There are moments when the news does more than inform us; it exposes us. It reveals what we love, what we fear, and how quickly our hearts reach for shortcuts when the world feels unbearable.

Lately, I’ve noticed in myself a strong impulse to respond to horrific stories in one of two ways: either to shut it all out and go numb, or to dive headfirst into every article, every update, every comment section until my anger feels justified and my outrage feels righteous.

If I’m honest, after the blood starts boiling and the scrolling finally stops, what I keep running into, both online and in my own heart, is the temptation to turn people into monsters.

When violence happens, when injustice is blatant, when lives are taken unjustly, calling someone a monster can feel like moral clarity. It creates distance. It reassures me: I am not like that. I am not like them. And yet Scripture consistently warns that this kind of distance, however understandable, can actually deform us.

That’s why I want to write as a pastor about what we’re witnessing right now in our broken world, how the Bible names evil clearly, and why the way we respond matters not just for the world, but for our own souls.

Yesterday, as I’m writing this, on January 24, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and ICU nurse named Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal immigration agents . Publicly shared video footage shows him being tackled by multiple agents and then shot 10 times (he was disarmed, from a gun he was licensed to carry but not holding, and then shot TEN times after being rendered unarmed). This was at least the second fatal shooting of a local resident by federal agents in Minneapolis in less than three weeks, sparking protests locally and across the country as people demand accountability.

We Must Name Evil

Scripture does not shy away from naming injustice. The prophet Isaiah says of unjust rulers, “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression” (Isaiah 10:1). The Bible consistently calls God’s people toward righteousness and justice (Micah 6:8). When those in positions of power exercise lethal force in ways that result in the death of innocent people, we are right to mourn. The Bible calls sin sin. Violence against the innocent is wicked. From all the evidence currently available (and there is a lot), the killing of Alex Pretti was a horrific unjust evil.

At the same time, labeling those on the other side of the comment section as “monsters” because of their actions or (ill-informed; as some might say mine are) opinions, no matter how vile they may be, sets us on a dangerous path. Even the religious leaders in Jesus’ day reduced those they opposed to caricatures in order to avoid wrestling with their own hearts.

We can and must call certain actions evil, but we must do so without turning the doer into a monster, or whatever other label we use to mean monster: fascist, Nazi, tyrant. Moses cried out against Israel’s sin, and yet, without excusing it, he said, “the people are flesh” (Exodus 16:3). Their wickedness was confronted, but their humanity was not denied.

Making Monsters

There is a temptation, in me and maybe (probably) in you too, to respond to horror by making monsters of those who commit it .Online, voices rush to reduce whole people to symbols of evil (nazis, fascists, degenerates, marxist-communists, etc.). It feels righteous. It feels clarifying. .

But church, that is not the language of Scripture.

When we turn people into monsters, we do two injuries at once:

1. We unknowingly excuse them while pretending to condemn them. When we stop seeing people as accountable humans, capable of repentance and worthy of judgment, we reduce them to something less than human. Monsters are expected to act monstrously. People are responsible for what they do.
2. We harden our own hearts. Monster-making replaces the gospel’s call to humility with the comforting belief that we are not like them.

James warns us about this posture. When we speak against others while refusing self-examination, we “judge unjustly” and place ourselves in the role of lawgiver rather than repentant people (James 4:11–12). To be clear, when evil is done, it must be confronted. But people should never be dehumanized. Evil is real, and so is the image of God in every human being, even those who commit what is wicked.

I know this is difficult. We fear humanizing those who offend our basic sense of decency because we think it will blur moral judgment. But Scripture calls us to something harder and more faithful: to see both the evil of actions and the shared humanity of the actors. If they can do injustice, then we can do injustice too. And by God’s grace, we can also do justice. Recognizing shared humanity should not comfort us; it should sober us. It should move us toward righteous anger that leads to action, not vengeance (Ephesians 4:26).

Biblical Tools Better Than Monster-Making

The gospel does not leave us with despair or rage as our only options. Scripture gives us better tools.

1. Holy Hate

The Bible teaches us to hate, but not people. “O you who love the Lord, hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). Jesus commends the church in Ephesus for hating wicked practices, not human beings (Revelation 2:6). We are called to hate what destroys life and dignity while refusing to hate those made in God’s image.

2. Imprecatory Prayer

The Psalms give voice to prayers that ask God to bring the plans of the wicked to nothing (Psalm 33:10). “Rise up, O Lord; lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted” (Psalm 10:12). These prayers are not vindictive. They are cries for God’s justice to interrupt human cruelty.

Christians can and should pray against ideologies, systems, and actions that destroy life, while still longing for repentance and reconciliation for those caught up in them.

3. Do Justice.

God calls His people to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him (Micah 6:8). This includes:

• Supporting transparent, lawful investigations
• Advocating for systemic reforms that protect human life
• Supporting communities harmed by violence
• Participating in organizations and efforts that uplift the vulnerable (like World Relief or Administer Justice)

4. Protest!

The prophets publicly confronted power and pleaded the cause of the oppressed. Calling for accountability and reform through nonviolent protest is consistent with biblical justice and love of neighbor (Isaiah 1:17).

These practices are not distractions from the gospel. They are expressions of it.

Better Than Any Tool

Even more than any tool, our hope does not rest in our ability to bring or create justice, but on one who entered into our humanity; Jesus Christ, who bore injustice on our behalf.

On the cross, the righteous suffered for the unrighteous. The innocent One absorbed the injustice of the world (1 Pet. 2:24). Still, Christ did not dehumanize those who mocked Him, He prayed for them (Luke 23:34). His justice is not cruel or dismissive. It is holy, truthful, and restorative.

And for this reason we should pray with St. John, “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). Jesus is our hope, and our prayer for him to come is never a prayer of shrugging surrender, but a cry for justice and restoration! When God’s people pray “Come, Lord Jesus” we mean:

Come, clean up this mess.
Judge the living and the dead.
Undo the evils of this world.
Make all things as they ought to be.

We pray this not to delight in the downfall of the wicked but to trust Him with righteous judgment and to take up His work of mercy and justice in the world.

A Prayer For Broken Humans In a Broken World

Lord, we look at the headlines and our hearts break.
We see violence and loss of life, and we mourn.
We see systems that abuse power, and we cry out for righteousness.
Grant us, your people, a holy hatred for sin and an unquenchable love for human souls.
Grant us courage to seek justice peacefully, wisdom to pray for justice with humility,
and mercy that looks to Christ first and ourselves second.
Come, Lord Jesus — heal, redeem, restore this world.

Amen.