Refugees: What to Do?

            In recent days news outlets have spent the overwhelming majority of their time reporting on the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris, France this past weekend. Such a major event truly deserves the attention of the world and reporters should work diligently to bring up-to-date facts about the situation. We, the world, deserve to know. To their credit they have certainly done their job.

            Along with reporters and journalists, though, I have witnessed a heavy barrage of blog posts and people on social media posting various articles and supposed facts about the situation. Heavily tied to this is the Syrian refugee crisis, their placement in the world and the fact that some are disguising themselves as refugees and are actually part of the terror group ISIS. Many have expressed their thoughts on these issues, especially as it relates to the United States and our acceptance of a certain amount of refugees from Syria. I have even witnessed some question the legitimacy of the Christian faith of some conservative evangelicals who happen to believe it is not in the best interest of America to take in those from Syria—specifically at this time.

            When someone casts doubt on the Christian faith of others simply because they are cautious about legitimate terrorist possibilities, that person is attempting to pull at heartstrings. Those of us who are conservative, evangelical Christian are well aware of passages from the Bible such as Matthew 25:31-46 that describe Jesus mentioning what will be said in the final judgment—words of praise to some like these: “For I was hungry, and you fed me…I was a stranger and you invited me into your home” (NLT, v.35). We also are aware of passages in the Old Testament where God instructed Israel how to treat those who fled to them in need of help. No one that I am aware of in the conservative evangelical world would deny such teaching. Nor do I know of anyone who would not be willing to bend over backwards to help those who are truly in need.

The denomination I am a part of, The Southern Baptist Convention, is perhaps the greatest humanitarian agency on the planet, outside of the Red Cross, and devotes large amounts of money, man-hours, and other resources to relieve human suffering worldwide. When some cite certain passages of Scripture and apply them to the situation of refugees coming into the United States their goal is to frame the conversation in a way that attempts to indicate that those against Syrian immigration are somehow not following the way of Jesus. It is, in a sense, a way to pull at heartstrings and make one feel guilty.

The mistake of this is to assume that one who is against Syrian refugees coming to America, at this time, is against actual Syrian refugees. We are not against refugees—we are against the possibility of allowing terrorists into our country. The rational mind given by a Sovereign God has to be used to its full potential. The Christian is to do good to all people, not just those of the same faith as they are or not even necessarily to them who are good to them. But when certain people or a certain group of people wants to kill you it is not “un-Christian” to keep them at a distance. Refugees can be helped, their life improved, without making the people of America vulnerable.  It is true that very few of the Syrian refugees have, to date, been linked to ISIS and terror—but some have.

Those who misconstrue certain Bible passages on compassion inevitably have as their viewpoint doing good to humanity. Such is certainly one aspect of being Christian. But think of it like this: how good or Christian would it be to allow our parents, siblings, spouses and kids to be susceptible to harm through terror? Those from ISIS who have infiltrated the Syrian refugee camps and want to make their way to America to do harm have done a great injustice to the Syrian people. They have caused the American people to step back and seriously evaluate the situation. They have caused red flags to rise.  And in the name of safety the rational mind can only recommend there be some time before we open our borders. This might not bode well in the immediate future for many Syrians, but sometimes it is simply that way. A bushel of apples with only a few rotten ones will still be examined very carefully. 

Can we help refugees in need? Certainly. And we should. We can give them food, hygiene care and provide a safe zone for them in the Middle East, just to name a few things. By doing so we are far from turning our backs on them. In fact, we are acting in a very Christian manner. To assume otherwise is simply silly.