I am not good with poetry. It is difficult to read. If I hear it, I begin to understand.

As I work my way through Letters and Papers from Prison, I run into Bonhoeffer’s poetry. I readily admit it is so tempting to skim. But then… a phrase caught me. He had a long one called “Night Voices” that is chronicled to be written around April to July of 1944.

I wasn’t paying attention… until these words: We learned to tell cheap lies…

It caught me so I went on:

We learned to tell cheap lies,
to go along with obvious wrongdoing.
When violence was heaped on the defenseless,
we looked away.

And what set our hearts aflame
we kept silent and unnamed.
We quenched our burning blood
and stamped out our sense of shame.

What once joined humankind in sacred bonds
was shredded and defaced.
Betrayed were friendships and faithfulness,
rueful tears the target of scorn.

We the offspring of devout generations,
once the defenders of justice and truth,
became despisers of God and humanity,
as Hell looked on, laughing.

There is more… so much more. And all I have right now is shame and embarrassment.

There was a time when we, as conservative Christians and leaders, decried the “liberal” government and feared them trampling on our rights of religious freedom. Things like, “They’re going to force us to do gay marriages!” and “They will arrest you for being against gays!” and more.

Then… ICE raided a church to arrest an immigrant. Not the “liberal” government. A “conservative” government. One that over 80 percent of white evangelicals voted for. Twice.

We decried, as conservative Christian leaders, the interference of government dollars and how they dictate what to do… and then this same “conservative” government froze all aid and it impacted local ministries who did good work as they preached the gospel.

And we’re telling cheap lies to try and stay calm. “Well, it’s better than being socialist.” Or, “Well… drag queen story hour!” and other such things we try to tell ourselves.

Aid to the poor is being cut off while the faux conservatives who are concerned with “budgets” allow bloated military spending to go on.

And it’s becoming more and more clear that the cheap lie we told ourselves about “illegal immigrants” is more just… immigrants. Asylum seekers are in limbo now. They have been legitimately vetted and thousands of refugees who are cleared to enter the U.S., and more qualified to be citizens than a lot of the new employees of the government we just just elected, are back in limbo and at risk because this government really isn’t about “illegal” aliens. It’s about all immigrants.

And we’re telling cheap lies to feel better about it.

When violence was heaped on the defenseless,
we looked away.

I have nowhere else to point but myself. I’ve worried over family members and what they think of me … and I am ashamed. I have worried about what other church leaders may think… and I am ashamed.

I can accuse others of “looking away”… but it’s me. I’ve tried to the point of irrationality to “stay calm” but it’s costing my friends and neighbors and I’m trying to tell cheap lies to feel better.

I am the one looking away.

Bonhoeffer got tired of looking away. It cost him.

I am tired of looking away. My cost isn’t that great.

Violence is being heaped on the defenseless. Stop looking away.