Child Refugee Crisis: 3 Responses Christians Don't Avoid But Should - Matthew Blanton in Christianity Today

When we spread half-truths or lies without checking their veracity, we are still bearing false witness through our own laziness. We must choose our news sources carefully. Even if children at the border were our enemies, we would still be commanded to love and care for them. Fear-mongering and hateful remarks are tired, overused tactics (that were employed against most of our own immigrant ancestors).

Easy prey for human traffickers. Thousands of traumatized children. Overcrowded government facilities. Social unrest. How are we to respond to the political, moral, and humanitarian crisis happening at the southern border of the United States?

As exhausted and war-torn children enter the U.S. looking for relief, our nation is overwhelmed by logistical, financial, and humanitarian challenges. To make matters worse, politicians and pundits are polarizing the issue, spreading misinformation and fear. In this intense climate, we are tempted to respond out of the values of our earthly nationalism, forgetting the radical values of God's kingdom.

1. Misinformed arrogance. In my years of ministering in immigrant churches, studying immigration, and working with churches on immigration reform, I am convinced that there is no other issue in American public discourse that couples arrogance and misinformation quite like immigration.

Regarding these children, I grimace as I hear members of Congress, talk radio hosts, and fellow Christians oversimplify the issue and recommend solutions like "just deport them all" or "build a fence." That such solutions actually would break aspects of U.S. law and potentially send people back into the hands of human traffickers doesn't seem to matter.

When we spread half-truths or lies without checking their veracity, we are still bearing false witness through our own laziness. We must choose our news sources carefully.

2. Fear and hatred.  "Don't feed stray animals." "Machine guns at the border would do the trick." "I have to worry about my kids, not these illegals." I know such statements do not represent the church as a whole, but I have been grieved and broken over statements that professing Christians have been making about the crisis.

The focus on "me and mine" and the attitude of "not my problem" are values of our earthly nationalism, not God's kingdom. We are instructed to welcome the stranger, care for widows and orphans (James 1:27), take responsibility for those who are hurt (Luke 10:25-37) and even to love our enemies (Matt. 5:53-54). 

That uncomfortable command means that even if children at the border were our enemies, we would still be commanded to love and care for them. Fear-mongering and hateful remarks are tired, overused tactics (that were employed against most of our own immigrant ancestors).

3. Being disengaged.  For some, the attitude might not be of hate or fear, but of ambivalence or willful ignorance. Although seemingly not a response, this is actually one of the most dangerous ways to respond. Christians not caring about crises in the world is a bit like firemen turning off their radios and settling in for a nice game of poker at the station.  

While the situation at the border is complex, this much is clear: We need to be informed, humble, and engaged in compassion for "the least of these." We have a responsibility to bear this burden. 

We can respond with political advocacy, insisting that children be given a fair hearing and the chance to apply for asylum before being deported and that Congress remove the ambiguities of our immigration system by finally passing broad immigration reforms. 

We can provide financial support to ministries meeting the physical, psychological, legal, and spiritual needs of these kids. Some of us may even open our own homes to an unaccompanied child.

The full article is available here