Honor and Obey
Is it more important that we obey our leaders and laws, or God?
Hello brothers and sisters.
Please forgive this interruption to your regularly scheduled biblical deep dive. I don’t usually bring current events to this platform, but this is an important issue that’s been on my mind for a while now.
I’ve been trying to write this for over a week. But every time I thought about how to approach it, the thought just made me sick. Equally so every time I sat down to try to start actually writing.
I’m sure anyone in the US knows what this is about. It’s been all over social media and the news ever since January 7th. You might even be thinking that I’m coming to this show so late that I needn’t have bothered.
Except in that you would be wrong. There are so many opinions flying about this situation, and I feel I do have something valuable to add to the discourse. Almost everyone seems to be so caught up in the “narratives” that I think we’ve lost sight of what’s really important.
Perspective
All that just to say, I think I’m finally ready to talk about this.
Before we dive into what this is going to be, let me preface with a warning: If you’re expecting me to shout party rhetoric (from either side), you’re going to be disappointed. My opinion has always been that the two-party political system of the United States is a trap designed to keep us divided against our neighbors so we never remember that we are supposed to be the ones with the political power in this country.
So what exactly is my perspective?
I’m glad you asked. Allow me to make this plain. I don’t trust either major political party. Both sides of the aisle get caught in so many lies that I believe the only rational response is to generally assume that anything coming from either side is at best a half-truth and at worst an outright fabrication.
So I don’t accept any narrative coming from the government. Or from political activists, for that matter. Literally anyone who possesses loyalty to a political party is likely to spin falsehoods to make their side look better. So I do my own research. I look at the facts of any situation that interests me or that I feel is important. If there are any, I look at expert opinions that I can judge to be neutral in regards to political affiliations.
I’m not always right, and I freely admit that. In fact, I’m sure I’ve said before that I believe one of the most important Christian virtues is humility. We have to be able to accept, admit, and apologize when we’re wrong. Especially when dealing with a matter that requires some (or a lot of) interpretation.
Now, with that being said, let me be clear about something.
Who was Renee Good
Renee Good was a victim. You can say what you want about her life choices and how she shouldn’t have been where she was and doing what she was doing. But none of us exist within her head so we really don’t know what her intentions were or what she was thinking.
Anyone who says otherwise is lying. They might even be lying to themselves.
Yes, we can make some educated guesses. But that’s all they are. Guesses.
We know that she was an active participant in a network of neighborhood patrols organized to monitor and record Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. She was described as a “legal observer” in that network.
What’s more, we know that she was an award-winning poet who lived near the site of the shooting. She was fairly new to the area, having moved there after her husband’s tragic death in 2023. We know she had just dropped her 6-year-old son off at school and that she and her wife were prepared with whistles to alert neighbors and others about any ICE activity they might witness.
Say what you want about this sort of activism, but it is a matter that has been growing across the country.
Activism Against ICE
I think this fact deserves a bit of digging. You see, networks of citizens like this have been popping up all over the country. And the more upset the general populace gets about the activities of ICE, the more people are choosing to participate in these networks.
Let me be perfectly clear about one thing. I’m not going to soften my language here and I’m not pulling any punches. This needs to be called what it is. The sheer scale of ABUSES by ICE in recent months is truly staggering.
Here’s the thing: we live in a country where there is such a thing as due process. That means an enforcement agent, even one federally empowered like ICE, has to follow legally mandated processes. They can’t enter your private property without a warrant. They can’t arrest you without probable cause. And they can’t detain you (much less deport you) without hearings, showing proof, giving you the opportunity to mount a defense, and having a legal judgement determined (yes, I’m skipping about a hundred legal steps, but this should give a general idea for anyone who doesn’t know all this).
The problem?
We’ve had hundreds (if not thousands) of people just taken off the streets with no due process and no ability to prove they are legally entitled to be here. We’ve had so many illegal deportations happening— as evidenced by a few high profile cases that have come to light in mainstream media that have become massive headaches for the administration —that the demonstrations around the country against ICE are becoming difficult to control. And please understand, those demonstrations of opposition are a legally protected right of the American people so long as they remain peaceful.
And yes, I can hear the conservative Republicans screaming at me right now that almost all of that was shown to be legal through a number of different legal provisions that our president has invoked.
The problem is most of that (from what I understand based on the research I’ve done) is not actually legitimate when we look at the actual details of those provisions. But I freely admit that I’m not a judge. I don’t get to make those decisions. However, what I do know is that when we have ICE agents drawing their weapons before there is any sign of a threat we have a serious problem.
Previous Trauma
Certain individuals have tried to use the ICE agent’s previous traumatic vehicular experience to explain his actions here, which brings up all sorts of questions for me. But first, let’s address what we know about this vehicular experience:
First, it is verifiably true that ICE Agent Jonathan Ross was dragged by a vehicle during a separate incident in June 2025. Based on documented federal court records:
Date and Location: The incident occurred on June 17, 2025, in Bloomington, Minnesota, while Ross was attempting to arrest Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala.
The Conflict: Ross broke a rear window and reached into the vehicle to unlock the door when the driver accelerated.
Extent of Dragging: Ross was dragged approximately 100 yards (roughly the length of a football field) over about 12 seconds. During the struggle, Ross fired a Taser, but the driver continued to flee.
Injuries: Ross sustained significant lacerations to his face, limbs, and right arm, requiring between 33 and 50 stitches at a hospital.
Legal Outcome: The driver, Munoz-Guatemala, was convicted in December 2025 of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Expert Opinions: use-of-force experts have noted that Ross’s decision to reach into a moving vehicle disregarded standard law enforcement training.
So, in light of all that, I have to ask, just why was this man put in this sort of a situation? Especially a mere 7 months after that traumatic experience. It’s concerning to me that authorities are silent on the matter of whether or not he received any sort of counseling or even a mental health assessment after that experience. There is rampant speculation about whether he was suffering from untreated PTSD.
And please understand, that lack of treatment does NOT free him his responsibility for his actions. If anything, it merely indicts the leadership for not ensuring he was psychologically sound to return to duty.
And as the use-of-force experts have noted, why in the world was he reaching into a moving vehicle in the first place?
Look, I’m never going to say a victim got what they deserved. No one deserves to be victimized, regardless of the situation. No matter how stupid their actions are. But as a trained federal agent, why was this man breaking out a window to reach into a moving vehicle?
I really don’t think this man should have been in the situation he was in. Because look, one of two things is true. Either he was severely traumatized from that experience last summer (hence the speculation about PTSD) and it affected his judgement, or he’s entirely too quick to draw his weapon and either needs to go back to training or should not be an agent on the ground.
Narratives
Let’s talk a little bit about the “narratives” that started coming out of Washington within hours of the incident:
President Donald Trump: In a Truth Social post shortly after watching footage, he stated: “The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem: Speaking at a news conference on the evening of the shooting, she branded the event: “It was an act of domestic terrorism... They [ICE agents] were attempting to push out their vehicle and a woman attacked them... and attempted to run them over”.
Vice President JD Vance: In a public statement he said, "I can believe her death is a tragedy, while also recognizing that it’s a tragedy of her own making…You're trying to actually marshal the far left lunatic fringe to engage in doxxing to try to make it impossible for them to enforce the law… there's a part of me that feels very, very sad for this woman, not just because she lost her life, but because I think she's a victim of left-wing ideology… you have to be, I think, radicalized in a very, very sad way.”
Legal Defense: Vance argued, “That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job.”
Contextualizing Force: Vance also alluded to the agent’s previous injury to explain his reaction: “So you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile?”.
Okay, starting from the top.
Let’s focus on Trump’s statement that she “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer.” There’s not a shred of truth to this. I’ll go into that when we talk about the videos shortly.
Okay, and when Kristi Noem says “were attempting to push out their vehicle and a woman attacked them,” do I even need to say that this is blatantly false? She said in her statement that the agents’ vehicle was stuck in the snow and they were trying to free it. Anyone who’s seen even one clip of a video of the event knows this is a bald-faced lie.
And Vance’s statements… oh, where do I even begin? Okay, we already talked about Ross’s history and my thoughts on that, so let’s move on.
The idea that Ross would have “Absolute immunity,” is at best a farce and at worst a prophecy for what’s going to happen with the FBI investigation. If I’m honest, that’s the thing about this situation that worries me the most. Because let’s face it, if the FBI determines that he did nothing wrong and there are no consequences… well, there’s a subset of the American public that is going to be unhinged by that. And I can’t even say they’re entirely wrong. There was so much wrong in this situation, and almost all of it could have been avoided.
But “radicalized?” “Lunatic fringe?” Come on now. This woman was a celebrated poet. She had just dropped her child off at school. Now, maybe she was a believer in “Left wing ideology.” Who knows? I mean, none of us really know what was going on in her head. I suppose the fact that she had a wife is enough for some to call her a “left wing extremist,” though I personally don’t buy that.
Embracing a non-hetero sexuality might alienate a person from conservative ideology, but that doesn’t necessarily make one a left-wing extremist. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of LGBTQ+ Americans are more moderate, and a small percentage of them actually identify themselves as conservative.
All this just to say that pegging someone as a “radicalized” member of the “lunatic fringe” of “left-wing ideology” based on nothing more than a homosexual marriage is incredibly presumptuous. Ignorant, even.
But if I’m being honest the statement of Vance’s that troubles me the most is his claim that this was “A tragedy of her own making.” I mean, that sounds like the epitome of victim blaming to me. But I’ll admit that Vance’s statements about what actually happened at least have the benefit of not being obviously, immediately, provably, and blatantly false.
And that fact is why I’m not talking specifically about any of the rhetoric about this situation from the other side of the political aisle. Nothing that I’ve seen or heard from the other side was a blatantly false narrative.
Which is not to say that there haven’t been any problematic statements about this from the Democratic side. There certainly have been. Just not of the same order as these.
Now, one final point I want to talk about here is the use of force question. The story told by those defending Ross’s actions is that it was a matter of self defense and that he fired into her vehicle to prevent an imminent collision. Here’s the problem: first, if she had been moving straight toward him nothing he did would have changed that. She was already turning to avoid him in an attempt to escape. Second, he only fired through her windshield once. He either stepped out of the way or was glancingly clipped by the corner of her vehicle as he fired his first shot. It’s difficult to say for certain based on the videos, and there are no publicly available records of him having received medical treatment. And third, as should be clear by now, he fired into her vehicle through the open window as the vehicle drove past him! That is not the action of a man firing his weapon in self defense. That is not the action of self-preservation.
“Honor and Obey Our Leaders and Laws” vs “Honor God Rather Than Men”
Okay, let me just say this unequivocally. Renee Good’s death was a tragedy. Even if she was breaking the law, nothing she did warranted her summary execution.
And let me just say here that it’s hard to say from the videos I’ve seen whether she was actually breaking the law or not. Yes, her vehicle was stopped in a way that obstructed the street, but since there appear to be ICE vehicles on both sides of hers, I don’t think the suggestion that she was obstructing their activities is tenable. The fact is it remains highly disputed whether she was legally obstructing a federal operation or simply monitoring it from a public street.
And speaking of the videos.
Let me just take a little side-trek before we get back to the videos. There have been some big statements being made in recent weeks, some of them from very well known conservative Christian voices. And from that side of the fence, the argument seems to go something like: “Our government leaders are ordained by God and we are extolled by Scripture to honor and obey them and all the laws they enact. Anything else is rebellion and sin.”
Which is sort of fair, as far as it goes. For example:
Romans 13:1-7
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, 4 for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority[a] does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. 6 For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.”
1 Peter 2:13-17
“For the Lord’s sake be subject to every human authority, whether to the emperor as supreme 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. 15 For it is God’s will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. 16 As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. 17 Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
However, there is scriptural precedent for not honoring the laws of human governments:
Acts 5:29
“But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
Isaiah 10:1
“Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees,
who write oppressive statutes,”
So at this point we have to decide, is it more important that we listen to Peter and Paul and subject ourselves to human laws, or is it more important that we listen to the collective apostles and the prophet Isaiah and obey God when the statutes of men do not match the character of God?
In this case, I’m talking primarily about Leviticus 19:34:
"The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God"
It’s hard to argue that our current immigration policies are absolutely not reflective of this command. As Beau Stringer recently said, “You can’t love your neighbor and also want them deported. Those things don’t go together.” Especially when that deportation is based on nothing more than the color of his skin.
And adding to that the fact that a great many ICE agents lately are utilizing excessive force (“Thou shalt not murder”), speaking blatant lies (“Thou shalt not bring false witness”), and treating people like the trash beneath their feet (“Love thy neighbor as thyself”), I tend to think that honoring God is of vastly greater importance than following the laws of men. And in the current climate and current enforcement of immigration law, obeying is certainly not conforming to the character of God.
Consider that in Genesis 19, the much larger issue at hand was not the homosexuality but the lack of hospitality. God has always commanded his people to welcome the stranger and to love them as we love ourselves. The same thing is happening now.
Now please understand, I’m not suggesting (like certain law suits currently ongoing) that ICE should not be active. I’m not suggesting immigration laws shouldn’t be enforced. I’m not even suggesting that people here illegally (especially if those people are committing serious and/or violent crimes) should not be deported. What I’m suggesting is that targeting people purely on account of their skin color, nationality, or accent is fundamentally wrong and goes against the ways that God has commanded us to treat people.
The video
Now, back to the video.
I watched several different videos from different angles and one thing becomes abundantly clear once you’ve done that:
None of the early narratives had any basis in reality. These officers were acting very aggressively, and until they escalated I didn’t see anything from Renee or her partner that was remotely concerning. And I’m convinced that had the agents approached them in a calm, reasonable manner the whole encounter would have been radically different.
First, she quickly reverses only after one agent sticks his hands inside her vehicle. Based on the context I heard in one of the videos, I got the impression he was trying to open her door to force her out of the car. All things considered, I don’t blame her in the slightest for wanting to escape the situation. Especially when, from what we can see in the video, the closest thing to a violation of law that I can see that Renee did was possibly blocking traffic on the road. Which would be a minor traffic violation at worst.
But here’s the important bit. After backing up, Renee turned the wheels of the vehicle to the right, away from the agent who stood more or less in front of her vehicle. And then you notice something wild. The agent, Ross, pulls his firearm from it’s holster before she even touches the gas to move forward. He was already prepared to shoot her, that much is clear. And he chose to move into what would be the forward path of her vehicle. Which, in case you don’t know, is a blatant violation of their rules for the use of force.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Policy on the Use of Force, which governs ICE agents, the rules for unholstering a firearm are:
Definition of Force: The acts of establishing a grip, unholstering, or pointing a firearm are officially classified as actions that do not constitute a use of deadly force.
Threshold for Unholstering: Agents are generally permitted to unholster a weapon when they anticipate or encounter a dangerous situation involving a potential risk of death or serious physical injury to themselves or others.
Restriction on Display: Federal guidelines prohibit agents from displaying weapons for “casual civilian observation” or using them solely to threaten or intimidate persons.
Moving Vehicle Restrictions: While unholstering is permitted for safety, agents are specifically prohibited from discharging a firearm at the operator of a moving vehicle unless:
An occupant is threatening deadly force by means other than the vehicle.
The vehicle itself poses an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and no other reasonable means of defense exists, explicitly including moving out of the path of the vehicle.
Officer-Created Jeopardy: Policy dictates that agents should avoid intentionally and unreasonably placing themselves in positions (such as the path of a moving vehicle) where they would have no alternative but to use deadly force.
And a further indictment is in that the vehicle wasn’t moving that fast when it started forward. It sped up afterward (read: after he had already shot her). But the unavoidable fact is that there was zero chance of his life being in danger. He easily could have just stepped aside, which is exactly what their policy states he should have done. There was no justification whatsoever for his firing shots into her vehicle. Especially the two additional shots through her open window.
Now, there is one difficulty with the video. I couldn’t actually tell if the vehicle actually struck Ross or not. I’m inclined to say not, but what is inescapable is that if the vehicle made contact with him it was a very slight contact. What we could call a “glancing blow.” He wasn’t knocked down, he wasn’t even pushed back, from the looks of it. It looks like he took a voluntary step or two backward, and was still on his feet. You can see toward the end of one video that he’s walking without so much as a limp afterward. So, there’s no legal grounds whatsoever for the extreme force he used against her.
Now, obviously I’m not a judge or even an attorney, so what I think isn’t necessarily binding to anything. But based on what I see in the various videos and what I know of the law, I see no chance that his shooting her was legally defensible, much less justifiable.
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Conclusion
No matter where you fall on the political spectrum (though I pray that, like me, you don’t give any political party your loyalty and instead give your loyalty to God and truth), it’s hard to argue that Renee Nicole Good was a victim of murder, likely brought about by an agent who had been traumatized in a vehicular incident less than 7 months earlier and should not have been in the situation. I would contend that he shouldn’t have been on field duty in the first place.
And what’s more, our current enforcement of immigration law is not honoring God. We are not treating these humans who were made in the image of God with the honor and respect they deserve. No matter how they got here, no matter the color of their skin or their ability to provide their own support, no matter what they may have done legally, as bearers of the image of God they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and to be given the right of due process to prove whether or not they are here legally.
Please join me in praying for the future of our country and this administration and that our enforcement can be brought to reflect the character of God. Amen.
May the Lord grant you His peace.
Kevin
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This theological framing is really sharp. The Romans 13 vs Acts 5:29 tension isn't something most folks wrestle with honestly, but the Leviticus 19:34 bridge makes the dilemma concrete in a way abstract arguments dont. I've seen church communities split over this exact question in real time, and the core issue alwaysbecomes whether law enforcement itself can become idolatry. Tough stuff.