Having said that, it is and always will be my duty as a Christian writer to contribute my two cents to the conversation when something comes up that is a direct manifestation of OR a direct contradiction of the Lord's teaching, and disappointingly, the latter has come up this past week.
The Lord our God could not have said it in stronger terms - we are to treat the sojourners as our brothers. The nation of Israel, His people, were refugees themselves, escaping slavery in Egypt and BECAUSE of that heritage, God repeated over and over again, throughout the Torah, in Leviticus and Deuteronomy especially (that's where most of His commands and commandments are), that in the spirit of brotherhood, ALL sojourners who come your way are to be fed, respected, allowed to live within your tribe and nation, and so forth.
(If you're not fluent in the Bible, you may only remember the "Old Testament" God telling Israel to go and obliterate other tribes, other nations of people. If you read those sections in their entirety, you'll find that God often used Israel to send His Judgment on those other tribes, they should be wiped off the earth. In a similar manner, centuries later, God used Assyria and Babylon to punish Israel for its idol worship transgressions. But as for individuals who had not committed offense? Exactly the opposite - treat them like your brother.)
Ah! But that's the situation here, "Mr. Act II Ministries"! These refugees the President is banning from coming to America are terrorists!
Are they, though?
Look at the list of countries banned:
- Iran.
- Iraq.
- Syria.
- Sudan.
- Libya.
- Yemen.
- Somalia.
Why?
I hate to accuse the President of the United States of unethical behavior, but it's a fairly clear answer: not having divested himself from his businesses, it's in his personal interest to keep those four countries in the American loop so his businesses can continue to operate there. This is why we need to see his tax returns - to know where else he has monetary interests. Fortunately, we know some of his connections, because we know where Mr. Trump's businesses have involvement. His companies are not in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, or Somalia. They ARE in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE (and Russia. But that's a problem for another day).
Mr. Trump has made a point of defining himself as a Christian. So, let's see who it is Christ says is most important, by going to the most well-known section of His most famous speech: The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:2-10)...
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
If those don't describe refugees in general, they don't describe anyone.
Let's consider another proclamation of Christ's: Matthew 19:23-24 ⇨
23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
By the way, before you go bashing the President for his (supposed) riches - we really have no idea if he really has any money, of course, as we've never seen his tax returns - think about who our Lord was really talking about. "Rich", in a global context, really means anyone who has a house with running water, toilets, and similar luxuries; a car to transport around in; and has the luxury of fast food and movies, for example. We are all that rich person who will struggle to enter heaven.
Meanwhile, the refugees have nothing. Even if they had something back in their home country, they have nothing now.
Perhaps it is we who should be asking for their help getting into Heaven.
But our means into Heaven is through them. When you know your Bible, as our President does not (which he's demonstrated many times - recall the "Two Corinthians" episode at Liberty University?), you immediately think of the Last Judgment, recounted here from the ESV from Matthew 25:31-46 at the end of the Olivet Discourse:
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,f you did it to me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
If we do not help the least of these, as the Statue of Liberty promises we will, we are dooming ourselves to eternal punishment.
No comments:
Post a Comment