“When will it end?”

That was the question a legacy media commentator asked after conservative talk show host and thought leader Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. Another lamented, “Is this how we solve our political differences in America?” From the shattered stained glass of Annunciation Catholic School to the crowded fields of Butler County, Pennsylvania, the heartbreaking answer is too often yes.

And yet evil, whether it slinks across a rooftop or slams into twin skyscrapers, is not new. Two thousand years ago, the prophet Hosea watched his own nation, awash in idolatry, turn its back on God and declared a warning from the Lord, “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind …”

The admonition was as timely then as it is now. Lawlessness, violence, and bloodshed have become so frequent in American life that very little shocks our collective conscience. Yet the assassination of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, as he peacefully engaged in dialogue on a university campus, is a loss that has stunned millions of Americans across the political spectrum.

As with tragedies before, the responses are predictable — calls for gun control, demands for more government programs, and appeals for prayer. I, too, call for prayer. Not because prayer is a slogan to calm emotions, but because genuine prayer positions us to hear God — and when we listen, He reveals the way forward.

This is an incredibly charged moment for our country, but that should not distract from the fact that America is reaping what it has sown. Since the 1960s, a “long march through the institutions” sought to drive God, His word, and His authority from public life. The aim was to relegate faith to the private corners of society, never to influence the classroom, courtroom, or public square. Charlie Kirk and the movement he sparked stood up to the Left’s assault on college campuses, working tirelessly to challenge the godless influence on this generation. Other courageous thought leaders like Rush Limbaugh, Phyllis Schlafly, and Dr. James Dobson also gave voice to truth in a lost world. And while their work stalled the march, it has not stopped it.

So, how do we stop it and return civility to our nation? First, we must recognize that while our struggle is waged in political and cultural arenas, its roots are spiritual. Without confronting the spiritual decay at the heart of our crisis, no policy or program will suffice. Scripture provides clear understanding to the people of God: the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to pull down strongholds.

This requires courage — to stand unapologetically for truth, yet to resist the temptation to mirror the bitterness of our age. We must speak truth with conviction, but also with love that disarms hatred.

In another time of turbulence, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded America that if we truly want to change the environment fueling violence, we must choose a better way. He declared, “Love has within it a redemptive power that eventually transforms individuals … love is the only way.” He lived those words, saying, “I would rather die than hate you.”

If our nation is to heal, we cannot let our righteous indignation at this unspeakable tragedy rule. We must not answer anger with anger or bloodshed with more bloodshed. Justice must be upheld, lawlessness restrained, and truth defended — but the cycle of hatred must be broken. That can only happen when love — rooted in eternal truth — guides our actions.

Only then can America find the healing it desperately needs.

Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand. He also served two terms as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and served as Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.