COMMENT:
by circlegranch
It was Barack Obama that once said America is no longer a Christian nation and he was wrong then and he's wrong now. Christians dominate the religious culture here and were it not for that Christian charity (being salt and light) thousands would not flood our borders. If there is a nation in the world with an atheist majority, what's their status as far as thousands upon thousands breaking law and risking life to get in? Are there hoards seeking refuge in predominantly Buddhist or Islamic nations? We are a Christian nation and even the president should retract his statement to the contrary since the first place he sought help in housing, feeding and clothing these new arrivals was from churches.
We are in the midst of a national disaster in terms of emergent need and no funding or game plan to relive it. Yet, we are humanitarians. We help, feed, comfort and defend. People strive to live here because of that culture. We must do what is necessary for survival for this mass of people, and we will, especially our churches, but our churches must beware and not confuse the giving of charity with hopes of growing memberships and filled seats on Sunday mornings. The political problem is just as much an emergency as the humanitarian crisis. Our gov't has once again failed. Miserably. Some of these children will end up in the hands of predators and abusers. Young girls and women who have been raped during their passage north will often deliver sick, low birth weight babies in American hospitals. New gang members are walking in while existing gangs in American communities can't be controlled. Terrorists that are here for no good are standing in those food lines after crossing our border. We cannot afford the financial burden, our entitlement coffers are bare and we cannot assume the health and security risks. The churches can and will provide immediate care but can't 'adopt' these souls in the physical sense and meet their needs indefinitely. Once the immediate humanitarian needs are met, the political problem associated with each individual kicks in.
The WH meeting tomorrow with presidents of countries involved will be as useless as other feigned attempts to look busy such as jobs or beer summits or posing dewy-eyed with hash tag signs. We must demand immediate action, not be content with tomorrow's photo op's taken after an elegant lunch is served. We need Congressional delegations to go now to our embassies in Central and South America to investigate what part they are playing in recruiting people to make the journey here. And we need those investigations to be done before email accounts suddenly crash. Faith organizations need to deploy also and inform parents and those contemplating an illegal move here that America can't provide the jobs, and the 'free' benefits they are being promised. Turning America into a bankrupt Third World status country helps no one. Once the beacon light is dimmed because the electric bill wasn't paid, there's no where to go.
Many Americans sympathize with the efforts of the Glenn Beck's while also cheering on the citizens demanding border security from interstate overpasses,
Stars and Stripes in hand. Both sides are right and both sides have the best interest of human beings and the enforcement of law and subsequent survival of our nation at heart. Let's quit arguing that and get going now on stopping more influx, taking quick action regarding the people already here and demand enforcement of all current standing law on immigration. "Reform" isn't going to fix this current emergency. No one should be boarding planes without proper ID. No one should be allowed entry with visible signs of infectious disease and further, no one should be allowed entry without verifiable records of immunizations and a clean bill of health. Nations need to enforce their laws, and abide by our enforcement of our law. Rick Perry had it right during his run for the GOP presidential nomination: foreign aid to every single country needs to be reset to -0- and a comprehensive audit and evaluation of what taxpayers will get in exchange for dollars spent will be undertaken. Countries contributing to our financial demise due to immigration violations should be shut off until they reverse course. The countries watching their citizens flee because of inhumane existence are still cashing checks from U.S. taxpayers intended to solve that very problem. Continuing to send those checks isn't Christian charity.
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http://www.redstate.com/2014/07/24/please-dont-muddy-the-moral-clarity/
Russell D. Moore of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and Ronnie Floyd, the current president of the Southern Baptist Convention, have added some much needed moral clarity to the crisis at the border.
They have gone and served as eye witnesses to what is not just a national security problem, but a humanitarian crisis.Ronnie Floyd notes that the Southern Baptist National Disaster Relief Ministry is no longer permitted to assist those who have come over the border. The Department of Health and Human Services has “assumed custody of unaccompanied children, permitting only federal authorities and federal contractors to be in contact with them.” I hope these kids fair better with HHS than the millions of Americans trying to navigate Obamacare.
SBC President Floyd and Dr. Moore have seen up close and personal the kids “as young as seven years of age” streaming across the border. Dr. Moore has made clear that
As Christians, we don’t have to agree on all the details of public policy to agree that our response ought to be, first, one of compassion for those penned up in detention centers on the border. . . . The Gospel doesn’t fill in for us on the details on how we can simultaneously balance border security and respect for human life in this case. But the Gospel does tell us that our instinct ought to be one of compassion toward those in need, not disgust or anger.
I agree with him. I am reminded of Hebrews 13:2. “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (ESV) Christians, indeed all Americans, should show compassion to these children who have been put in this situation by their parents often out of a desire for the children’s safety or well being.
I appreciate the moral clarity of leaders like Ronnie Floyd and Russell Moore. I am sympathetic to and want to provide private Christian charity to these children. I am somewhat shocked by the very hostile reaction some Christians are having to folks to Russell Moore and Ronnie Floyd, along with Glenn Beck, Dana Loesch, and others. They’re being accused of helping criminals. The Good Samaritan never asked for papers before rendering assistance. Chuck Colson started a prison ministry to minister to law breakers. Christianity does not stop at the border. Christian charity should not start with a passport check.
Concurrently, I hope the many evangelicals who are providing assistance at the border do not rush forward and muddy the moral clarity with opposition to proposals to close our border, ensure the expeditious reunion with families south of us, end the DACA program, and bring this crisis to closure. A number of mainline denominations are attempting to do that even now with requests that Congress and the Administration not deport and not take the steps needed to ensure this crisis starts.
I am reminded of Romans 13:1. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (ESV). We are a nation of laws. But first, we are a nation. That nation has borders. Those borders must be respected. Those crossing over show no respect for our borders. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,” Peter wrote at 1 Peter 2:13 (ESV).
This border crisis highlights a longing for what our nation represents for many, but also, for others not featured in the sympathetic press, an opportunity for crime and other issues. Christians should show compassion, but we should also respect the law and want others to respect the law and our institutions.
Christians should provide for those in need. Christians should comfort the poor and the refugee. As a nation, we should be ending incentives for the perpetuation of this crisis through both rapid repatriation and rapid closing of the border. Jesus said in Matthew 19:13-14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them.” I agree with that. Let us also agree that America is not Jesus. Even upon the arrival of the new Heaven, the new Jerusalem will have a wall. It’s gates may never shut, but gates and wall there will remain.
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