Christianity and Aliens and Foreigners

Recently in the news there has been a lot of discussion about immigration and border control, etc. A lots of jokes have been made and very hurtful things have been said about foreigners living in our land. And the sad thing is a lot of these things are being said by people who claim to be Christians. Recently, we have heard things and have seen things posted on Facebook and been forwarded emails that have said things that are portraying ideas that are in opposition to what the Bible teaches. So it has been on Kasey and my heart to write this post discussing the Christian response to foreigners living among us. This is something that we did not think about much before it was brought to our attention by another sister in Christ. It became very close to Kasey's heart when she worked with students in Fort Worth schools. Several of the children and their families that Kasey worked with were undocumented residents . Once she put faces with the discussion instead of just having the stereotypes that we tend to have, it gave her a whole different outlook.

Here are a few verses to start the discussion:

Exodus 22:21"Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.

Leviticus 19:33" 'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him

Leviticus 19:34The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 23:22" 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.'

Leviticus 25:35" 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.

Deuteronomy 10:18He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 24:19When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Deuteronomy 26:12When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied.

Psalm 146:9The LORD watches over the alien and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

Jeremiah 22:3This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Ezekiel 47:22You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens who have settled among you and who have children. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites; along with you they are to be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

Zechariah 7:10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'

Malachi 3:5"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.

Philippians 3:20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 11 : 13-16
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

A lot of times in the Bible, the foreigner and alien is listed along with the poor and the widows. For most of the time they are in the same category. These are people who have left their land looking for something better, just as it discusses in Hebrews. They did not leave lives of luxury and peace to come live in America. They probably left lives of extreme poverty and severe injustice and mistreatment. They may have come here so that there children might have food or so that they might escape a life of living in a tent or shack. And even in America, most of them live lives that most people would not want to live. They live in the parts of town a lot of people won't go to, in houses that would be considered unliveable by a lot of people.

And according to the Bible, God has a heart for people such as these. Though most of these verses are from the Old Testament, the New Testament is full of verses talking about helping the poor. These are the very people that Jesus and his disciples wanted to help. For we are not any better than immigrants. We just happened to be born in America instead of another country. Why does that give us a right to mistreat those who were not born in this country?

A lot of Christians try to say, "Well they should just try to come into this country legally." As if that is an easy thing to do. I am doing Friendspeak right now with a man from Columbia where I use the Bible to teach him English. He has been trying to get his papers for 6 months now with help from a lawyer and for some reason he has been unable to get them. So he cannot work. He lives with his sister who is a citizen and owns a business here in Orlando. But since the U.S will not give him his papers he may have to move to Canada. Its obvious to me from the news that the U.S is probably not just handing out citizenship very easily.

Another thing Christians say is, "They receive our benefits but do not pay taxes." Actually, they probably pay just as much taxes as they would if they were a citizen. They pay sales tax on everything they buy. Most of them probably rent so there is no property tax. And the majority probably do not make enough money to owe any income taxes anyway.

But these are not the kinds of arguments that Christians should be making, because we are called to be different. What Christians say and do will not make sense to those in this world. For we are called to love and care for people such as these. When we know an immigrant among us, our love and compassion will compel us to reach out to them and invite them in. To share of our wealth and the things that God has made us stewards over. For we know that God loves all people, no matter where they happened to be born. What an amazing blessing to have been born and raised in this country, so that we have more to give and more opportunity to help people who do not have as much. Especially those who do not have food, shelter, or clothing.

If we as Christians do not have an attitude that is different from our nation, then we will not be doing what God has called us to do. For even though it is said to be, America is not a Christian nation. America seems to worship money and security more than God. And besides, our allegiance does not fall under this country anyway, for our citizenship is in heaven and we long for a better country, a heavenly one.