Go High

California governor Gavin Newsom wants to be president. At the very least he wants to be the acknowledged leader of the Democratic party. That’s the conclusion I come to when I consider his recent activity. He has gained notoriety for “taking the fight” to Donald Trump. In response to the President’s push to have the Texas legislature redo their congressional districts in a non-census year in order to protect the Republicans’ razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives as we approach the 2026 midterm elections, Newsom encouraged the California legislature to counteract Texas’s action by doing the same thing in his state to benefit the Democrats. He’s fighting fire with fire, and reasonable people can disagree about whether his actions have been appropriate or not.

On one hand, if one side uses underhanded tactics to game the system, one could argue that it would be foolish for the other side not to respond in kind. Trump’s and the Texas Republicans’ move is a naked power play—they are using a temporary advantage to try to ensure a permanent majority, and if they have to cheat to do so, well…all’s fair in love and politics, right? Would it not be irresponsible for those with a similar advantage in their context (i.e., Newsom and the California Democrats) not to cheat a little as well to keep their opponents from getting away with their scheme?

On the other hand, what happens if we continue down this road? Will our two major parties not continue to resemble armed camps whose only interaction with the other side is to lob grenades and mortar shells at them? Figurative grenades and shells, of course. At least for the time being. We are already incredibly polarized in our country; it’s hard to imagine there can be many intermediate steps between our current state of affairs and the outbreak of real political violence.

The other, perhaps even more troubling, thing Newsom has been doing is to troll the President. He has begun to mimic Donald Trump on social media, imitating Trump’s style and mocking his content and delivery. Newsom seems dead-set on getting under the President’s skin by any means necessary. He is quite happy, apparently, to get down in the mud with the Mudslinger-in-Chief. It’s a far cry from Michelle Obama’s dignified motto: “When they go low, we go high.” Newsom’s philosophy appears to be, “If they go low, grab a shovel.”

All this is on my mind because the daily lectionary reading for today offers a rebuke to Gavin Newsom and his “go low” tactics. In 1 Peter 3:8–9, the writer of the epistle tells his readers, “Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse, but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called—that you might inherit a blessing.”

Of course, Governor Newsom may not feel any obligation to follow this advice, as a quick Google search reveals that although he was raised Catholic he now identifies as non-religious. So maybe he thinks the biblical witness does not apply to him. But for those of us who do identify as disciples of Jesus Christ, the words of 1 Peter need to be a guiding light. When others go low, we go high. When they offer abuse, we repay them with a blessing. When they hate, we love.

None of this is easy. It goes against the grain of all our instincts. But it can be done. We just need to train ourselves by regular time spent in prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit’s help in conforming our character to that of Jesus. We need to read the Bible, because how else will we know what it has to say? And we need to practice gratitude and blessing. If we become used to blessing others with kindness when it’s easy, it will give us a better chance to do so when it’s hard.

Go into the world and be a blessing. Go high. Offer grace in return for curses. Love, even when your love is met with punches. Take the punch, and love again.