The way actor and retired professional wrestler Mr. T sees it, the U.S. is in the middle of combating two viruses: COVID-19 and our hatred of one another.
“We got vaccinations for COVID and the Love of God for all the haters!” wrote Mr. T, whose real name is Lawrence Tureaud. “The vaccine works when it’s injected into our arm! The Love of God works when you invite Him into your heart!”
One day later, Mr. T, who has used his Twitter account as a way to share his Christian faith and voice his opinions about what’s happening in the world, referenced Matthew 5:44, which reads, “But I say, ‘Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!’”
“The admonition ‘love your enemies,’” he explained, “is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. Love in this passage is love that originate[s] from God himself.”
Mr. T has spoken out frequently about his faith.
During a 2018 interview with Larry King, Mr. T gave credit to God for the success he’s had in his career, which has enabled him to donate a lot money to various charities and causes.
“I’m a Christian,” he said. “So God found me. God arranged things for me.”
As a competitor on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” that year, Mr. T talked about how he relied on God during his fight against cancer in 1995, according to The Christian Post.
“Back in the day, I had money, cars,” he told the judges of the competition. “I had achieved what I wanted to achieve and then everything really stopped. I called on God. I said, ‘God, give me strength to do your will.’ That’s when it really hit me: What’s really real? My faith in God — that was real — because only God could save me.”
One of the judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, told Mr. T he was “definitely winning our hearts” after watching him and his dance partner, Kym Johnson-Herjavec, perform the waltz to “Amazing Grace.” She went on to say, “Your faith radiated out of you in that dance and provided us all with, like, another level of faith. … It was full of grace.”
“I’m choked up, too, because God is good,” added judge Julianne Hough.
Bruno Tonioli, one of the show’s other judges, told Mr. T he is “a good man” and “a man with a heart of gold.”
“Your faith is inspiring all of us,” he continued, “not just in the studio — millions of people are watching this and are now moved by what you did.”