Tucker Carlson spoke to an audience, not a congregation, but you would never know it from the advice he gave.
Carlson delivered what amounted to a Christian message of humility and charity while giving the keynote address at the Invest Wealth Summit in Tampa, Florida, over the weekend — the 8-minute clip posted to the social media platform X on Sunday.
That message came in response to an audience member’s question about how the conservative commentator keeps from being “jaded.”
Want to be happy? Care only about the opinions of people who love you. pic.twitter.com/udA9mu3L7V
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) December 3, 2023
Carlson acknowledged that the world bombards him with a “torrent of lunacy” on his phone. Practical remedies for that lunacy include daily saunas, spending time with his dogs and getting outside every day.
Above all, however, Carlson preached what amounted to a sermon on humility.
“The opinions of people you don’t know mean nothing,” he began. “Never hand emotional control to people who don’t love you.”
That message meant more than what the secular world calls “self-care.” In fact, it literally meant the opposite. It meant caring nothing for yourself and only for the people who love you. And that includes what they think about you.
“Obviously, I’m one of the most hated people in the world, and that causes me zero stress,” Carlson said.
“However, if my wife were to say, ‘I don’t really like what you’re doing,’ it would like, bring me to my knees,” he said.
Nearly all politicians, on the other hand, chase the approval of people who do not matter.
“One of the reasons our political class is so disgusting is because they’re all so emotionally damaged and they look at life backward,” Carlson said.
That backwardness includes “a desperate need to be loved by people they don’t know.”
Conversely, abandoning the need for affirmation by strangers allows for real charity.
“We haven’t taken a tax deduction on a charitable contribution in a long time, but my wife is a fervent Christian, so we’re giving 10 percent. But we give it all to people we know, in our orbit,” he said.
That kind of giving follows from Carlson’s belief that we exist to serve those around us in a meaningful way.
“Does my housekeeper need a new car? How could I possibly justify giving mosquito nets to kids in Congo if my housekeeper’s in need?” he said.
Likewise, actual charity to those closest to us helps prevent the sin of pride from sullying our beneficent actions.
“It is a feature of the left. ‘I’m giving my life over to the people.’ Really? Which people? Do you have their addresses? How are they doing? They don’t care,” Carlson said.
“You can’t love any group of people. In fact, I don’t even believe in groups of people. It’s all a lie.”
Humility and charity help us avoid such lies. Amid the modern world’s “torrent of lunacy,” they also keep us close to God where we belong.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.