There’s a riveting scene in the movie Gettysburg, the epic 1993 Civil War film, that features an exasperated General John Buford, played by the gravelly voiced Sam Elliot.
Standing in an open Pennsylvania field the day before a big battle in 1863, Buford runs his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair and laments to an aide:
“Devin, I’ve led a soldier’s life,” he begins, staring off into the distance. “I’ve never seen anything as brutally clear as this … It’s as if it were already done. Already a memory. As if tomorrow has already happened, and you can’t do anything about it.”
This haunting reflection comes to mind as we await and anticipate the looming controversies attached to any number of consequential policies of the incoming Trump administration. The protests are coming – and some of the lies have already begun.
Promising change and the end of the status quo, the new president is sure to elicit strong reaction from both his friends and foes – and perhaps none more so than his pledge to enforce America’s borders.
To be sure, there’s been robust debate over the years on how to manage the influx of those who break the law to get into our country. Members of both parties have struggled to get a handle on the increasingly complex and compounding problem of illegal immigration.
The presidential campaign highlighted the heartbreaking murders of several Americans killed by those here illegally. There was Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University student. She was slain while jogging. Jocelyn Nungary, age 12, was murdered by Venezuelan gang members. There have been others.
Don’t expect to see those protesting the enforcement of America’s immigration laws highlighting these innocent victims. Instead, brace yourself for the weaponization of empathy – a reckless, irresponsible and misleading framing of the issue.
Case in point – a meme that’s circulating in social media that attempts to even co-opt Christmas to garner sympathy and compassion for those who broke the law.
“If you’re celebrating mass deportation of distraught, exhausted human beings seeking refuge, you probably shouldn’t be sweetly singing Christmas songs about a baby with ‘no crib for a bed,’” reads the message making its way around.
There is so much wrong with the statement that it’s difficult to know where to begin.
First, the suggestion that Christians are “celebrating” the deportations of refugees is an outright false premise. There is no celebration. There is concern – and a sober-minded vigilance.
Second, according to the UNHCR, “A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee conflict or persecution and has crossed an international border to seek safety. They cannot return to their country without risking their life or freedoms.”
While there are instances of this happening, the vast majority of those crossing illegally into America aren’t being forced to flee. Many want to leave their country for all the same reasons our ancestors did the same. Tragically, others are here for evil purposes or simply to collect welfare.
Third, it’s bad and sloppy theology to imply Jesus was a refugee as a baby in Bethlehem. He wasn’t. Mary and Joseph were following the law when they went to Bethlehem to register for the Census (Luke 2:1). When an angel appeared in a dream and instructed Joseph to escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), they would have better fit the description of being a refugee, but they were still living within the Roman Empire when they fled.
Here is a great irony: Those who are attempting to guilt Christians into supporting illegal immigration and opposing the deportation of those who broke the law are doing so under the guise of empathy when, in fact, it’s dangerous and destructive to not enforce existing laws.
In fact, many believers are eager to see our borders protected and criminals brought to justice because of their love and compassion for others. It’s actually cruel to support policies that hurt and even sometimes kill innocent people. There is nothing compassionate about open borders and lax enforcement.
Scripture makes clear we’re to “love the stranger” (Deuteronomy 10:19), but the apostle Paul also makes clear we’re to “be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1).
Like General Buford, we can see what’s coming from those who will protest the enforcement of America’s immigration laws. Brace yourself for the arguments and accusations. Be gracious and merciful, but just don’t allow them to browbeat you with sloppy theological arguments and empty empathy that manipulates and misleads.
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