This blog post is going to be challenging for some readers. However, if you are a “believer” and a “follower of Christ”, then I implore you to consider the direct commands of God to you and me from His Word. Consider what the prophet Samuel said to King Saul when he disobeyed the specific commands he gave regarding the Amalekites:
“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.” – 1 Samuel 15:22b-23a ESV
I suggest that if we view an immigrant through any lens other than through the eyes of Jesus, our view just might be obstructed by our idols!
America, the Blessed and Beautiful
America is a blessed and prosperous nation in so many ways. People from around the world uproot their entire lives, leaving familiar culture, language, and family support networks to live in the United States. There is intense debate on how to address the often overwhelming challenges associated with so many immigrants seeking to enter the country. There are complex issues that result from so many needy people coming into the country. There are very significant costs resulting from uncontrolled immigration. And there are genuine national security threats that must be defended against. So it is understandable that citizens (including Christians) of the United States would be concerned. It is only sensible that some kind of immigration policy be implemented and enforced in a way that balances the commandments of God towards immigrants with the reasonable security and welfare of the country. However, to do so requires us to actually know what the Word of God says. Further, we must anticipate that moral dilemmas will exist, but the Christian must resolve to always make the choice to follow the Word of God first, and to trust in God to provide for the need.
So what does God say?
So what does Yahweh, the King of all nations say? What does the Lord of the universe say to His people who are first and foremost citizens of Heaven. What does God say to Christians who the Bible says are themselves aliens and pilgrims on Earth? (Hebrews 11:13)
There are numerous instances of God commanding His people not to mistreat, harass, harm, or oppress the “sojourner” who travels into their land. There is particular emphasis on caring for widows and orphans among the sojourners.
What is a “sojourner”? The Hebrew word translated into English in the Old Testament passages in this post is the word gêr which means literally “stranger”, but in context implies the meaning of “a foreigner; alien”. This then easily includes the meaning of “immigrant”, “refugee” or “illegal alien”. Let’s take a look at some of these passages from the Bible.
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” Exodus 22:21-24 ESV
“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 23:9 ESV
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:5 ESV
God promised to punish His people for injustice they inflict upon sojourners!
It’s sobering to think about being on the receiving end of God’s judgement. Consider the anger that God feels when “sojourners” or “immigrants” are mistreated. His justice demands that the perpetrators are punished for this wickedness.
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment.” – excerpt from Malachi 3:5 ESV
If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.” – excerpt from Exodus 22:21-24 ESV
“The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” – Psalm 146:9 ESV
It’s interesting that in Ezekiel among the indictments that God makes against Jerusalem warranting God’s severe judgement is this:
“Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.” – Ezekiel 22:7 ESV
“The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice.” – Ezekiel 22:29 ESV
God commands His people to love immigrants
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 19:33-34
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” – Deuteronomy 10:18-19
God wants us to love ALL people! “All” includes immigrants
God commands us to love one another.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35 ESV
Now in case we think that this command means we are only to love other Christians, recall the parable of Jesus in which He illustrated who God means by “our neighbor”. His illustration showed the “neighbor” to be the most despised people group of the person showing mercy. Further, the parable showed the “religious” elite, those claiming to be representatives of God, to have been the ones who did not “love thy neighbor”. Thus, they actually disobeyed the command of God.
Jesus summed up the commands of God into two categories:
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39 ESV
I think it’s interesting how God says that we are to love others “as ourselves”. That is the definition of “empathy” as defined in the British Dictionary:
- the power of understanding and imaginatively entering into another person’s feelings
To best empathize with another person, we must first imagine ourselves as “our neighbor”. What are their concerns? What are their fears? What is their pain? How are they suffering? What have they lost? In order to fully understand the answers to these questions, we must first care enough to have a conversation with them. Ask questions. Learn their story. Imagine yourself in their situation. Treat them in the manner that you yourself would want to be treated.
Again, consider this passage again:
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.” – Leviticus 19:33-34
We must love the “strangers” and “aliens” as we love ourselves, remembering how we were once aliens. Now, none of us were actually aliens in the land of Egypt, but we all were “alienated” from God and excluded from His Kingdom! We must love the aliens and introduce them to the love of God and show them the way to enter His Kingdom, just as someone showed us. It is impossible to love someone, while at the same time excluding, mistreating, marginalizing and disinviting them. Consider the words of James:
“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” - James 1:27 ESV
“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.” – James 2:8 ESV
“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” – James 2:13 ESV
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” – James 2:14-17 ESV
A Test of Our Love
It should be abundantly clear from the passages provided above that the sign of true belief and discipleship is “love”. How do we know we have it? Author and pastor Alan Platt writes in his book, City Changers:
“Many people view love as a feeling. But love is actually a value statement. When you value something, it evokes positive emotions. When you devalue something, your emotions toward it become negative.“ City Changers, Kindle Edition, pg 102
Alan goes on to say:
“God puts value on every human—even the ones we’d rather not have anything to do with. Every human being is the carrier of the image and likeness of God and therefore has value. If we can gain God’s perspective of every living person, it will change the way we look at them and value them and therefore how we engage with them.” City Changers, Kindle Edition, pg 102, Alan Platt
Perhaps, then, your negative emotions towards this people group called “immigrants” are a litmus test of your lack of “love”. Are you devaluing something (i.e someone) that our Creator holds in high esteem, and who has directly commanded us to love in multiple passages of Scripture?
We must choose to walk in obedience to God
We have a tendency to pick and choose the parts of the Bible we want to obey. Often, we rationalize or interpret Scripture to accommodate our rebellion. I’m sure everyone has done this at some point. But when challenged with such clear and straightforward teachings from God, if our lives, attitudes, or actions are in any way out of line with God’s Word, we must repent (renounce our erroneous patterns of thinking and actions) and ask God for forgiveness (1 John 1:9). We must then choose to walk in obedience to the Scriptures. Failing to do so invites the loving, but perhaps stern correction of the Father. Worse yet, our disobedience could reveal that our heart has never been truly surrendered to Jesus Christ at all.