Perhaps you’ve been frustrated when someone responds to an idea or a crisis with an intellectually lazy whataboutism, which jars the conversation in a different and maybe only tangentially related direction. (Examples: “Racism? What about abortion?” Or “Violence at the Capitol? What about riots in Minneapolis?”)

But the answer isn’t just to beef up intellectually, though it’s always good to exercise the mind God has given us. In a conversation with Collin Hansen on the Gospelbound podcast, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president Russell Moore explains that we need more than even healthy debates.

“What I think is necessary for following Christ is a shaping and forming by the Scripture that is not all just at the cognitive level,” he said. “In other words, the Word of God is shaping and forming you even in ways that you’re not aware of at the time, and preparing you for questions that you’re not asking at the time—and maybe no one else is asking at the time.”

It’s not just the state of our minds, but the state of our Scripture-shaped hearts, that will enable us to engage others (even their whataboutism) with truth and grace.