I was going to write a blog post about the nauseous horror I feel every time I go on Facebook and see Christians praising Republican leaders for refusing to allow Syrian refugees into our country. I was going to talk about how of course some terrorists will take advantage of the situation, but how….I cannot fathom why that would keep us from helping people in need.
I say “I was going…” because I found a blog post that said everything I wanted to say. Consider taking the time to read Klinton Silvey’s blog post “Something Christian Millennials ‘Don’t Get.'” And if you won’t take the time, here are a few passages that especially resonated with what I wanted to say.
I was raised in a small-town Baptist church. I was taken there Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday nights. I don’t care how much you like to goof off, if you spend that much time in a church, you’re going to pick up on major themes whether you want to or not.
One of those major themes is that we should be courageous. Another is that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Another is that life is eternal.
These themes are all over the Bible. “Be strong and courageous,” God told Joshua. “Perhaps you are here for such a time as this,” Esther’s uncle said. “Do not fear those who can kill the body,” Jesus said.
Courage, love, and eternity. Those are the hallmarks of my Christian upbringing too. We are free to love courageously because our hope is not in this world – we are eternal beings, and death is just a doorway into the next phase of our existence.
Christian heroes are almost always martyrs, people who believed so strongly in advancing God’s kingdom they were willing to die (either through a refusal to renounce Jesus or through service to the diseased). Admitting Syrian refugees into our country is nowhere near that level of immediate danger, and yet fear has taken us over.
Is it possible that a small percentage of them want to kill us? — Let me counter that question with another question:
Does it matter?
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a post Columbine, post 9/11 world that we youngsters think this way, but refugees or no refugees, some folk are getting murdered in the United States today. Refugees or no refugees, there will be another school shooting somewhere. Refugees or no refugees, terrorists will find a way. Life is terminal. You WILL die.
“Does it matter?” This is the question that has been running through my head for the last few days. Why in the world would we allow fear of a few terrorists keep us from helping people in need? One of my Facebook friends wrote a post that said, “I’d rather take in a refugee and lose my life than refuse a refugee and lose my humanity.” I couldn’t agree with him more.
In the end, Silvey’s blog post poses the same challenge that I would like to issue:
If you want to curb my youthful enthusiasm, here’s all you need to do:
Open up a Bible and make a convincing argument that Jesus wants us all to be safe more than he wants us to reach the lost and help the hurting.
I worship a God who left the safety of heaven to become human and to love dangerous men and women, knowing they would kill him, knowing that his love was more powerful than all their hate and fear. I am so much weaker and more frail than the Son of God, but he is my role model, and I believe his Spirit is in me, making me more like him every day.
So with Jesus in mind, I choose love over fear. Let the Syrian refugees in. And on a personal note, all of this has only made me more eager to go to Greece, confident that risking danger in pursuit of love will put me in touch with a rich heritage of like-minded Christian heroes and heroines. I was raised to be courageous, full of love, with my eye on eternity, and I refuse to let my beliefs be compromised by fear.
It Is Trish 
Well said. I’ll have to read the full post. Thanks for sharing!
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And for those who aren’t swayed by asking “What would Jesus do?” maybe ask “What would Dumbledore do?” (C.S. Lewis was right about fiction teaching us to face dragons. It probably sounds silly to people who don’t feel as I/we do about books, but I mean this seriously.)
“Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.”
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I cannot agree more strongly. Literature teaches us morality in the safety of a fictional story so that when reality gets complicated, we are prepared.
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And YES, I am with you.
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Just curious, other than Donald Trump, which GOP candidates did you actually read or hear say they did not want these refugees? What I have read and heard from the candidates themselves, as well as governors of many states, is that they want a “pause” to allow for thorough vetting before bringing them here. In their position, their responsibility is to keep the citizens of this country safe. I certainly want to get all who are being persecuted to safety. I would, however, like to know that those we have placed in authority over us are taking their responsibility seriously to keep us safe as well.
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http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/16/world/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees-backlash/
In this article by CNN, I was incredibly sad to read that 31 of our 50 states have governors who oppose letting Syrian refugees into their states, and unfortunately, 30 of the 31 were Republican leaders.
That’s not to say only Republicans are reacting in fear. And I understand the need for our leaders to be concerned with the safety of their constituencies. But how awesome would it be if their offices were flooded with messages assuring our leaders that, yes, of course we want refugees in our neighborhoods so that we can love them well and walk them through the long process of calling a new country their home. I think that kind of response would be an amazing display of Christ’s selfless love, and maybe it would grab the attention of the world.
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You will then be very interested in the Nazarene Fund. They are raising money to rescue Christians and to resettle them in safety. They have a process in place to be as sure as possible that they are helping people who are truly in need.
I’m thankful for the governors who are willing to honor the constitution they’ve sworn to uphold. Too few politicians today are willing to do that.
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