“Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the LORD will see and be displeased.”
—Proverbs 24:17–18
I recently came across an article about public reactions to the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson. As expected, many expressed shock and horror at the senseless act. But it also included comments that, not long ago, would have been unthinkable—though in the internet age, they are becoming disturbingly common.
So many of the responses were drenched in a kind of gleeful cruelty that takes a real human murder and turns it into entertainment. Across platforms, people used “haha” reactions, memes, and snarky one-liners to mock the dead man, congratulate the shooter, and spin the killing as some sort of darkly satisfying payback for denied claims and corporate greed.
Some joked about bullet wounds being treated as “preexisting conditions” or framed the assassination as an “experimental procedure” an insurance company would refuse to cover, as if a grieving family were nothing more than raw material for a punchline. Others went further, circulating the names and photos of other executives and floating “you’re next” rhetoric, treating threats and vigilante fantasies like a game everyone was invited to play.
Whatever one thinks about the sins of the health insurance system, seeing so many people revel in a killing like this felt chilling, dehumanizing, and utterly out of step with any serious vision of justice.
The murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk revealed that these reactions were no anomaly. After he was shot while giving a speech at Utah Valley University, similar tasteless commentary surfaced online—celebration, mockery, and moral shrugging masquerading as righteousness.
More recently, the brutal murders of actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, prompted another round of public reaction. Many who had rightly been appalled by the cruel responses to earlier killings now opened their mouths and displayed the very same deadness of heart.
Among the many cruel reactions to the killing of Rob Reiner and his wife, the most heartless came from the president himself, who posted the following on Truth Social:
“Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
I was appalled to read those words, and any person whose heart is not made of stone should be as well.
Scripture warns us plainly: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). We are remarkably skilled at spotting cruelty in our enemies while excusing it in ourselves.
But Jesus did not leave us there. He gave a command that allows for no political footnotes or cultural exemptions: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
How can the love of God be in us when we celebrate—or even shrug at—the brutal murder of those we disagree with? Whatever our political or social beliefs, moments like these force that question upon us.
And it is not a question meant for “them.” It is meant for each of us.