The Bible tells Christians that, as far as it depends on us, we should live at peace with our neighbour. One way we can do this is by not robbing them of their means of existence.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18)
The United States, it has to be said, seems comprehensively incapable of living peacefully with its neighbour.
Having just abducted the president of Venezuela and declaring that he would very much like to have their oil, he now appears to have his sights set on Greenland.
I can find no credible evidence that Russia or China seeks to “take over” Greenland through occupation, annexation, or military control.
Russia prioritises its own vast Arctic coastline (over 50% of the total), investing in bases, Northern Sea Route shipping, and submarine patrols near Svalbard/Norway—not Greenland. Putin has expressed concerns over NATO expansion in the region but advocates for “international cooperation” rather than territorial gains.
China self-describes as a “near-Arctic state” with mining investments (rare earths) and research stations proposed in the 2010s, but which Denmark rejected. As a result, China has no vessels or bases in Greenland.
Nevertheless, Trump is prepared to coerce the people of Greenland to hand over their sovereignty to him, and it appears he will find any excuse to justify the theft.
I’m also noticing that under the pretence of liberating Iranians, he’s threatening to drop some more bombs. Bombs that will no doubt hit the growing number of Iranians who are coming to Christ in droves.
In these things, Donald Trump has taken action that no Christian can endorse.
Do not plan evil against your neighbour, who dwells trustingly beside you. (Proverbs 3:29)
Venezuela is at least an 80% professing Christian nation, and while you may not agree with some of the things they do indoors, they are a neighbour. Trump’s actions have thrown Venezuelan society and economy into chaos, threatening the very livelihood and means of existence of ordinary Venezuelans.
This is not a military or political issue. This is squarely a moral issue, and Christians should, at the very least, hold their applause.
Let your foot be seldom in your neighbour’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you. (Proverbs 25:17)
There’s a great deal of wisdom in this proverb, and perhaps it explains why so many nations now harbour a deep-seated dislike for the United States.
Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Iran, Venezuela, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia…
The United States has a history of breaking into other people’s houses and stealing their stuff.
North America already has some of the richest and most fertile land in the world. By all appearances, they should be a happy, prosperous and contented nation. But they are not.
They are nosy, envious, have an enormous appetite for power, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, they are driven by fear. We know this to be true by the constant appeals to safety and security that they use to justify their ungodliness among their own people.
Like Herod, Trump is prepared to put his boot on the necks of a poor and broken people and call it liberation, call it a security measure (Matthew 2:16). But it is not liberation; it is lust.
What you are looking at when you look at men like Herod or Donald Trump are little kings who crave power, who crave glory. Little Messianic wannabees who seduce their own people rather than save them. Who subjugate their neighbours rather than set them free.
For this reason, Jesus Christ came into the world. To save His people and set them free. And how does He do it? What is the gospel we are called to imitate?
Not through subjugation or seduction but by sacrifice and service for the good of our neighbour.
One of the ways we can do this is by not buying into the false binary of “us” versus “them. Black vs white, Jews vs Arabs, Muslims vs Christians, left vs right, women vs men. These are all manufactured divisions designed to cripple and overwhelm us in fear and suspicion of our neighbour.
Jesus Christ has all power and authority in Heaven and on Earth. The kingdoms of this world belong to Him (Matthew 28:18, Revelation 11:15).
This means that as Christians, the only binary we are interested in is the binary that exists between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.
And the only way to overcome the darkness in 2026 will be through sacrificial love grounded in truth and patience in the tribulation we are about to encounter.
Our neighbours do not exist for our profit or our enrichment. They exist as opportunities to share the love of Christ through loaves, fishes, a Samaritan bandage, a cup of cold water and the good news that through Jesus Christ, and Him alone, we have peace.
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