The Southern Border: Crisis or Ministry Opportunity?

 

We are only days removed from the primary election here in Texas.  Personally, I am grateful for the break before the general election in November.  I was weary from hearing all the commercial and having my mailbox full of campaign brochures. The “Crisis at the Border” was the most common theme.  I heard candidates warn about the country being threatened by drug dealers and human smugglers.  Candidates were promising to “close the border, and “finish the wall.” 

Do not get me wrong, there is a problem at our southern border, but I view it more as a humanitarian crisis than a security issue.  We do not need a border wall.  What we need is a better system to process those who want to come into our country.  We also must be able to identify those who are involved in criminal activity, so we keep them out. 

I recently had a conversation with a neighbor who owns a small business in southern Dallas. My neighbor, who is Hispanic, reported that most of his employees are immigrants from Honduras.  He states they are all hard workers, and great family people.  They also are all here legally. 

That reinforces what I see on news reports from the border.  Most of those pouring into our country are families who are looking for a better life.  They just want an opportunity to go through the legal immigration process, get a job and settle in.  Our country was built on welcoming individual like this, and while our unemployment rate is low, I still see signs in many businesses announcing the need workers.

A new report from Pew Research provided me some insight into how this is also a polarizing issue.  There really is a generational divide. While eight in ten (77%) Americans over the age of 65 and seven in ten (71%) of those 50-65 responded dealing with immigration should be a high priority, only three in ten (28%) of those ages 18-29 shared that opinion.  Only one half (49%) of those ages 30-49.  Quite basically, those over fifty want to stop the flow of immigrants, while those under fifty are asking, “what’s the big deal?”

I believe one of the main reasons Millennials and Gen Z’s see immigration as a lower priority is they have grown up in an environment where diversity is a reality.  Most have gone to school with people who share both a different cultural or religious background. Many have friends who come from different backgrounds as well.

I also believe the Bible provides us with some insight on how God desires us to respond to aliens and sojourners.  In Exodus 22:21, God states, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”  When separating the sheep from the goats in Matthew 25:35, Jesus states, “For I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”  The writer of Hebrews (Heb 13:1-2) encourages us to “Show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

As Christians, I believe we have a duty to welcome those who desire to come in our community seeking safety and a place to settle.  It is our opportunity to be the hands of Jesus.  We need to be mindful of what Matthew said about Jesus; “When he saw the crowd, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)

 

 

For Such a Time as This

 

For many years I was posting weekly on Blogspot.  Unlike my weekly Passing the Torch Newsletter in which I try to unbiasedly report cultural trends and possible implications for the church, my blog provided an opportunity for me to comment and give my opinion on issues of the day.  Over the last couple of weeks God has put on my heart the need to resurrect my regular use of Blogspot.  I sense we are living in unsettling times.  This election year has the potential to be especially contentious.  Like many Americans, I am troubled by this.  While I am not fearful for the future of our country, God is still in charge, I am concerned about the long-term impact of this election year.  I am concerned over the kind of world my grandchildren will grow up in. 

I have always considered myself to be a conservative, but tend to vote more based on character than political party.  One of the disturbing things that I have observed over the last decade is louder rhetoric and a higher degree of contention. In the process, lines have been drawn in the sand and there is little room for compromise. Quite simply, we have lost our ability to listen to each other and to respect those who hold alternative opinions.  As a result, we have people on different sides of an issue standing on opposite sides of the street, holding signs, and shouting at each other.  The only ones standing in the middle are police officers who are there to keep the two sides apart.

One pet peeve of mine has always been that while we have classes on public speaking, we never offer instruction on public listening.  We teach students how to communicate their opinion on a topic, but never instruct them how to listen and discern what someone on the other side is saying.  More importantly, why they hold that opinion.   There can be no discussion and compromise unless we seek to understand each other.

I recently read David Brooks’ new book, How to Know a Person; The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.  The author addresses this issue in the chapter The Epidemic of Blindness.  He states,

“We live in an environment in which political animosities, technical dehumanization, and social breakdown undermine connection, strain friendships, erase intimacy and foster distrust.  We are living in the middle of some sort of vast emotional, relational and spiritual crisis.  It is as if people across society have lost the ability to see and understand one another, thus producing a culture that can be brutalizing and isolating.”

(How to Know a Person, page 97)

 

The unfortunate reality, from my perspective, is that Christians have become part of the problem, rather than contributing to the solution.  In the process, we have become known more for what we are against, than for what we should be stand for.  Our strong rhetoric on the issues, has drowned out the message of grace, love, and mercy we are called to represent.  This has deeply harmed our ability to reach younger generations.

My prayer is that we might turn down our voices and learn to listen to each other.  We need less emphasis on what we think and more on what others are thinking and feeling and why they hold such strong opinions.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”

Matthew 5:9