By James Wilson
(Ed. Note: Christmas approaches. My next few posts will focus on
preparing our hearts not just to celebrate but to emulate.)
Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton is under fire for alleged bigotry because he reported – factually – that twenty-two of the last thirty-three people charged with terrorist activities in Australia are second and third generation Lebanese Muslims; he says the previous government made serious mistakes permitting wholesale immigration from Lebanon four decades ago. Dutton and the administration criticize vetting policies and procedures – not the impulse to care for the needy. Dutton – a practicing Christian – represents a dilemma of faith as well as policy.
American President-elect Donald Trump is under attack for the alleged racism of his pledge to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and deport illegal immigrants. As a new follower of Jesus Christ, successful businessman, and miracle candidate Trump does not merely represent a dilemma; he wrestles it in his own heart.
One of the hallmark passages of the Christian scriptures is found in Micah 6:8. The prophet tells people who wonder what God would have us do that we already have our answer. Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly…with God. The passage is iconic because it succinctly summarizes the prophetic tradition of Israel. Jesus Himself provides no better summation of what anyone seeking the Living God should model. But would not a person of justice, mercy, and humility – mixed and tumbled together – be the first to reach out a loving hand to refugees seeking life after having been denied that opportunity in the land of their birth? The answer is a resounding YES.
Yet any government official – faith-driven or no – shares the primary obligation of government to provide a safe and orderly arena in which people may live their lives. That means denying access to terrorists and showing limited mercy – at best – to those who gain access. Dutton and Trump seek to do their jobs with due diligence on a case-by-case basis.
Their dilemma erupts in the moral climate of entitlement that presently dominates our world. In this climate we substitute felt-offense for responsibility and comfortable positions for difficult thinking. Repentance? That is for somebody else to do if we are the ones styling ourselves offended, marginalized or just plain unhappy, like the refugee who set fire to himself and twenty-six innocent bystanders in a Melbourne bank. He was heard to say, “They don’t give me no money,” although Australia had saved his life and offered him funding for which he never applied.
The self-righteousness becomes ever more bombastic whenever we set ourselves to defend the entitlements of others. The politicians attacking Dutton are neither Muslim nor Lebanese and the Hispanic credentials of most of Trump’s detractors are limited to a liking for Mexican food. Authentic compassion demands we walk in each others’ shoes; the Bible speaks of bearing one anothers’ burdens in Galatians 6. These folks are content to demand others carry anyone they designate as victims.
Rational treatment of this dilemma addresses several dimensions of reality climaxing – but not necessarily beginning – with the call of God in Micah and including the trumpet notes blasting across the whole prophetic tradition to treat the sojourner as we would ourselves be treated – Isaiah 56 and 58 for starters – for such we once were and may be again.
One dimension of this reality is to say to refugees – loud and clear – you are guests of a compassionate nation that took you in so as to save your life; you are right to expect decent treatment but this comes as privilege rather than entitlement. Returning home is always an option; biting the hand that feeds in murderous rage is not. Get over yourselves and any pretentions you have about imposing your culture on the host culture.
Another dimension is the fantasy that those screaming loudest are bearers of compassion for the underdog. Compassion limited to a select group is not compassion at all. Shouting down a speaker only stifles healthy discussion of ways to apply compassion. Where is the compassion for those Lebanese Muslims in Australia who are shamed by the insularity which breeds terrorism in some of their members – where is that compassion other than in a Peter Dutton who declares he will not judge the community by what its lunatic fringe does, but who will take steps to protect the whole Australian population from that lunatic fringe hereafter? How is Donald Trump deficient in compassion when he plans only to eliminate the criminal element in the illegal immigrant population – so as to protect immigrants and other Americans? Authentic compassion affirms a proper vetting process for those who are desperate enough to leave home and humble enough to appreciate what they are given. For the speech police: Get over any view of yourselves as other than the hypocrites you are.
But the third dimension that must be quintessential is this: All that we have has been given to us. We create nothing; we manage and care for what we have received – not from government but from the same God who calls us to love justice and kindness, walking humbly with Him. We have not only the right but the responsibility to share these gifts with those who desperately need a helping hand. The Son of this God – by Whom all gifts come – says our reward will be to hear His words in our ears – Well done good and faithful servant. He says it specifically in Matthew 25:31-40 and experientially in the abundant life He brings to all who receive it with thanksgiving.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times, and Kingdom in Pursuit – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at praynorthstate@gmail.com
