The Foreigner. The Orphan. The Widow.
5But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; 6only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. 7Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave your ancestors to keep forever.” (Jeremiah 7:5-7)
The Bible Study I host in my neighborhood took a good look at the Book of Jeremiah last night. The group has dwindled down to just three of us and my two neighbors are solid supporters of our current president. Several times in Jeremiah’s prophecy, God speaks to Jeremiah and one of the main sins the people of Judah and Israel have committed are their treatment of foreigners, orphans, and widows. So, I asked my neighbors: Is America, as a Christian Nation, following Jesus’ calling of taking care of the foreigner, orphan, and widow? Their response was what I expected: a tip-toeing around the truth, which is, simply, we are definitely not treating the foreigner with the compassion and mercy of Christ. We all agreed that the United States does have programs in place to help those who come to this country legally, but as we have seen in the last nine days, we no longer have a tolerance for those that come here illegally. Despite what the current administration is attempting to present, they are not shipping dangerous illegals back to their country on your hard-earned tax dollars. I read an article from the AP that interviewed a woman who was picked up by Border Patrol, and three days later, sent back to her home country with the warning: you get caught again and you could face “five years” in prison. But the real question for any Christian is this: what if God and Jesus are referring to EVERY foreigner? As so many good, decent leaders in the Christian faith constantly point out: we were all once foreigners in this land. Too bad the Native Americans did not just pack up all the Europeans when they illegally landed on their soil and ship them back to Europe.
Last night a terrible tragedy unfolded in the skies of our capitol. A US Army Blackhawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines jetliner. The two aircraft erupted into a huge ball of fire and plummeted into the Potomac River. There were no survivors. The circumstances behind the crash are highly unusual. If you have not seen the video from the Air Traffic Control tower, the American Airliner is approaching the Reagan National Airport with a huge, bright light shining through the sky. As it is approaching, you can see the blinking lights of the smaller Blackhawk helicopter cutting across the sky directly into the jets path. The Blackhawk is being reported as flying about 100 feet above its recommended altitude and was given specific instructions to pass behind the Airliner, yet it continued its path right into harm’s way, killing all three soldiers, as well as all 64 aboard the Bombardier jet. This is a horrible tragedy, which was instantly turned into a cringe-worthy, despicable response by our current president, who blamed the diversity programs within the Federal Aviation Administration, stating the FAA hires those “who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative.” He added that the program allowed for the hiring of people with hearing and vision issues as well as paralysis, epilepsy and “dwarfism.” Suggesting that by hiring people with such special needs, that this caused the crash. I wish I was making this up.
Yesterday, Mrs. Z and I took down the American flag that had been flying from our front porch for the last year or so. It had become tattered and shredded in the weather. In its place, I had ordered a Christian flag, which we proudly raised. In no time in my adult life have I been so ashamed to be part of this country. How anyone can support a man who has spent his whole life taking advantage of others, constantly lies to the people he is supposed to represent, and then spouts off horrific statements like the ones he made to today, is beyond me. So, I ask you dear reader, if Jesus demands that we look after the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, how are YOU doing in those aspects of your life?
Want to do better? Then click here.
Common Sense Reborn 