Suffer the little children: What would Jesus say?

In a world where children are suffering, including one in five living in poverty or near poverty in the United States, why is there not a major movement among Evangelicals to offer hope and concrete help by supporting those who do?

Politically Evangelicals vote rightward on social issues involved in the political maelstrom that is part of politics today.  But this movement is coming in many directions, across Europe, in response to immigration.

Some of that fear comes from the Muslim immigrants, but it spells into the move of other groups, especially when there is economic concern from uncertainty.

There is also an element of racism and nationalism in much of it, as the gypsies have been an outcast group that was seriously outcast from France in very recent times.

Nationalism comes into prominence when people feel they are being attacked and their media, that represents their country--even in the more extreme ways---catapults news into areas that otherwise might mean little more than a laugh or two.  But step on the ground of one's country with the heavy boot of criticism, and the sensitive toes that are hurt will remember to get you later.

 Americans were polled right after Arizona's introduction of its immigration law several years ago and the lawsuit against the US Justice Department made by the State.  support of Arizona's new immigration law and against the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit involving it by a 50% to 33% margin, according to a recent Gallup poll, and the Rasmussen poll result has similar results.  But what would Jesus say?

Years ago it was the "in" thing to ask the question, "What would Jesus do" or "What would Jesus say," when speaking of any serious issue where there might be division or a decision has to be made about doing the right thing in a Christian way.

Certainly Christians often speak of rendering to Caesar what is his and to God what is His, but is this the rest of the story.  Let's take a look at what one group of Christians has to say about the topic of immigration and what it does to the human spirit, then reflect on the Christ message of love and see if that encompasses immigrants.

A posting ona blog of the Sojourner Christian group was titled, "Deportations that destroy the Human Spirit."  

A story of what happened to one man who was deported some months ago is part of the blog narration on immigration.  A man by the name of David is quoted as saying, "May I would be better off just crossing again and going to prison for many years.  He had been stopped by police and subsequently turned over to the immigration officials, then deported and now lives on the streets of Nogales, Sonora.

This story, like that of David, the article tells us,  goes on more often than people think, with different details told by individuals who are given heavy criminal sentences for no other crime than being paperless and stealing into the country, sometimes in desperate moves to avoid the kind of poverty that can bring people to their knees.  These same people hear the debates about immigration, and the American public view, and become even more concerned about their relatives or friends in this country who could be caught.

The Sojourners are not attesting to their belief in illegal immigration, nor supporting it; although there may be some who think so.  What they have done in their article is outline the consequences and the harshness of being caught.  Is this the kind of outcome Americans want and is this the reflection of Christ's message?

The problem is, according to Sojourners, that the way immigration is handled violates Christ's message of love in its punitive stance with laws like those of Arizona that single out people that are different and that stir up hatreds and bad feelings.

Eight months ago Green Heritage News interviewed one of the owners of an employment firm in Yuma, Arizona.  When asked about the crime rate, this woman, who asked to be anonymous for this article, said, "We don't have an problem here (Yuma).  Our police do a very good job at the border."

Just months later when asked the same question after the Arizona law on immigration was signed by the Governor, Green Heritage News asked the same employment firm owner about crime in Yuma.  "We have a terrible time here," she said.  "The police are ineffective about it.  We especially have problems at the border."

This contradictory message was likely not considered by the remarks made, especially the second time; but these statements of cognitive dissonance allow many people to continue to support laws that target immigrants all the while they speak of how they love the legal immigrants, have Mexican friends and need to uphold the law.  They also tell of a low crime rate on the one hand and a high one on the other, sometimes in the same conversation.

As an aside, the crime rate in Arizona was lower than average during the past several years before enactment of the Arizona law, according to national crime statistics; so the effort to use the crime rate has been effective in that people believe false information in order to support erroneous beliefs.

Sojourners points out most of these people who are deported have no criminal background, have been doing honest work in the country and have led modest lives.  Yet they face harsh punishment if caught without papers.  The author of this most recent article,  cited here, is Maryada Vallet, who is working on a humanitarian initiative to handle immigration in a faith-based way.

Vallet ends her article with this, "I am convinced that God’s good vision is for us to be the church by living as one, free of barriers and in compassionate abundance. But I ask your prayers for those who are beaten down and need that strength and hope now more than ever, and prayer for all of us, complicit in these deportations."

Given the high rate of Christian belief in the United States and the high rate of belief in Arizona doing the right thing with its new law, it is important in the mix to read what some Christians think--and think what Christ would do.

And thinking about what Christ would do would not just be good for Arizona.

What do you love most, your religion, race, country, profession or kind?

Mohandas K. Gandhi

"I am an American first, " Marty boldly stated, as he asserted his position in response to political issues around the world.  "I make my own decisions and believe that my country is the best in the world, so what other people think doesn't matter much to me."  Many people identify themselves first by where they live, but what are the other factors Americans use to view themselves and others or use as a measure for love and respect?

Marty is a Midwest fellow who knows how to maintain an argument by simply reminding people that he comes from a country identified by its leadership.  An American flag at his doorway proudly shows people where he stands politically. And in the tech corridor of Portland, where religion is said not to predominate, Marty remains an individual who is adamant about immigration and America's involvement in foreign wars.

"I believe if we stuck to ourselves and didn't get so involved with other people in different parts of the world we would be a whole lot better off.  When I vote, I want to make sure that the person I vote for stands up for this country first.  And this is what I say to people who don't see themselves as patriotic Americans and put our nation at the top;l I say love it or leave it.  And I'm a Catholic, but the Church doesn't tell me what to do.  I vote in the interests of being an American, and I love this country first."

Like Ron Edmundson, whose blog is dominated by topics related to America being first at almost everything and church as a dominant force in life, Marty sees himself as a patriot.  And so does Edmundson, for whom church is also important but loving America too as he explains:  "We love our country.  Period."

Americans of Spanish origin are often referred to as Hispanics or Latinos.  But how do they view themselves?  According to research by the Pew Forum, most of them self-identify by their country of origin.  This means they refer to themselves as Cuban, Mexican, Peruvian, etc.  Only 21% use the term American in how they label themselves.

CNN recently reported that most Americans maintain religion's influence is waning, so they want to see more religion in politics.  Many say they will vote for candidates in November's election based upon their religious views.  For them faith comes first.

For other people, what they do, the work they perform, is favored over many other factors in life.  Forbes investigated why people love what they do and found a number of areas that make work satisfying and sometimes predominant in life. Often people who are successful at what they do, and love it, are said to live in the Now.  They worry about what is happening around them as opposed to fanciful concerns about the negative what'ifs.

While people identify themselves, or favor most, what they do for a living, the country where they live, or their particular ethnic group, still others see themselves as reaching out beyond the limited borders of these factors to the greater good they see as coming from a world of options.  Gandhi viewed himself as not being limited by his ethnicity, although his devotion to India was clearly demonstrated by his life and actions.  Gandhi saw the struggles or the people of India as not unlike the struggles of others in the world and underlined peace as the overriding value of people everywhere.  In other words, his love for others crossed the borders of religion, ethnicity and profession, as he maintained his affection for people of the entire world.  To that extent, his views are similar to those of Buddha who said this: " To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family"or Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, who saw all humanity as the leaves and branches of a single tree of humanity and said,  "Glory not in love for your country, but in love for all mankind."

How we decide what is paramount in our lives differs from one person to another, however in many cases there are overlaps as well.  Most people will underline a balance of affection for what they do and where they live, or their faith and their ethnicity, but how those decisions are made are deeply personal and make a difference in how relationships are made and whether one strives for a peaceful accord or a debate in deciding who and what is best.