unite on anything, it should be to uphold human dignity and human rights and opposing the mistreatment and cruelty towards all our fellow human beings.

May it be so with us.