This is a delicate spiritual issue I have addressed in the past using the Biblical New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan as an example:
Indeed, the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments instructs Christians to treat foreigners with love, compassion and justice, mirroring how the Israelites were once treated in Egypt.
In the Old Testament Book of Leviticus chapter 19 and verses 33 and 34, we read:
Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. - New Living Translation.
Again, from the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 10 and verses 18 and 19, we read:
He ensures the orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So, you too, must show love to foreigners for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. - New Living Translation.
Indeed, Biblical scholars can point out that there are some two dozen texts which emphasise to Christians how they should treat foreigners, and many churches in Northern Ireland have been adopting these verses as their agenda towards legal asylum seekers and the overall migrant community.
But this does not mean that the Christian Churches should turn a blind eye to the cost of living crisis on their own front door steps. With the pressures on the NHS, and the cost of fuel and food, the austerity crisis can no longer be simply dismissed as a lower working class dilemma. It is hitting all sections of society.
How many people, who before the Covid pandemic of 2020 would have considered themselves to be middle class, are now an integral part in the cost of living crisis, having to visit clothing and food banks previously seen as the domain of the lower classes?
How many among the elderly in society, in spite of giving a lifetime of service to their country, have to make cost-cutting decisions as to whether they heat their homes or enjoy a warm meal - the so-called ‘heat or eat’ dilemma?
Is a silent majority of folk having to swallow hard when they see some asylum seekers and migrants walking around their community with back packs filled with clothes, sporting new trainers and state of the art mobile phones, living in top hotels with a guaranteed three good meals per day?
The people helping the asylum seekers and migrants would point out that they came to the UK and Southern Ireland with nothing and perhaps all that is in the back pack constitutes their entire life’s possessions.
However, in spite of all the help which organisations, and especially Christian Churches, have been providing for asylum seekers and immigrants, there is still an underlying growing perception that foreigners are being given preferential treatment when it comes to housing, education and health care over locals who have lived in their communities for generations.
While the Christian Churches can quote the various passages from Scripture which tell Christians to treat foreigners with love, compassion and respect, some folk have also been quoting other verses from the Bible which essentially tell people to start looking after their own kind properly.
While the passage from Leviticus is often quoted in relation to the treatment of foreigners, folk who want to see supposed equal treatment for locals often quote from the same chapter, but verse 32:
Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord. - New Living Translation.
This has been interpreted by some Christians as a war cry for the Churches to focus primarily on the needs of the existing congregations and fellowships who have been a cornerstone of their communities for decades.
An accusation which has constantly been levelled at some places of worship is that they see themselves as a ‘cut above’ the people in the community, more concerned with their social image and more interested in creating a self-contained ‘holy huddles’ than leaving the pews to address the pressing needs and challenges of the local communities they are supposed to serve.
In this respect, some places of worship could find themselves walking a very delicate tight rope - wanting to fulfil their Christian duty towards asylum seekers coming into their community locality, but at the same time addressing the needs of local families suffering under the strains of the cost of living crisis.
The local family who can no longer afford to rent a home and has to either sleep rough, or sofa-sleep with relatives could be forgiven for getting angry when they see asylum seekers being put up in quality hotels. Why can’t these same hotels cater for the home-grown homeless?
Why can’t the places of worship open up their vast number of buildings as temporary accommodation for the homeless? At the moment, with the various summer heatwaves, helping those who are forced into sleeping rough may not seem too big a challenge for the Churches.
However, what happens if the summer heatwaves are followed weather-wise by very severe winter storms when sleeping rough becomes a challenge of mere survival?
By all means, Christian places of worship should comply with their Biblical duties in looking after legitimate asylum seekers and migrants who are forced to come into our communities because of the tyranny they have faced back home in their native lands.
But these churches cannot shirk their Christian responsibilities in looking after their own local flocks.
In this respect, the Churches need to be careful that in looking after legal migrants, they do not inadvertently fuel the very racism they are seeking to combat by giving the false impression that asylum seekers are some kind of ‘privileged elite’ - especially if there is a snap Westminster General Election and the opinion polls are accurate and Reform UK becomes a leading party of Government.
In the delicate balancing act of providing for both the needs of their local flocks and legitimate asylum seekers, this social tight rope seems to be getting higher and higher. The question then becomes, who will rescue these places of worship if they fall off that tight rope?
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter John is a Director for Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. |
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