Things I Think…
More often than not these days, I find myself feeling stressed and melancholy irregardless of any personal circumstances. I’m not eating well or sleeping well…at times it seems as if darkness will be my companion until it takes me completely. I think I understand what’s happened…happened repeatedly. It’s called “moral injury”.
I did some research…and this is what I found.
Moral injury is a concept used to describe the profound psychological, emotional, and spiritual distress that can arise when a person feels they have violated their own deeply held moral or ethical beliefs — or have been forced to witness or participate in actions that betray their moral framework.
Betrayal of moral expectations
This is a big one…
For many Americans — especially those with strong religious, civic, or moral commitments — certain democratic norms, basic decency, and truth-telling were assumed to be moral bedrock. When a leader’s words or actions break those assumptions — mocking the vulnerable, spreading lies, stoking hatred, encouraging cruelty — it can feel like a deep betrayal not just of politics, but of shared moral commitments.
There was a time when I thought we all agreed on basic decency…on what was right and what was wrong. I was sure that if I exposed the evil that some church or pastor was involved in that surely everyone would shame and stop the perpetrator…now they vote for them.
It doesn’t matter “what the Bible says” about anything anymore…the Bible is just a prop used to act as if they have the moral high grounds. For me…this is about the faith once delivered…and I’m to the point that if I can’t save your soul, I have to save mine.
Complicity and silence
One painful source of moral injury is witnessing respected institutions — churches, political parties, family members, or neighbors — not only tolerate but cheer on what feels deeply immoral. For some Christians, for example, seeing pastors or fellow believers bless rhetoric and policies they see as cruel or dishonest can feel like a violation of their core faith.
I’ve dealt with the pain of seeing the efforts of good people fail to change bad situations…but I’ve never experienced the pain of watching people I thought were good participate in and encourage evil.
This…is deeply painful.
Participating in or failing to stop harm
Many people feel moral injury because they were, at times, complicit — by voting a certain way, remaining silent to keep the peace, or downplaying harm to “stay united.” Others may feel they failed to stop friends, family, or communities from embracing what they see as harmful behavior. I always feel like I’m not doing enough…not posting enough, not writing enough, not teaching enough…but the reality is that those who support these evils do not want to hear me…or anyone else.
Examples of the wounds
- Hearing or seeing rhetoric that dehumanizes immigrants, minorities, or political opponents.
- Watching peaceful norms of discourse replaced by threats, conspiracies, and intimidation.
- Seeing Christian symbols used to bless power, nationalism, or cruelty, distorting the moral meaning of their faith.
- Experiencing friendships, families, and churches fracture over these issues — a shattering of trust that feels morally traumatic.
The spiritual and moral toll
This moral injury doesn’t just create anger — it creates grief, shame, and disorientation:
- Grief for a country or community they thought was better than this.
- Shame for not having spoken up more boldly.
- Disorientation about what truth, decency, or community even mean now.
Why it hurts so deeply
It’s not “just politics.” It cuts to the soul — to what people believe about right and wrong, truth and lies, who we are as neighbors, citizens, or Christians. That’s why the language of moral injury — not just stress or disagreement — is fitting.
The deepest pain and the greatest offense is that some are trying to redefine who Jesus was and what His kingdom is about.
We aren’t going to stand for that here.
We’re going to resist what is happening in this country to people of color, the poor, the migrant, and our own souls.
We will not allow anyone to proselytize for the empire here.
We need an echo chamber if the echoes are the word of the Lord.
We will keep praying that some will have ears to hear…and others to actually be converted…at least we know where the real mission field is now…
Michael, thank you for what may be one of your most impactful posts to date.
This expresses clearly what I have been feeling and pouring out in prayer for a long time. In short, it hurts to live in such fractured and crumbling times.
Thank you for holding the line for what is decent and what is truly Godly.
Laura,
Thank you, my friend.
I know that there are others confused by their own emotions at this time…hopefully it will help us all sort out what’s going on.
Thank you for always being there and helping us stay in the fray…
I am one of those that is confused by my own emotions and trying to sort out what is going on.
I think our national democratic institutions are in their death throes. I also think serious democratic deficiencies have existed in our republican form of government since the very beginning, but the national narrative of a country that loved democracy, freedom, and liberty, the brainwashing and sanewashing encouraged us not to see those deficiencies or to say that they weren’t really “who we are” as a people. The narrative twisting let the moments of light in our history blind us to the real extent of our sins and failures, seeing them as somehow outliers and aberrations rather than core to our national identity. Now the cracks in our democratic institutions and processes have turned into fissures under the weight of our imperfections and illusions. This is who we are as a nation; this is who we as a nation have chosen to be. It hurts and it is crazy making for some of us because we believed the propaganda about how we were essentially a liberty-loving, humane people who, given the chance, would embrace the “better angels of our nature”; but we, as a nation, have rejected those angels, and, our pooled resources, whether we like it or not, are being used to embrace the demon of the abyss. We are walking in the valley of the shadow of death; some of us realize it, others are completely oblivious, and some ardently love the path we are on.
“One painful source of moral injury is witnessing respected institutions — churches, political parties, family members, or neighbors — not only tolerate but cheer on what feels deeply immoral. For some Christians, for example, seeing pastors or fellow believers bless rhetoric and policies they see as cruel or dishonest can feel like a violation of their core faith.”
You nailed it, Michael. I am seeing this as well, and the greatest shock for me is how it has infiltrated some family and friends. How they can be so willfully blind to the un-Christian, immoral ethic is beyond me. I am afraid that it is rooted in a deep deception where people have believed another gospel, even if having first received the truth.
Michael,
Your reflection captures the weight many of us carry — the ache of conscience in the face of complicity or perceived inaction. Moral injury often stems not just from what we did, but from what we couldn’t prevent. Yet even when our voices feel unheard, the witness still matters. Silence can be complicity, yes — but so can persistence be resistance. Keep speaking, teaching, writing. It may not change them, but it may strengthen the weary who are watching.
Thank you, Michael, for describing how I haven’t been able to describe my own feelings. It has been amazing how much has changed in such a short time, and the way that those who we would usually trust in government have betrayed us. They don’t even trust each other (witness the current Epstein debacle). I’m leaning towards four options at this point:
-The Senate/House finally realize how crazy things are and take on the president and his agenda in a serious way.
-Trump becomes incapacitated in some way and can no longer be in office (which might lead to all out chaos).
-We break into civil war .
-The American people begin to resist and just don’t obey some government mandates. It could happen. That’s one of the reasons segregation finally ended. It was legislated, but some people just began to act decently towards each other, which led to its final, at least legal, existence.
Meanwhile, I’ll continue to pray and do the things I do. That’s all I can so. The fourth option did happen during the red scare of the 50s and the Vietnam War. People were tired, they started to protest, and things began to change.
Thank you all for commenting and especially for seeing and feeling what I believe is the heart of Jesus.
I don’t know what is going to become of us…I don’t know if we’re experiencing the beginning of judgment…I just know I need some folks to go through it with.
Pray and do the things we do…is all we can do.
Thank you, Michael
Reuben,
Love you much…praying for you always.
The early church kept doing what Scripture mandates-worship, teaching the Word, the sacraments/ordinances (depending on your theology), caring for those in need, and evangelism. Meanwhile, Rome was trying to stamp them out, and they flourished. May the current church rise to such an occasion. I know it’s a remnant, but they’re out there!
Michael,
I am sure I am not the only one who is grateful you are here ,doing what you do. Your steadfastness is a rare trait, and much needed in these times.
Thank you . We will stand with you .
Owen,
Thank you, my friend…every blessing to youn and your family…
Linn,
Well said…may it be so!