Responding to Evil

We live in a world where we need more clarity on what is evil and what is good - as yesterday's events in New York remind us, there are those who believe they are doing "good," in the eyes of their so-called "god," when they are in fact what is forbidden by our God, the One True God.  Isaiah 5
says:
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

The taking of innocent life cannot be considered to be good.  According to Townhall.com:

In the spirit of Halloween, Planned Parenthood sent out a truly ghastly tweet: they claimed it's "statistically safer" for a black woman in the United States to have an abortion than to actually give birth to a baby.

This is a clear example of calling evil good - abortion takes a human life.  Period.  How can that be safe for anyone, especially the child denied a chance to live?  Terrorism is committed to taking human lives - the young man who drove that truck on a bike trail yesterday thought he was doing good, but it was pure, unbridled evil.  Without a dependence on God's Word as a basis for our morality, confusion reigns, and we are seeing the fruit of that today.

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In light of recent events, we can be reminded about our clear Biblical direction to pray for our
leaders, as they exercise wisdom to keep our country safe. 1st Peter 2 says:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

Our hearts are certainly heavy in the wake of the terrible news out of New York City yesterday afternoon.  Fox News reports:

The man suspected of plowing a truck through a crowded bike lane in New York City on Tuesday is 29 years old, from Uzbekistan with a green card, Fox News has confirmed.

Police have identified Sayfullo Saipov as the suspect accused of driving a rented pickup truck into a crowd, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 11 more near the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan.

Newsweek reports that Saipov "was awarded a permanent resident visa in 2010 under the Diversity Immigrant Program," according to ABC New York. The report says:

The program is meant to increase the number of immigrants from countries with low rates of U.S. immigration. The program awards 55,000 green cards a year, a majority of which go to people in African and Eastern European nations, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Newsweek adds: 

Congress has tried to end the Diversity Visa lottery program five times since 2007.
The program's future most recently came into question when the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, sponsored by Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), called for its elimination as part of a wider reduction in legal immigration.

In its statement supporting the bill, the White House called the Diversity Visa lottery program “outdated,” adding that it “serves questionable economic and humanitarian interests.”

In the aftermath of yesterday's attack in New York, the President tweeted out, according to PIX11 television:

“I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Program. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!”

This comes on the heels of the recent ending of the 120-day ban on accepting refugees from a variety of countries with ties to terrorism.  But, there are still stringent rules in place, especially with regard to selected nations.  Although Uzbekistan was not on the list, we can still expect to hear debate and discussion about our nation's immigration policies.

I have regularly discussed the balance between being compassionate in Christ and having a desire to keep our nation safe.  In a passage from a blog post in February, I included these comments, beginning with a quote from former Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd about a 2016 SBC resolution:

...Please notice one line in this resolution that realized the biblical responsibility of government: “RESOLVED, That we call on the governing authorities to implement the strictest security measures possible in the refugee screening and selection process, guarding against anyone intent on doing harm;”

This line was included in the resolution because as followers of Christ, we must understand the tension that occurs because our government has a responsibility it is mandated to fulfill.

I continued:

Jerry Johnson, President of National Religious Broadcasters, of which Faith Radio is a member, tweeted out those same words from the resolution, and he also shared this tweet: "Christians and churches must minister in love to refugees. Government must vet and limit immigration to protect citizens. Both are needed."

We also have to make sure that we are understanding the role of government and the role of the church. That is a point Franklin Graham has made. While government can and should create the climate for compassion to flow, we also recognize its responsibility for national security.

While we as Christians should seek to be welcoming, I think in the arena of policy, we have to recognize the costs and challenges of immigration.  I believe that a recent incident illustrates the type of  minefield that you can wander into.  A young lady who was an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala was being housed, at taxpayer expense, in a government shelter.  She was pregnant and wished to have an abortion.  The ACLU got involved and went to the courts on her behalf.  Ultimately, a Federal appeals court, in contradiction to the principles of the Hyde Amendment, preventing taxpayer funds from going to abortions, ruled that she could take the life of her child, and that occurred last week.  Tragic!  This is a dangerous by-product of the loosening of our borders.

I don't pretend to completely understand the underpinnings or the economics of the immigration system, but I think that if Christians advocate for a lessening of restrictions on immigration and then expect the government to pay for the relocation process, they are entering a dangerous area.  Or, even help to facilitate individuals to break the laws of this country in order to find homes here.  I think you can follow the Biblical directive to "welcome the stranger" or the "sojourner" without placing an undue burden on government. 

The debate will no doubt continue, even among people of faith.  We have to make sure that we are pursuing the Biblical agenda without compromising our faith by aligning with people and organizations that have an anti-Biblical perspective.   Here is yet another issue in which the Church can lead the way and speak with a balanced, reasoned, compassionate voice to people in power.  And, based on some comments of a guest a number of weeks ago, Jalil Dawood of World Refugee Care, I think we can also encourage our people to minister to the immigrants that God has already brought to us.  Christ called us to go in to all the world, and now we see that the world is coming to us - what an excellent opportunity we have!