The Fruit Is Rotten
How Some Christians Are Watering a Tree of Hate with Their Wallets
I don’t know if you’ve read about this story in the news. Here is a link to one article about it, but be warned, the language in the article is very difficult to read. Meaning, it’s horrible and awful and I can’t believe I’m reading this in 2025.
The background: a woman in Minnesota was caught on camera using racial slurs against a young child on a playground because she thought he was taking things from her child’s bag. She then proceeded to act belligerently, admitting to calling the child the n-word, and used the slur again on camera in reference to the man recording it.
A campaign was then posted to “GiveSendGo”, a Christian fundraising platform, to help raise funds for this woman because she claimed to be experiencing harassment, abuse, and claimed that her personal information had been leaked online. The funds would go to help her relocate. The comment section for the campaign’s page was shut down due to the overwhelming number of racist and hateful speech people were posting. Thus far, the campaign has raised over $675,000. Who is giving their money to defend this person???
GiveSendGo was started as a Christian site for crowdfunding. The site claims “GiveSendGo was created for such a time as this. Not to take one side or another politically, but in the middle of a divided political culture, we were to be focused on the very reason we started GiveSendGo, to share the Hope of Jesus through crowdfunding to everyone who comes to our platform. That continues to be our focus as we stand for freedom.” And further adds that “The most valuable currency is God’s love.”
As stated, I am in agreement. But I would challenge this site to take the campaign down as it accomplishes none of this. It is not for spreading God’s love, it is not for sharing the hope of Jesus, nor is it for helping the nation in the middle of a divided political culture. It is for helping a woman continue to live in hatred of fellow image bearers. I will not post the comments that were captured before they were taken down. I will let you see those in the linked article. But I can say that if people who are claiming to be Christians are some of the ones posting those comments, they should be ashamed.
Racism has no place for the Christian. None. I can’t believe we even have to say this. Further, we have been sold this bill of goods that says dealing with racism is a “left” ideal or a “liberal agenda item”. And we (mostly white evangelical Christians) have taken it hook line and sinker! It’s not a “'left” thing or a “right” thing, it’s a Jesus thing! We’ve been bamboozled to think that we can claim Christ yet still be okay with the fact that these kinds of attitudes and interactions still exist.
I personally do not know a single Christian who would say these kinds of things out loud to other people. But I do know of Christians who think these things and post them online. How did we get to this? How can Christians justify the presence of this kind of hatred in our midst when it is given no quarter in scripture and from Jesus?
When I have spoken about condemning language and attitudes like this, I have heard some professing Christians say things like “Well what about when _____ says ______?” Or “Well I’ve heard that _______ said/did ______. What about them?” This kind of “what-about-ism” is just a smoke screen for not dealing with the issue at hand. As Christians we should have no problem calling something wrong and sinful if it is indeed wrong and sinful and goes against scripture. Even if that thing has been coded by our modern politics to lean to the other side of our preferred political aisle.
Newsflash: You don’t owe your political party anything! When we actually take the time to READ the Bible we find that all political parties will be confounded. It will feel isolating and disorienting for a while to leave party-loyalty behind, but it brings such incredible freedom. Try it. I dare you.
But I digress. The fact that this woman said and did the things that she did is terrible and for what it’s worth, I thoroughly condemn it. And even if she was correct that the child was stealing from her child’s bag, that in no way excuses her behavior; she is still wrong. Also for what it’s worth, if someone did in fact release her social security number publicly and harass her as a result of this interaction, that is also wrong and I condemn that.
But what gets me so worked up is the possibility that countless Christians are giving their money to tangibly help this person, who put herself into this problem through her own hatred and sin, and insodoing not only further enable her in continuing to live that way, but actively promote it in some cases.
I cannot say what the heart-status of those who donated is before God. Nor can I speak to the heart-status of the woman in the video. That is between them and God. But what I can say is that we are told in scripture that we will know a tree by its fruit. And the fruit from this is rotten. Saying the things the woman said is rotten. Supporting this woman as a result of this hatred is rotten.
And it’s not that ANY support for this woman is wrong. It’s the kind of support. Christians can indeed support this woman if it takes the form of helping her know that Jesus STILL loves her (even after these words), and helping her understand the heart of Jesus for ALL people and helping her CHANGE.
Think of it like this. Let's say an alcoholic did something terrible while they were drunk. There are different kinds of support people could offer. Christian support could be to confront them in their sin and lovingly but firmly help them to change. The other possibility is to crowdfund for this person to relocate somewhere where they can get drunk and continue to behave badly without public reprisal. Which seems more like what Jesus would do?
If a person believes that hatred is compatible with Christian faith, it must be called out.
God have mercy on us.