Loving your Neighbor

"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "who is my neighbor?" Luke 10:29

I am going to attempt to put in words my thoughts about a current event. I do not want this to sound political, because it is not meant to be. America faces an influx of young children, sent by their families from Latin American countries to the United States of America, looking for a better life. We cannot comprehend this act. Who would send their children on such a dangerous journey. I won't send mine to Ames without a cell phone ( and they are 17 and older.) I can partially answer that. I have been to Haiti which I am sure is much like these countries where these children come from. I  have seen the poorest families and how they love their children just like us.Before I went to Haiti a friend of mine said," I don't understand these people, I would do anything to get my children out of such poverty." I was angry when she said it, I felt she was blaming these people for the situation they were in. I went there and I learned that though they suffer greatly, it is all they have ever known. They were not starving, it is amazing how little you can survive on. One thing they lacked the most was a job. A hope for a way to provide for their family. A place to go with a purpose every day.

 Now imagine you live in these conditions and an advertisement says, America will accept your children and give them a better life. They see the television shows, they have the internet. They know that the world is made up of the haves and the have nots and America ( no matter where you live here)  is the haves. I was reminded of the movies I have seen of England in the Middle Ages. The property owners treated the serfs terribly. They were wealthy, they deserved what they had and if the peasants got out of line - they paid, and paid dearly. Well, pretty soon, the peasants figured this out. 

How can a society avoid this? What is the Biblical reaction to these kinds of discrepancies? We have been greatly blessed in America. I think how the mindset in my corner of America has changed. In the 1800's farming was community based. Farmers owned small plots of land. They farmed their small land, they fed their family, educated their children, passed the land on so the next generation could continue on. This continued until the late 1970's. What does farm country look like now? Landowners rent to large farmers who pay large rents, they buy huge equipment in order to farm more and more land. Many families had to leave the farm and move to cities because the landowners (who paid alot for the land) needed large cash rents to justify their purchase. Most large farmers and landowners are now millionaires. Most of their children do not farm. I believe this is how much of America looks. Small business owners or blue collar workers, worked to feed their families, educate their children, live a good life. That was the past.
 

Somewhere, the American dream went from own my own home to own a bigger home, a bigger boat, let my kids pay for their own education, etc.The American standard of living greatly increased. The countries around us could see this. Is America a generous country? Of course, we have sent tons of money overseas to other countries. We are the greatest givers of foreign aid. But to the poorest of the poor, it has made little difference. Less than 1% of the Federal Budget is spent on foreign aid. I state this statistic not to say the government should spend more. Just because I think we tell ourselves we do enough because our government is so generous.I feel the government is a terrible way to distribute foreign aid. US Citizens have made a huge difference in the world, but could we do more. 

Jesus answered this man's question with the story of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan helped his cultural enemy, put his own life in danger, and paid the bill.  He invested his time, effort and put his life at risk for a man he did not know. But he did also invest his money (not the government or his neighbor's money). Is this the example we are to follow? 

What does that look like for the thousands of children at the border? Does that mean we care for them while they are here and send them back to their families? Then what can we do to help these countries? The job is daunting and we will not end poverty - Jesus promises that. I do believe it may take a wake up call to our own lifestyles. As Christians, we can no longer just shut our eyes to the rest of the world. They are coming to us. "They" are our neighbors. 

I am sure you are saying," you haven't solved any of these problems." No, I haven't. I am just searching for the way to look at the problem, not from the right or the left but with an open heart.  God will have to lead from there.