First, America is not “the Promised Land.” It is
disingenuous to imply that God’s promise of land for Abraham is being fulfilled
in America. Yancey is a capable theologian, so I know he doesn’t believe that.
America is a place where two hundred years of Judeo-Christian principles of
morality and industry have forged a better place than almost anywhere else in the
world. For most of those years, immigrants came to America legally through the
front door. We are a nation built by immigrants who were seeking a better life.
They made one. The scene has changed, however. Today’s immigrants want the
benefits American success has made available without doing the hard work to
earn them; worse, they refuse to enter the country right way.
The second thing Yancey says that is misleading is that he
didn’t see any “terrorists… drug dealers… communists or thieves or rapists.”
Unless he has supernatural powers, he can’t know what was in the minds and
hearts of those he saw. I know he was using a literary device to make a point:
even terrorists are people. What his comment implies is that we should close
our eyes to the flood of those who do wish us harm for the sake of Christian
charity. That attitude is precisely what has put us in the horrible situation we
are in at the border. The current administration in Washington has not only put
on blinders; they have put out the welcome mat.
Forget Christian charity for a moment; common sense says we cannot
continue to welcome millions of people into our country when they are going to
immediately fall into our generous welfare safety net. Our multi-trillion-dollar
debt should be enough evidence that our system is broken. Allowing a few
million more people to drain the system can have only one result. I wrote “Man the
Lifeboats” several years ago. What I said then is even more poignant now. If
we keep rescuing people from the seas of trouble in their homelands, we will
sink our own boat. (For an honest look at the current situation on the border,
see “An
Immigration Crisis Beyond Imagining” in Hillsdale College Imprimis.)
You don’t have to live on the southern border to face this
same conundrum. There are people who already live in America who wish to take
advantage of American generousity. They seem to prey on Christian charity (the
foundation of our welfare system) at every level. COVID revealed a large segment
of our population who would gladly stay home from work if the government would
support them. There are still those who would rather ask for money from their neighbors
than to get a job to earn what they need. I crash head-on to this dilemma when
I see a panhandler on the corner or the neighbor kid begging for money. When
does Christian charity become enablement?
Paul
counselled the Thessalonians that if some people would not work, they
should not eat. As far back as Solomon, the
Bible encourages work as a necessary part of living. Yes, the Scripture
also recommends helping widows and orphans, but the implication there is that
they cannot feed themselves. It does not seem that Christian charity will
always mean giving physical support. Maybe it can mean denying support so that
the intended recipient will be motivated to help himself. It is not loving to
keep a person dependent upon others when they are capable of fending for
themselves. Nor does it seem incumbent upon Christians to foster behavior that
will ultimately collapse our economy. Then we will all be hungry. Who will feed
us then?
Related Posts: Pilgrim’s
Progression; Conspiracy
Theory, Part II
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