Doubtful Disputations

What do you do when you begin to doubt a well-considered opinion? Let’s assume that you have invested significant time and trouble to come to a conclusion that you are comfortable with. Let’s further assume that you are not alone in your position, but that there are many people who disagree with you. After years of arguing in defense of your view of the issue, you begin to doubt yourself. Honesty and integrity demand that you do something.

In my case, because I present myself as a teacher, it is important that I get things right before I state my opinion. I have written about this several times. (See Related Posts) The Bible warns against becoming a teacher because of the higher standard of judgment they will face. For this reason, I make it my sincere goal to base all my public opinions on the truth of Scripture. The problem is that some of my detractors say the same thing. Recently, a friend and former pastor with whom I shared significant agreement on most issues has begun to retreat from some of his previous positions.  Because he is well-educated and very well-versed in the Bible, he has caused me to reexamine some of my positions.

While I think my friend is moving away from biblical truth in some of his realignments, he has given me reasons to reevaluate others of my own firm convictions. The issue that troubles me most is the proper attitude toward illegal immigrants. In the 2024 Presidential election, this issue was number one in the minds of many voters. My stated opinion on the issue has caused some people to call it xenophobic. While I don't hate immigrants, caring for the less fortunate happens to rank near the top of biblical commands for believers. It would seem that there are few things more important to God than how His people treat the poor.

Most illegal immigrants are the poorest among us since they have left all their worldly possessions behind and come here with empty pockets. I have argued in the past that the church is unarguably called to meet the needs of these people. Both corporately and individually, Christians are under obligation to feed the hungry whenever they are capable. There are two things that complicate this issue in our present state of affairs. One is the legal status of the hungry people we face. Alongside the command to feed the hungry is the one to obey and honor those in authority over us. If we harbor and feed lawbreakers, are we honoring the will of our authorities?

Some may argue that it is acceptable to defy the government if they are asking us to violate Scriptural principles. They may say that turning our backs on these needy immigrants on account of their illegal status would violate the command to meet their needs. This brings another biblical principle to light: Paul recommended that the Thessalonians ignore the needs of some people who were refusing to work to feed themselves. He told them if they would not work, they should not eat. The majority of immigrants coming here were not starving at home; they come because they think they will find better circumstances here. If they are starving here, it is by their own choice.

The second complication to a biblical response to illegal immigrants is the impracticality of thinking that I am responsible to feed every hungry person I meet. If I did that, I would soon be among the hungry myself having given away all my sustenance. Unless I have been granted the widow’s bottomless food source, I can’t believe God would have me do that. Yet this is what some would have us do on a national level. As I wrote in “Man the Lifeboats,” unrestricted immigration will eventually the sink American ship, and then no one will be eating. We are also called by Scripture to be good stewards of what God has given us. If we crash our national economy by attempting to feed and house every needy person who comes here, we will have shown ourselves to be unwise stewards.

I believe there is biblical justification for maintaining national borders and thereby limiting immigration. The creation of cultural and the resulting national boundaries began at the tower of Babel. God instituted cultural differences for His own purposes. In the Apostle Paul’s address to the Athenian philosophers, he validated the concept of nation/states by saying that throughout history, God perpetuated their existence. That they would continue to exist is proven by the prophetic announcements that the gospel would be delivered to every nation, tribe, and tongue. While the body of Christ is trans-national, there is no indication in Scripture that the arrival of the gospel would dissolve national identities.

That being true, it is difficult to find biblical justification for the argument that the United States of America is wrong to establish borders and institute criteria for citizenship within those borders. It follows that citizens have rights and privileges that flow from the laws that govern them. Conversely, non-citizens who enter the country illegally have no reason to expect the same treatment. In fact, what they should expect is to be deported as lawbreakers. America is a rich country, but we are not rich enough to support every person who crosses the border and demands care.

I suggested in “A Christian Response to Immigration” that putting this on a personal level makes it easier to accept. If someone burst into my home and demanded that I feed and house him, my first inclination would not be to accede to his demands. Unless he was armed and threatening great bodily harm, I would escort him back out the door. The spirit of charity might lead me to recommend a nearby food bank or homeless shelter, but I don’t believe Christian charity demands that I allow people to steal from me whether they are hungry or not.

Someone might bring up Jesus’ admonition to give the shirt off our back to anyone who asks for our coat. Keep in mind, Jesus was fond of using hyperbole to make a point. (Pluck out your eye or chop off your hand if they cause you to sin.) I believe in this case Jesus’ words must be balanced by Paul’s teaching that charitable giving must be heartfelt and not done out of compulsion. I believe the end of the matter is this: as a nation we have a right and a duty to restrict entrance to the United States and to remove those who violate those restrictions. At the same time, we must pray for wisdom as our local church leaders determine how to address the issue, and individually, we must ask for the Spirit to prompt us when it is His will to give.  I can say that without doubt, but I know it won’t settle the dispute.

Related Posts: Examining Christian Charity; Pilgrim’s Progression; Conspiracy Theory Part II; Loving Biblically; The Importance of Being Right;