Our government leaders face a difficult decision on whether to allow Syrian refugees into our country or not. I appreciate the tension they face on our behalf. Do they turn refugees away to protect us as citizens, or do they allow them here to show compassion?
Photo Courtesy @ MilwaukeeJewish.org
I wonder whether we would struggle with this question if terrorists had not bombed Paris. Suppose the Syrian refugees were fleeing their country because of oppression and lack of safety? If they came to us for help, would we be receptive? My hunch is yes. However, we do have the Paris bombings as our context. Now it appears we’re more resistant to allowing Syrian refugees into our country out of fear.
As Christ-followers how should we respond? I believe Jesus calls us to show compassion. Here are some key Scripture passages we can apply in this situation:
God expects us to show compassion.
Ps 82:3 – “Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and the oppressed.”
Ps 103:8 – “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”
Ps 146:7, 9 – “He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free. The Lord watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
2 Cor 1:3-4 – “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Col 3:12 – “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility and patience.”
God made us in His image, so we should reflect Him by serving those in need. We glorify Him when we choose compassion toward others.
“Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You”
Matt 7:12 – “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Can you imagine having to flee your homeland to find peace and safety for your family? If you arrived on the borders of a foreign land, wouldn’t you want to receive compassion and mercy? These refugees are desperate for help. They must feel emotionally and physically exhausted. Let’s reach out to them and give them the help and care they need. All they have is the shirt on their backs.
Photo Courtesy @ Flickr.com Creative Commons in Bank Collection
“Whatever You Did for the Least of These Brothers, You Did for Me”
Matt 25:35-36, 40 – “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Matt 25:42-43, 45 – “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in. I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”
The Lord is watching us. He knows who is taking care of the needy and those who have turned their backs on the hurting. He makes it clear that when we minister to the broken, it’s the same as ministering to Him.
“Love Your Enemies”
Matt 5:43-44 – “You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you: love your enemies.
The Syrian refugees are not our enemies. They are running from terror, not bringing it. They are not ISIS who pronounces us as their enemy when we aren’t looking for a fight. One way we can love the Syrians is to not label them as “potential terrorists.” They have enough stress without defending who they are not.
“Do Not Fear”
God is bigger than our real enemy, who is Satan. We are NOT up against “flesh and blood.” God is quite capable of protecting us as we serve those in need.
When God delivered the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, they were in unchartered territory. He gave them a set of rules to follow to foster community, one of which was “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.” (Ex 22:21) But here is what He promised to them as He led them to the Promised Land: “If you will listen carefully to what my angel says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.” (Ex 23:22)
Matt 10:26-28 – Jesus said, “So do not be afraid of them…Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Satan is the author of evil and fear. When we Enemy ensnares us in fear, we are right where the wants us. Let’s remember that Christ who is in us is greater than he who is in the world! (I John 4:4)
Where do you stand? Do you think we should keep the Syrian refugees out to protect ourselves, or show compassion? If you have a minute, please share your welcomed thoughts below.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
I cannot imagine the depth of pain, fear, and sorrow the refugees are experiencing even as I type these words. How compassionately we could all live if we truly acted on the Golden Rule.
Isn’t that the truth?! If everyone followed “do unto others as you’d have them do unto you,” everyone would be taken care of. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
“Do unto others” has been my compass for living. When I put on another’s shoes – it reminds me of my blessings. And it also reminds me of responsibility with those blesssings. I may not be in a physical position to give physical help; however, I am able to share my financial resources with those in need. I can’t even begin to imagine what these migrants are truly going through. Leaving everything behind in search of a peaceful land to live and start all over. “Unto the least of these………”
“Do unto others” is a brilliant rule when you think about it. The Lord designed it so that we would think of ourselves first and what we’d want if found in the same situation. Thinking about ourselves is the most natural thing we do! I, too, can’t imagine what these refugees are really going through. It has to be devastating and scary. My Dad had a ministry called “Unto the Least of These,” for these very situations, and especially for pastors who were doing mission work in foreign lands hostile to Christianity. If this ministry were still going, you could send your financial resources through it, and it would go to people who are helping Syrian refugees.
It’s great to hear from you Scarlett! I hope you’re doing well and that our temperature changes are in your favor.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
I completely disagree with you on this one. There are numerous times when God specifically tells his people to wipe out entire people groups. I always felt God was being compassion-less there, because women and children, certainly innocent, were involved. He is ultimately in charge of every soul. Taking these people presents a danger it is ridiculous to ignore. Read up on the other side. We are not all heart less, but very practical in standing firm for the safety of our country. There are many other ways to help besides opening our boarders. I encourage people to help and to pray. But keep our borders closed.
Dear Shari,
I appreciate your stance. I, too, have struggled with this, and I hope I acknowledged in my opening paragraph that I “appreciate the tension” that our government faces to protect us as citizens, yet reaching out to those whose lives have been devastated.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that God tells people to wipe out entire people groups WHO ARE EVIL. I have a Prayer Ministry Team that meets with me every Thursday evening, and we specifically pray that God will eradicate ISIS and any other perpetrators of evil around the global community. I am all for squashing evil and we pray fervently for that. However, how we deal with evil in our world is a completely different post. Moreover, when we’re talking about wiping out people groups, I think you’d agree that we better have the right “people group” to wipe out – and I don’t believe it’s the Syrian refugees!! I don’t share your assumption that 10K Syrians on the run are our “enemy.”
So today’s post was focusing on how would Jesus respond to those whose lives are broken and torn apart because they have been experiencing terrorism, oppression and general lack of safety at the hands of their own evildoers. It’s the never-old question, “What would Jesus do?” I believe He would take them in and care for them. But I also don’t believe that taking in the broken equates to “ignoring danger.” I believe that our government is acutely aware of the possible risks and knows how to step-up surveillance and create databases for whoever we take in to keep a special eye on them.
In the end, what if I’m wrong? What if there are terrorists hiding among Syrian refugees who cross our border? Then we look to Jesus to the “Do Not Fear” section of the post. That is precisely why I added verses for those who are nervous about Syrian refugees being here. God is way BIGGER than our enemies and knows how to deal with anyone who was given a helping hand, only to turn around and exercise evil against us. I am unwilling to be driven by fear. God is pushing His love story to the end, and the evil we see is no surprise according to Scripture. But as we go along in life, we can never go wrong by showing compassion – even to those who “might” present a risk. Our government will keep a close eye on them. Finally, I Cor 13:8 says, “Love NEVER fails.” I think we owe compassion because I believe Jesus would do the same.
Thanks for sharing your position, Shari. I certainly respect your thoughts and hope the above is helpful in some way.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8. Why was I born in USA and not in Syria? Why was I born free? No matter where I was born, as muslim, catholic, jewish, the unfathomable love of God is poured out, and I am eternally gratefully for His compassion and redemption for me, and hope that others may come to know that “his kindness brings us to repentance” Rom 2: 4.
Well-written, JoAnna. I appreciate your evangelistic angle to this! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
No, I don’t think it is an exclusive “evangelistic” response, it is in agreement with all your points of compassion listed above– because we that have received the extreme mercy, compassion, redemption and love from God, do struggle with how to respond to others, in kind. It is not a glib answer, but tempers who we are at our core.
Yes Jesus would welcome Syrian refugees, and yes we wrestle with our compassionate response to allay fears.
You have expressed the tension beautifully between showing compassion while allaying fears. In my blog post I am hoping that compassion and mercy wins over fear because we know fear is not of God!
I wonder what it would be like if we could all embrace Jesus’s admonition of “Do Not Fear.” I don’t believe Jesus was being glib when He said that. I wonder how our many decisions throughout life might have been different if fear were not in the equation. I wonder how much media has contributed to fueling fear. I know that I have had to “call into check” my own thinking toward different people groups. I live in a multi-cultural neighborhood, and I fight assumptions about neighbors who have a different faith system, and it has nothing to do with anything they have done. My assumptions flow from what I see reported in the news. I have to regularly take these thoughts captive.
It is my prayer that as our world struggles and people need help, fear won’t be the driving force behind whether we minister to the hurting or not. So let me leave us with some inspiration:
“Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard our hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7
Blessings,
Lee Ann
I believe if we get rid of Asad in Syria, that would help give a safety area that the USA can protect in Syria. Why bring these poor people over here (who some hate us to begin with due to religion) who don’t fit in with our culture in any way? We don’t want anyone here who doesn’t want to be an American!!! If they don’t want to abide by our laws and fit in, then they don’t belong. It’s just wrong of the prez to force us to take them with all of the terror existing. Here’s another thought. Why not send them to Saudi Arabia where they have thousand of empty tents that they use one a year for their muslim faith to house their own people? This is beside me to understand. If you look at England, France, Netherlands, Sweden, etc… as a few, their countries will never be the same. In Sweden, 97% of rapes there are by refugees who have pretty much taken over the country. In an estimate of 20-30 yrs, there will no longer be any true blue eyed/blonde headed Swedens. All the other countries are having the same problems integrated the refugees. They don’t want to speak german, learn any of their culture, etc… They really just want to go home! We can help them by helping them to go home where they should be able to live safely. That would be the most loving and compassionate thing we could ever do for them. Thanks Lee Ann!
Thank you so much for your perspective on this, Debbie. Everything you’ve articulated has been the argument for those who are against bringing in refugees. I have read similar reports, and am certainly in tune to Ben Carson’s efforts to meet with Jordanians who are “housing” many refugees now. Mr. Carson is suggesting what you’re saying above, i.e. the Syrians don’t want to come here, but go home. I also watched an intriguing presentation by an economist who did an object lesson with M&Ms to represent the world populations by countries, and how little helpful it would be to take in refugees. He made the same argument that you and those who say “Keep them out” made. I think this position has merit as well.
But let’s say there are no other places for Syrians to turn, and we are being asked to take in 10K Syrian refugees. Would Jesus turn them away or show compassion? I still think in the end, He would show compassion. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a goal to help them go home! My biggest concern is that the arguments to keep them out is mostly based in fear, and I worry that we are rationalizing why we can’t take in a such a small percentage of people to help them in their time of need. 10,000 refugees in the USA who has 320,000,000 living here is a fraction! I also get uncomfortable when we extrapolate a small minority of people who are terrorists and put that same label on the common folks who are just like you and me.
It’s a difficult situation, and I pray that every refugee can return to their homeland in peace and safety and enjoy their own culture and share their own faith system. In the meantime, if we are called upon to lend a helping hand until it’s safe for them to return home, I hope we follow the model of Jesus by showing compassion.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, Debbie!
Blessings and Hugs,
Lee Ann