I’m going to tell you a true story, and I’d like you to gauge your reactions to the story along the way.

Wednesday evening, while I was eating dinner at a local restaurant in Midland, someone vandalized our car. I didn’t see it happen – the car was out of my sight for a period of time – but when I left the restaurant, I immediately saw the 18-inch-long scrape running horizontally along the driver’s door, between the window and the door handle.

What are your reactions so far?

This car is a Tesla. We bought this car two years ago and have really enjoyed the EV experience. We have taken the car on longer trips without fueling problems, and we have even gone camping in it from time to time. We can just plug it into a campsite’s electrical outlet, fill the inflatable mattress, and sleep under the glass roof with a view of the stars above.

Of course, Tesla is very much in the news these days because of its CEO, Elon Musk, and his role in the new presidential administration this year.

What’s your reaction to the fact that our Tesla was keyed?

No, we didn’t have Sentry Mode enabled at the time. If it had been enabled, we would have a video recording of the incident. We might be able to identify the perpetrator and file a police report. But that doesn’t really matter. The damage has been done. It will cost us (and our insurance company) nearly $1,000 to repair the door.

There is one more crucial element to this story. For the past month, we have had a bumper sticker on the rear of our car. The bumper sticker reads, “I bought this car before Elon decided to be a supervillain.”

What’s your reaction now?

I took our car to a body shop this morning for an estimate on repairs. Both the owner of the shop and another customer commented to me about this cultural moment. They recognized that many Teslas are being vandalized these days, and some people have very strong political opinions which are at the root of these incidents. But they both said the same thing to me: “we can disagree, we can have different opinions, but that doesn’t mean people should go around destroying other people’s property.”

That’s a nice idea.

But do we really believe it?

I am not really upset about this act of vandalism. I wish it hadn’t happened, of course. I wish I could talk with the person who did this. I wonder what I have in common with this person. I wonder if this person would have acted differently if they knew who Tara and I are. I wonder if they do know who we are.

But in the end, this is just an inconvenience. It’s just a scratch. It’s cosmetic. The car still drives like it always has. In the grand scheme of things, this is not that big of a deal.

That realization gives me pause, though. It’s one thing for us to deal with a petty act of vandalism like this. It’s one thing for us to declare to the world (or at least to the people driving behind us) that we are not fans of Elon Musk and the damage that he and his DOGE team are wreaking on the United States, its various governmental agencies, and the lives of the people who are affected directly and indirectly by the massive cuts that he is causing.

(We can have different opinions, right?)

But it’s another thing for us to harm other people because we think we are right. It’s another thing for us to cause other people to suffer to fulfill our notions of justice and righteousness.

I’m not talking about Teslas.

I’m talking about Gaza. I’m talking about Yemen. I’m talking about Ukraine. I’m talking about student protests here in the United States which have resulted in arrests and attempted deportations. I’m talking about those places in the world where we, as the United States, have said to ourselves, “There’s a difference of opinion between us and them, perhaps a difference of political perspective or religious background. And we’re going to inflict massive suffering anyway – either directly or indirectly.”

More than fifty thousand Palestinians in Gaza have been killed during Israel’s retaliation after the October 6, 2023, attacks by Hamas. Virtually all of the remaining two million residents of Gaza have been displaced multiple times, have endured eighteen months of bombing, have experienced an extreme lack of humanitarian supplies for longer than anyone in the outside world wants to admit. What’s your reaction?

The United States has been bombing various sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen for the past several days (and weeks and years). We are backing away from our support of Ukraine in its three-year-long war against the invading forces of Russia. We are arresting students at American universities and transporting them to detention facilities because of their roles in protests against the devastation being wrought in Gaza. What’s your reaction?

Tara and I are fine. Our car will be fine. We are privileged and fortunate to have good insurance.

This moment in our cultural life is a moment in which we have to decide if we really believe that people with different beliefs and perspectives can live together in peace. We have to decide if we really believe that community is important, or instead that might makes right. We have to decide if our reactions to local and international events are appropriate and are based on the ethics of love.

For me, as a follower of Jesus, I choose the way of love – for my neighbors, for my enemies, even for strangers I will never meet.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Jesus, Matthew 5:43-48 NIV