A near-death experience will usually cause a person to be mindful of the wonderful state of being alive. No doubt former President Donald Trump has much to be thankful for and the entire nation can be thankful that the would-be assassin’s bullet missed the target.

It is understandable that some will express that thanks to their God. Donald Trump himself posted that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.”

Members of Congress and world leaders have responded to the shooting. Politico reported, “Pastors at megachurches across the country on Sunday credited God with sparing the life of former President Donald Trump.”

There is good reason to give thanks. And there is also good reason to be cautious with the spiritual rhetoric. Perhaps leaders should tone down statements like this one by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga.: “God spared Ronald Reagan for a reason, God spared Donald Trump for a reason. God doesn’t miss.”

The bullets that missed Donald Trump killed a former firefighter and wounded two others. Expressing sentiments that one person was spared while others were not can seem tactless to the loved ones of those less fortunate that day, or on other days, such as the loved ones of those who died from the political violence on Jan. 6, 2021. 

We can only hope the members of the Christian Nationalist movement that claim the upcoming election is the target of spiritual warfare will not escalate the divine providence rhetoric in an attempt to elevate our former president to a messianic Chosen One.

A better response, already being prepared, is an independent review of security at the rally as the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general opens its own investigation. By determining what went wrong, we may prevent a future tragedy.

A better response, stated by President Joe Biden, is to agree that, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation.”

We are relieved and even thankful that Donald Trump is alive today. We applaud the response on both sides of the political spectrum that calls for everyone to cool down, tone down the politics, and stop treating half of the nation as our enemy. Voters will decide the outcome of the next election. Violence – especially political violence – should be abhorred.