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Immigration and racism: People win as we apply “survival of the weakest”, not “fittest”

Rich Kirkpatrick61.5K views

Syrian Refugee Exile Opportunity Immigration - Creative Commons Zero - CC0

[bctt tweet=”What is offensive to the Gospel is the dehumanization of the vulnerable people in the world–be they from Haiti, El Salvador, or Africa, or even Norway.” username=”rkweblog”]

The Incarnation brings a child into the world, not a powerful leader.

Jesus came to heal and save, not judge. We need to follow suit.

Another significant case is the life of Jesus. His purpose was to not “condemn the world,” but he was sent to “save” or heal. Those two words, by the way, are interchangeable. Jesus was and is identified as a healer of mankind and the world. We are called as Christians to follow the purpose of Christ. While we quote John 3:16, we lose if we forget the next verse. His mission while on earth was not to be a judge. While the zealots—in even his own gang of twelve—wished for the political messiah to ride on a white horse and overthrow evil Rome, Jesus chose a donkey. The mob had blurred vision. With Jesus, there was never a wielded sword, a building of organizational strength, or hoarding of political power. To raise women as equals, and children as valued, Jesus subverted power. This was not the messiah people wanted, so the mob turned quickly and violently on Christ.

The cross proves death’s defeat a model over our addiction to power.

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6 comments

Anonymous Commenter July 5, 2018 - 11:09 am
Thanks for posting and responding to my note despite it being anonymous. Yeah, I know. I’m just a very private person. Anyway, I’m not going to rebut your answer. I’ll just say this … The laws need to change so that the immigration system humanely processes immigrants, keeps parents and children from being permanently separated and for as short a time as possible and is done so in a clean, comfortable, organized, dignified and orderly fashion. Illegal border jumping needs to be vigorously discouraged with a wall or drones or whatever, and an orderly and functional work visa system needs to be in place. Once the border is secure and working properly, then a path to legality or citizenship, or whatever can be orchestrated for those who are currently here illegally. But not before. The only place all this can be done is in Congress. The Executive Branch doesn't make laws. It’s the Legislative Branch (Congress) that makes the laws. They are responsible and should be pressured to fix this … NOW! They need to stop toying with peoples lives, using crying babies and sad stories for political games. Just fix it. They represent us, we need to demand that it get fixed. But instead we see Trump protests and ICE protests and people shouting about Nazis and racists. All that has nothing to do with anything. But the congressmen are loving it. Our immigration laws are being enforced at the border as they were written. They are a patchwork mess, so our immigration system is a mess. The Democrats are loving the chaos because they think Trump is taking the blame. The media isn’t doing their job explaining that the laws are a mess, because they like blaming Trump too. And you're taking the bait. But Trump can’t change squat. Even his executive order is useless and won’t change much and may even be challenged in court. This is an easy fix, but congress doesn’t want to fix it. Not because of racism but because of politics and power and political games. Meanwhile the poor refugees and their children pay a heavy price. Sometimes with their lives. Stop being manipulated. When enough people see the blame is on the shoulders of congress and demand action things will change. But as long as passionately misinformed people are marching in the streets with pitchforks and torches cussing Trump and ICE and INS, nothing will change. They're barking up the wrong tree like fools and Chuck Schumer is grinning ear to ear. The blame is not on the lawmakers where it belongs -- it's on the person they want to hurt politically. And Trump can't change the law. Now do you see the games being played? Doesn't it make you angry that people's lives are being toyed with like that?
Rich Kirkpatrick July 5, 2018 - 11:38 am
Who is your neighbor? You did not attempt to answer. What is not reported well is that even worse that the current administration’s choice to separate families is the change in what is considered asylum. Legally, we have a process. Because of Sessions there are thousands illegally arrested for legally attempting to escape the impending death of their children. We are toying with the lives of orphans and widows. They are pawns in a power grab by a leader who is cynical at best. And, when Congress negotiated an immigration compromise, Trump was capricious and backed out. So, the blame is clearly on the leader who has grabbed power by using the powerless as pawns. And, why are you private? What are you afraid of? As one who has been around the block a few times, who is politically independent, my concern is that Christians have failed the “least of these” and like despots of the past, our president is scapegoating the margins of society—using fear. I don’t think lettuce picking jobs are now being filled with local American citizens. It’s not like working to help farmers and migrant workers threatens bloated factory workers when robots and free markets are to blame. Don’t be fearful. Be a true citizen who doesn’t drop political bombs, trolling the thoughtful platform of those who earned their place. I ask for all of us: who is our neighbor? This means we focus on them then we can—with the Christian ethic of life—debate how our nations should make laws. Instead, we let both sides speak for us. People of faith are not about a party, a leader, or a tribe. We are about love.
Anonymous Commenter July 1, 2018 - 10:07 pm
I have to respectfully disagree. I don’t see a scriptural basis for your point of view. Maybe you can help me understand. 1) Survival of the weakest … I agree we are to look out for the weak. Stand up for the weak. Protect the weak. However governments cannot set aside the laws of the land that protect all Americans and allow "the weak" to be lawless because we feel sorry for them. We have a nation of laws -- not a nation of feelings. We can feel sorry for those that break the law and be supportive emotionally while they serve their time. We can bring them the gospel in prison or assist them in coming to the USA legally. But we cannot just waive the law because they are pitiful. Everyone must obey the law no matter how powerful or how weak. If the laws are not just, then change them, but we cannot be making exceptions for emotional reasons. If we do, the courts will be filled with "believable" tales of woe (and some $$$ to make it believable) and, poof, you get immunity to the law. That's a recipe for corruption on a massive scale. Border laws must be enforced. Come legally or don’t come at all. Come illegally and get prosecuted. Period. If you don’t like the laws change them. Anything other than this leads to corruption and other problems. 2) We must condemn those who build walls … Whoa! Wait a minute. Chapter and verse please? What's wrong with walls? Is your home without walls? Do you let strangers wander in and out of your bedroom anytime and without permission? I'm pretty sure you have walls. Why? Are you guilty of promoting survival of the fittest by not sharing your home with whomever wants to come in without permission whether they are criminals, drug traffickers, pedophiles, rapists or carrying a disease like the Ebola virus? Aren't they just seeking a better life and shelter? Why aren't you allowing "the weak" to have unlimited access to your walled off property? Are you condemning yourself for building those walls? Are walls for homes, cities and countries not all for the same purpose -- protection? I suppose some walls in history have been for imprisonment as in the old East Germany, but that's clearly not the intent for America. We don't have to keep people in but we do need protection ( google the 9/11 terrorist attack). The New Jerusalem is described as having "... a wall great and high" in Revelations 21:12? Is your article condemning God -- the wall builder? 3) Our mission is to break walls … Isn't our mission to go and make disciples of all nations? Where does it say to destroy the borders of every nation? The only walls I remember being destroyed in the Bible is the one around Jerhico, and that was to defeat the Canaanites. I think one lesson from that story would be that a broken down wall ends in defeat. What do you think? “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.” Proverbs 25:28. Seems that God is saying broken down walls are not such a good thing. “Help your relatives and they will protect you like a strong city wall, but if you quarrel with them, they will close their doors to you. “ Proverbs 18:9. God says, walls are good for protection. “They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze. They will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and rescue you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Jeremiah 15:20. Again, God seems to think walls are a good thing and even compares his protection to a super strong wall of bronze. The Lord is described as our fortress in Psalms 18:2? A fortress is a heavily protected and impenetrable building. This would include protective walls. Is your article suggesting that we break down God -- our fortress? Yes the Bible speaks about being kind and hospitable to foreigners ... but this is contingent upon them following the laws of the land they are entering. Illegal aliens have broken our laws and are subject to deportation or even prison if they're a repeat offender. Walls for safety against enemies is not an evil concept. Walls protect. Walls control the flow of people for orderly progress. Walls are so good, even God built them on his city of New Jerusalem Revelations 21:12. Yet you want to condemn those who build walls? It appears to me God gives walls a thumbs up. Show me otherwise. 4) Jesus came to save heal, not judge. Yes, on a spiritual level, regarding sin, Jesus came to extend forgiveness through grace and offer no condemnation to those who accept his free gift by of salvation by faith. However, earthly laws still exist and if we break the laws of the government, you will be punished. We would be foolish to step aside and let anyone come illegally into our country even though there are drug smugglers, sex traffickers, gang members and terrorists sprinkled among them. Those few bad apples come to kill, steal, murder and prey on “the weak” whom you are advocating to protect. Jesus’ message of love was to be applied on a person-to-person level … not a governmental level. Romans 13 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ” Clearly, judgment by the government is called for when the law is broken. These two things can exist at the same time. We can be compassionate to each other one-to-one, while still enforcing the law on a governmental level. At the border, this means we enforce the law for those who enter illegally (but don’t abuse them), and we welcome and help those who enter legally. If we find out that people are being abused in the process of criminal justice then that is against the law and should also be prosecuted. I hope my dissenting opinion comes across as respectful as I tried to write it. I know it’s difficult to express things in text and get the right tone to come through. If something comes across as harsh, I apologize. My goal is to enlighten and encourage, not to incite anger or cause hard feelings.
Rich Kirkpatrick July 4, 2018 - 12:48 pm
Dear Anonymous Person. Usually, I do not allow anonymous comments, as this is a public forum for discussion where I indeed own my words. You should as well, in other words. But, it is America and I will make an exception today. Who is your neighbor?
"Jesus’ message of love was to be applied on a person-to-person level … not a governmental level. "
Tell this to the... the unborn Jews of Europe fellow Christians in Syria girls who are sex-trafficked in our streets What the Apostle Paul was saying to the Christians of Rome was that they had better live under the radar and respect the laws or life would be even that much harder for them. This passage has been misused to tell Christians in Germany that they should support Hitler's regime and let the Holocaust go unhindered. If it were not for the parents of Jesus fleeing as refugees to Egypt, they would have seen their baby boy slaughtered by the governmental authorities. Romans 13 was also employed to convince Christians in early America that it was their duty to the English King to forgo rebelling tyranny. We would not be a nation if we simply allowed this verse to be beating the oppressed over the head. We can't with good conscience love our God and NOT love our neighbor--ie., the foreigner, refugee, incarcerated... Who is your neighbor? It is not mutually exclusive to have a land of laws yet value people! What we see going on in some of our governmental leaders is the devaluing of people--especially the orphans and widows. Jesus puts a special place for those who are most vulnerable in his "least of these" statements. A baby orphan pulled from her mother's breast is not going to sway a powerful governmental force. Person to person is our domain. We are the kings. We are personally responsible for our government, more so than the Romans! We, supposedly, made the rules. To deafen our ears to the cries of orphans surely brings judgment upon us--a millstone around our necks, according to our Lord. The Bible is clear about treating refugees and foreigners well. Remember the people of Israel in the OT and even Jesus were refugees! You can have whatever tone you would like. What you or I may not want to have this blood on our hands on the day Jesus asks us what we did to the "least of these." You may finally see his deep emotion of grief at how compartmentalizing our faith was used as an excuse to take care of the weak. The only policy I am advocating here is to protect those who are vulnerable while enforcing reasonable laws. To Christ, how much is a life worth? What a shame is the scapegoating of the very vulnerable. Can we have laws and still see people as God sees them? Yes. But we have a vision problem. Do we see the oppressed as a threat or as ones God made? What you have enlightened me about is the sad view of many: some people are worth more than others! Survival of the fittest is the core of Communism and Germany's fascism. Why not use our Christian influence over government to love people? We surely are failing as Christians to do it personally! Who is our neighbor?
Connie Corp January 12, 2018 - 2:28 pm
Amen and amen!
Rich Kirkpatrick January 13, 2018 - 12:17 pm
and...another Amen! ;)

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