Be Not Afraid

"Be not afraid." "Love your enemy." "you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt"

I've seen all this and more, blasting the governors who are refusing Syrian refugees, and I'd like to pause in the well-intentioned vitriol (and it is well-intentioned) to remember that our civic leaders have a difficult job, with the well-being not only of themselves, but of thousands or millions as their concern.

While I am for taking in refugees, and my initial response to the governors was less than empathetic, I am not going to blast them for trying to keep their people safe. I will say I disagree, but it is not my decision to make. I don't have to wear that crown, and I don't have that responsibility on my shoulders.

Let's look at a couple other bits of scripture:

"Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone." - Titus 3:1-2

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."

Accepting the rules of the authorities does not apply in all cases. Easy, sentence-long answers rarely do. We'd do well to remember, however, that there aren't easy answers to these problems.

Our authorities will make good decisions and poor decisions. We will be outraged by some of their decisions. We will do well, as we voice our opposition to their decisions, to do so with the spirit of humility and compassion.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe he tells me to risk my life for the sake of others. I don't hear him telling me, however, to risk other people's lives, forcing them to live how I believe he wants me to live. When governmental decisions go against my desire to risk for the sake of God's kingdom, I must ask myself, "am I forcing God's kingdom on others?" That is something I don't believe Jesus wants his followers to do.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)