Defending the Borders

There is a lot of talk in politics these days about securing our national borders.  And the debate really isn't about whether or not it is necessary, but how it is best done.  There is the plan to build a wall being advocated by one political party or the increase in patrols, screening and monitoring advocated by others, but there is no one arguing that the border is too secure or even that the security is adequate.

This priority on border security isn't just an American attitude either.  Polls say that in the recent vote for Great Britain's exit from the European Union, one of the leading issues was control of their borders.  One of the requirements of EU membership was the free movement of people across borders within the Union, and the Brits wanted none of it.  There is no word yet as to whether they will want to build a wall around the island.

One infamous attempt to control a boarder involved the division of Germany during the cold war.  At the end of World War II there was a division of both Germany as a country and the city of Berlin by the allied powers.  Although each was technically divided into four parts, in practice it was divided into two,  There was the art controlled by the communist Soviet Union and the other three parts controlled by the democratic countries of the US, Britain and France.  The result was that the city of West Berlin became an island of democracy in a communist country.  

People from East Germany tried to get to the freedom of West Berlin in any way that they could, so in 1961 they built a wall around it.  The Berlin was was 12 feet tall and almost 100 miles in length and closed off West Berlin from the country around it.  More than that, the wall became a symbol of barring people from the freedom offered in the west.

The thing about walls is that they are ever only so effective.  Between 1961 and 1989 over 5000 people figured out a way to cross.  Some dug tunnels.  Some made balloons.  Some drove through in cars.  Some jumped from apartment windows, Some flew ultralight aircraft.  Some were the guards themselves who left their posts and went to the west.  People find a way.

So what is an appropriate attitude for a Christian regarding the boarder security.  We all want safety, and I think that fear of those who would do us harm is the main motivating factor behind the keep those people out mentality.  But no matter what out motivation, the effect of a border is the message that this is OURS and NO ONE ELSES.  It says that we reserve these things for us, and we won't share.  And I'm not at all sure that this is an attitude that Christ would support if he were here.

As Christians we are called to make disciples of all nations.  We are called to love our neighbors, whether that neighbor looks like us or speaks out language.  I don't really see how saying, "This is ours and we won't share." helps us along that path.  

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

As Christians we are called to make disciples of all nations.  We are called to show God's love and to the best of our ability we should show that love unconditionally.  Building a wall and hiding behind it doesn't achieve that goal.