Comparisons and Compassion

There is quite the concentration on words that are spoken or that are written these days.  And, words certainly have meaning.  We should, however, be devoted to speaking words that line up with God's
Word and...doing works that call attention to Him. James 2 says:
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

We show that we love Jesus by how we allow Jesus to live through us.  Posturing with words, as this passage suggests, doesn't minister to the needs of people; being one with Christ and living out of that position can drive us to be involved in serving other people.  We have to be careful that we are not prideful in our devotion to Christ and think that we are more holy than someone else; we should show mercy to all, and that includes making sure we are humble before the Lord.

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We have to guard against trying to demonstrate who is more spiritual, more enlightened, or more
compassionate. It's a subtle form of favoritism, driven by pride. We read in Luke 18, where Jesus is
teaching:
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

It's really become journalistic sport - columnists who, in the name of religion, try to paint evangelicals as being ignorant, bigoted, outside of the mainstream, and (gasp!) not following the ways of Jesus.

This has especially been ramped up regarding the immigration issue, about which you have people who will, rather than present solutions, take the opportunity to virtue signal.  Take, for instance, one writer who keeps getting virtual ink in mainstream outlets, who tweeted recently:

This data is an indictment of white evangelicals. Only a *quarter* believe the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees. We can debate how many refugees America should accept, but how does that general attitude align with the ethic of Jesus? See Matthew 25:40-45 for more.

Another writer, who I actually like and have quoted from time to time talked about how "terrible" this is, saying: "We can certainly argue about how many refugees our nation should accept, but to say that we have no responsibility at all? Awful." Now - wait for it - "I wonder how much of this is interpreted by white Evangelicals as Trump-related, and they circle around his perceived view."

The reference is to a Pew poll, which has made the rounds in some religious media outlets - a poll from last year!!  May of last year.  The question was this:

Do you think the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees into the country, or do you think the U.S. does NOT have a responsibility to do this?

The summary says:

Roughly half of Americans (51%) say the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees into the country, while 43% say it does not, the national survey found. That is changed only slightly from February of last year.

 And, here's the evidence these commentators are referencing:

By more than two-to-one (68% to 25%), white evangelical Protestants say the U.S. does not have a responsibility to accept refugees. Other religious groups are more likely to say the U.S. does have this responsibility. And opinions among religiously unaffiliated adults are nearly the reverse of those of white evangelical Protestants: 65% say the U.S. has a responsibility to accept refugees into the country, while just 31% say it does not.

I have two areas of questions: one is - what is the "U.S."?  Is it the government, i.e, should there be a refugee resettlement program, with taxpayer dollars going to fund the acceptance of people from other countries who qualify as refugees?  Or is it the individuals of the U.S., some of whom may feel a calling to accept people fleeing religious persecution into this country?  I think there may be an element of the size and scope of government here, rather than a lack of compassion.

And, is it a "responsibility" or a "role" or "option?"  We have to be careful that we don't impugn the motives of others when we don't have a complete understanding of what those motives are.

This poll came on the heels of a furious debate about the acceptance of refugees, especially from those nations that have ties of terrorism or that may be breeding grounds for terror.  A CBN article from early 2017 stated:

Evangelist Franklin Graham says he supports President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring refugees from seven countries, saying it is the responsibility of the church, not the government to come to the aid of refugees.

He is quoted as saying: "The president's job is not the same as the job of the church. As Christians we are clearly taught in the Bible to care for the poor and oppressed," adding, "As Christians we are commanded to help all, regardless of religious background or ethnicity, like the Good Samaritan Jesus shared about in the Bible. Our job is to show God's love and compassion."

So, it's important that we understand, in the midst of the quoting of Matthew 25, that was an admonition given to the Church, not the government.  To denigrate an entire group of people, many of which wholeheartedly want to follow Jesus, based on survey data, is irresponsible at best and bigoted at its worst.  It's a subtle form of favoritism, as if to say, "look at me, I'm more like Jesus than you."  And, it feeds this shadow-boxing of a straw man named white nationalism that some Christian leaders want to accuse other Christians of just because they love our country or support our President, even when he has errors in judgment.  It has been a source of division for two and a half years now, and it needs to stop.  Of course, that isn't to say there are not those who claim the name of Christ who have erroneous views on racial issues and should repent.

I want to pivot just a bit - instead of taking potshots at hard-working government officials who are doing yeoman's work at the border trying to enforce immigration law, perhaps the Church can take up at least part of the mantle of assimilating people from outside our country.

And, there is evidence that they are:

A recent Religion News story, that, interestingly enough, refers to the Pew survey and is written with a bit of agenda, does highlight the work that Southern Baptists are doing to minister at the border.  It says that Scottie Stice, director of disaster relief for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, has had "an increase in numbers" at the border, a region where the convention has been doing ministry for years.  The article states:

Waves of Baptist volunteers from across the Mid- and Southwest have flooded his state in recent weeks to offer aid to the influx of largely Central American migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

An example:

Stice said many Baptists and other evangelicals volunteer at so-called “release shelters” — facilities that offer short-term housing and food for immigrants after they are released from Border Patrol facilities but before they travel to a permanent location to await a court date.

One such facility is in Brownsville; another is in Del Rio, where, according to the article, "Texas Baptists and the Salvation Army are preparing for an influx of support from Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization run by the Rev. Franklin Graham."

So, rather than chide evangelicals for lack of compassion, we can seek to better understand some of the dynamics of a complex situation.  Fact is, we are hard-wired in Christ for reaching out to those less fortunate; also, we can understand the role of government, which has two functions, according to the Bible: to preserve order and punish evil - that means security for our people.

And, that doesn't mean government cannot be involved in compassionate work - because that contributes to common order and common good.  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo understands the force for good that America can be, and, regarding members of Congress who embrace a different set of values and are critical of our country, he said to CBN:

"When a handful of members of Congress say things, that are in the tone of the fact that they blame America for so much of the trouble in the world, that's deeply troubling."

"We are a force for good in the world, not a force for evil. We are not the cause of these conflicts and I hear these member of Congress talk about this as if America had generated this trouble, and to blame America first for these things is deeply inconsistent with not only our founding and our tradition, but with the facts on the ground," he said.

The article also states, quoting the Secretary:

"We're still the most generous, welcoming nation anywhere in the world," Pompeo tells CBN News. "Our objective has been to try and do what those people really want in those cases which is to stay in their own country. So our approach for Christians in the Middle East and for other people who are being religiously persecuted around the world, our mission set is to try and create the conditions inside their own countries so that they can have that religious freedom, there'll be no need to leave their country, their friends, their people, their church, their synagogue, their mosque."

Several observations here: first of all, a united Church can be a powerful force to bring healing and relief.  Yet, comparisons over who is more compassionate or who is more like Jesus are counterproductive.  We should be encouraging one another to be involved in Christian service, rather than tearing them down.

Posturing on social media or even in everyday conversation are not forms of compassion, rather a form of pride.  As James said, we demonstrate our faith by our works, not our platitudes.  Our willingness to be involved in the lives of others can speak volumes to a world that needs to see the Church living out the words and ways of Jesus.