On January 10, 49 B.C., Julius Caesar made a decision to cross the Rubicron River, defying the Roman Senate. This would lead to the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of a Roman Emperor.

On the night of January 6, A.D. 2021, I went to bed distressed, having a hard time sleeping, and awoke earlier than usual to pray longer. After thinking about it all day, I feel compelled to speak up. As a Christian and an American, I condemn in the strongest terms the Trump supporters who invaded our nation’s Capitol building while Congress was in session, threatening the very heart of our democracy, and I was horrified at the blasphemy that some of them waved Christian flags and a “Jesus” flag while rioting.

Have we crossed a Rubicon, from which there is no turning back?

Some people will say that the rioters were not really Trump supporters, or that they were not representative of most Republicans and Trump supporters. On the other side of the aisle, some will say that it just showed how evil all Republicans are. Enough of this! We must stop pointing fingers at others, and we must come to grips with the fact that in a real sense, we all bear a responsibility for what happened yesterday, by passively allowing the rhetoric in this nation to rise to a fever pitch.

Words have consequences. When we speak angry words, some of our hearers will take our words farther than we ever intended. Sin is like that– it takes us farther than we want to go. To my fellow Christians, let us remember that scripture tells us not to let the sun go down on our anger. It tells us to be kind to one another. When we say angry things about our political opponents, there are always those who will repeat it and take it a step farther. One person posts angry words against a politician on social media, and another person reads it and spray paints the same politican’s house or yells at them in a restaurant. One person rips up a speech, and another person rips down a monument. One person cries out to march against the Capitol because he felt he was cheated in the election, and others will march right into the building and riot. If we want to save our democracy, we must stop pointing fingers at the other side and instead take a look at our own hearts. If the apostle Paul could tell the Christians to submit to governing authorites that was ruled by an evil Roman emperor, then we can do no less in our democracy, as imperfect as it is.

Have we crossed a Rubicon, from which there is no turning back? Or will we save our Republic?

This is a plea for us to tone down the rhetoric, to stop shouting at one another, and to listen to those with whom we disagree. It is high time for civil behavior in our civil body politick. Years ago, President Ronald Reagan and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill were fierce political opponents, but they were friends, and could be civil and respectful to one another. We must return to those days when we can agree to disagree, without demonizing one another. It is worth it to save our democracy. Let us remember our pledge to the flag of the UNITED States, to be “ONE nation under God, INDIVISIBLE…”? Let us keep that pledge, for divided we fall, but united we stand.