Trump Was Right in Referring to MS-13 as Animals
I'm always a little amazed at what people choose to be offended by. This last week it was President Trump referring to MS-13 members as "animals."1 Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi objects to referring to MS-13 as "animals" because they possess a "spark of divinity."2 This is especially ironic coming from pro-choice Democrats such as Pelosi. Pelosi is offended by calling murderers and rapists "animals" while simultaneously supporting the dismemberment and poisoning of innocent human beings in the womb who share that same "spark" based on their humanity. So, Pelosi's logic is that name-calling is bad, but using a vacuum to suction innocent children out of the womb is a human right. But I digress.
I recently saw this posted on social media from a fellow Christian regarding Trump's comment:
I'm disturbed that President Trump called undocumented immigrants "animals".
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However, as someone who works with ex-cons all day, every day...
I'm even more disturbed that some defend his comment by saying he was only calling undocumented criminals "animals".
Criminals. Are. Not. Animals. I see the power of God made manifest in the lives of rapists, murderers, thieves, and drug dealers in ways that make me long for that same work of God.
No matter who we are, no matter what we've done, there are no animals in the human race. #imageofGod
Before dissecting this, let's not forget who MS-13 is. They are one of the most brutal, violent criminal gangs who have immigrated to America. They are known for rape, torture, as well as murder by beheading and hacking (BYOM: Bring Your Own Machete). Their motto is Kill, Rape, Control. Is there any moral justification for referring to MS-13 members as "animals"?
The Apostle Peter, in referring to blasphemers, states, "But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!" (2 Peter 2:12-14).
My goodness! Someone really needs to tell Peter to tone it down. If one didn't know better, one might think Peter had prophetic insight into MS-13. Didn't Peter know these were human beings created in the image of God? He didn't seem to have a problem referring to these blasphemers as "animals" and, call me crazy, I'm a little skeptical of people who are more easily "offended" or "disturbed" than the apostles and prophets. I wonder if these offended and disturbed individuals feel the same when Peter uses the word "animals" in referring to desperate and depraved sinners, or is it only when Trump rightfully refers to serial murderers and rapists as "animals"?
But Peter wasn't the only one. Jude apparently felt the same way: "But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them!" (Jude 10-11).
This isn't an excuse for flagrant, inappropriate name-calling. It simply means that labeling unrepentant sinners who love their sin more than they love God (MS-13), who engage in evil and vile deeds and show no sign of remorse (MS-13), who blaspheme God in word and deed and wantonly kill innocent human beings created in the image of God (MS-13)...it simply means labeling these types of individuals "animals" may be appropriate.
Remember: WWPAJD? What would Peter and Jude Do?
The writer of the above social media post works with ex-convicts. That is a godly calling, and prison ministry is much needed. Conversion is our best hope of reform. If God can save Saul and turn him into Paul, He can save anyone. But Christian converts and repentant ex-convicts are not being labeled "animals." MS-13 is. I don't work with ex-convicts. I work with convicts and have done so for 17 years. And one thing I can tell you is that convicts (as a group and as a whole, not necessarily as individuals) are some of the most self-entitled, narcissistic, sociopaths you will ever meet, especially the sex offenders.
I was walking an inmate back from court the other day. He is a serial rapist and murderer and has already been convicted and sentenced to 400+ years. He was convicted on additional torture charges at court. As we walked he told me the following: "I got done dirty at court today. But it's okay. I'm gonna get an appeal lawyer and appeal this." That, my friends, is the convict mentality. You have to be a complete narcissistic, self-entitled, sociopath to be able to rape and murder women and still believe "I'm basically a good person who deserves all the rights and privileges this country has to offer." He's an animal. And if it were not for the mercy and grace of God, I would be too.
None of this takes away from the fact that all human beings are created in the image of God. The word "animal" is used metaphorically, not literally. However, all human beings born since the Fall are born in sin. The image of God has been effaced, though not erased (as theologians are fond of saying). We have lost our original holiness and righteousness (the moral image), though we have retained the natural image. We are moral beings, but not morally good beings in our naturally born unregenerate state. Scripture paints a pretty bleak picture. We are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-2), by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) and enemies of God (Rom. 5:10), darkened in understanding, excluded from the life of God, ignorant, and hard of heart (Eph. 4:18), in bondage to sin (John 8:34), unable to please God (Rom. 8:8), unable to accept and understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14), and unable to come to God in our own power (John 6:44). In other words, people are not "basically good" apart from Christ.
And as Peter and Jude demonstrate, sometimes the label "animal" is appropriate. And when God takes animals and transforms them into His children, all the glory belongs to Him.
Footnotes
1 You can hear his comments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tmT7-dhOWs
2 You can hear her comments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs3lXj9B8ak
