Our nation’s new slogan, “Make America Great Again”, was masterminded by a political machine that purports to be of “conservative Christian values.” However, everything behind this slogan is anything BUT Christian. Targeted at a specific audience, namely, the middle and lower working classes, it hit a nerve and made some believe that America once was great, but is no longer. Stirring the masses, “someone” had to be blamed for the fact that it was no longer great. That “someone” turned out to be immigrants and incoming migrants.
Any self-respecting Christian knows the story of how Mary and Joseph were turned away from potential shelter, thereby birthing their son in a stable. As Christians preparing to celebrate said birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born of migrant parents in a land far from their home, we need to check ourselves.
While we decorate our homes, buy gifts, and claim “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”, but simultaneously support the notion of a border wall and the detention of migrants reaching out to us for assistance, I am reminded of Matthew 25: 31-40:
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
In other words, those who reach out to help those in need will be rewarded in Heaven.
Since getting caught up in the immigration blame-game, we failed to pause long enough to realize that our nation is still great, as is evidenced by those coming here in droves to seek opportunity, asylum, education, and a better way of life. If this nation wasn’t so great, would these people want to come? Their migration is evidence that life in our country is way better than that of other places.
Somewhere, somehow, a group of hard working folks, many of them Christians, adopted a scarcity mentality, and allowed themselves to be provoked to hatred, forgetting their values. Hitting them right below the basic-securities-of-life belt, fear overtook their minds and reduced this country to a nation of hateful, jealous, insecure, and narrow-thinking clans.
Our continued participation in denying basic human needs to people who come knocking at our doors has turned this new “Great America” into the pit of hell. People are angry; races are clashing; too many are physically suffering and even dying. My Christian brothers and sisters, is this the fulfillment of the law? The fulfillment of the law is to love one another. (Romans 13: 9-10: “For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.”)
Matthew 25: 41-46 goes on to say this:
“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
“Then they also will answer Him saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
I’d say that’s the proverbial writing on the border wall, wouldn’t you?
You cannot profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ and simultaneously support building a border wall and turning away those in need. Your thoughts, beliefs, and actions are in direct opposition to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the birth of whom you’re busying yourself to celebrate. My guess is that, this season, He’d prefer the gift we all open to be our hearts.
DawnLeighDavis 