Politically Correct

"Speak the truth in love." Ephesians 4:15.

"I started imagining a world in which we replaced the phrase 'politically correct' wherever we could with 'treating other people with respect', and made me smile." Internet by Neil Gaiman.

I can live with that. This is downright 'biblical'. Many of us learned the verse "Do unto others as you would have them do to you" in early childhood.

Not everyone lives by this simple principle. In response to the shooting in a Montreal mosque by a white supremacist and other incidents interpreted as hate crimes our lawmakers in Canada recently passed this motion: “...a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia.” Unfortunately, the government did not define 'Islamophobia'. This has "morphed into a catch-all phrase to silence anyone critical of the religion." Toronto Sun.

People in public offices are working hard to eradicate discrimination and hate crimes. Muslims and those in public offices worry about the multicultural plan started in 1971 could unravel. As sad and unacceptable as discrimination in Western nations is, these stories need to be balanced out with stories from real people who have suffered discrimination and persecution and fled Muslim majority countries.

But passing motions and laws won't change peoples' hearts. Our Syrian Muslim lady friend had 2 experiences in which a passerby yelled/swore at her and shouted "go home". She was shaken but seemed to understand that these people didn't represent Canadian and certainly not Christian values. Thank God, she isn't nurturing a victim mentality.

Muslims carry the burden of the 'honor/shame' paradigm where they are offended if we all don't think highly of Islam as the 'religion of peace'. Radical Muslims continue to tarnish the image of Muslims in the West. So, it is politically correct for Western Muslims to hold rallies and information meetings in the mosques to emphasize that the radicals don't represent their religion. While they deny that these people are Muslims, Muslim scholars say that whoever says the 'Shahada' from the heart is a Muslim. Muslim reformists would like to see Islam go further to become a 'religious movement' rather than a 'political movement'. And they're out to reinterpret brutal passages like Surah 9 in the Qur'an.

We are concerned that Christians may retreat from befriending Muslims and sharing Jesus with them for fear they may offend someone. No Christian wants to be viewed as 'intolerant' or 'narrow minded'. But there are ways to sensitively engage with Muslims and share the Good News without criticizing Islam. As Joy reminded the people at an open house at the mosque, it is time for a conversation with each other(Muslims and Christians). Integration is key to moving forward--to truly becoming a multicultural nation.

Let's continue to 'speak the truth in love.' Someone mentioned that you wrap the Gospel with a meal for a hungry man. Many of us have discovered that we can wrap the Gospel with a good deed in genuine love and care for Muslims--with no strings attached.

Lord Jesus, we thank-you for opportunities to show our care of our Muslim friends and that they have a safe zone with us. Please keep the doors to their lives open. Amen.

It Takes a Village

 "...I was a stranger and you welcomed me." Matthew 25:35

Adbul and Salima and their children lived in a refugee camp on the border of Ethiopia and Sudan. Abdul was on a search for meaning in life and met Jesus. Missionaries working in the camp gave us a heads-up on their acceptance by Immigration Canada and that they were being sent to our city. Living in a refugee camp had taken its toll because of untreated trauma, danger, and boredom. They arrived and were overwhelmed. I recall huddled together in the middle of the floor in their newly assigned apartment. The truck with government-provided furniture was on its way. So I prayed for them--tears of relief flowing down their cheeks mingled with fear and anticipation. After the furniture arrived, we set out to buy bedding and winter clothing. With time a brother took them to a suitable church. Soon they started a new routine.

Western countries are generous in welcoming needy refugees. Among these are widows, the handicapped, and ones with PTSD. Details like meeting them at the airport, providing for immediate needs, helping with life skills, arranging for medical examinations, schools for the kids, ESL schools and permanent housing are cared for. The settlement agency where I volunteer runs an English Conversation group. Twelve settlement topics covered include banking, transportation, housing, etc. There are many success stories of refugees getting established and on their own feet again.  

Believer Amina, a widow from Somalia with six children arrived in our city. Her kids didn't have the chance to go to school in the country they fled to. Once settled here, her oldest teenaged son just couldn't fit into school. The reality of catching up to other kids in his class was too daunting. He dropped out and joined a gang where he had a sense of belonging again and could earn easy money selling drugs. But he got caught and ended up in prisons. A few Christians came to help Amina. Government agencies and schools came alongside this family. My colleague and I started All Nations Sports Club to give the younger boys an opportunity to get off the streets. They were at risk and needed male role models.

In Canada, Churches and groups of 5 individuals have an opportunity to sponsor new spiritual brothers and sisters stuck in hostile countries. If deported back to their Islamic countries, most likely they would face severe persecution and danger. It's a blessing to receive these dear ones into our midst where they find refuge.

Religious and political refugees often are well-educated and were well-to-do. One of our newest contacts likens their experience to a glass shattered. Life was going good until this crises. Nevertheless, they are often highly motivated and adjust quickly.

In each city there are many opportunities for Christians to volunteer at government supported settlement agencies or ESL schools.  Some churches run a 'wardrobe' ministry while others host a food bank in areas where new immigrants settle. Often newcomers are confused and think everyone who is helping them works for the government!! 

This is usually labor intensive but it's worth investing in newcomers. Our efforts may not be noticed till much later. 

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9.

Refugees

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1.

This is a silhouette of the lifeless body of Iraqi toddler Ayan Kurdi found on a Mediterranean Beach in September 2015. Pictures of him sent shock waves around the world and represent a tsunami of unstoppable migrants from Syria and elsewhere. They risk their lives and savings to cross the Sea or walk for hundreds of kilometers to safety. When some countries tried closing their borders, the appeal by the migrants was "treat us as humans".

In the fall of 2015 Canada was in the midst of an election. The party that won the elections promised to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year if elected. It was a bold move that paid off when Canadians' emotions were stirred by virtual images of people seeking refuge in Europe.

Government and settlement agencies with the help of Churches and individual Christians were involved in rescuing desperate 'boat people' in the 70's after the fall of Saigon. Years later many responded again to help resettle refugees from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sudan, and Somalia. Millions of refugees are stuck in Refugee camps for an average of 17 years--usually very difficult places to raise a family. Kurdi's picture accelerated efforts to resettle many new refugees from Syria and hopefully streamlined the process for others. Today we have a new frontier--asylum seekers desperately trying to find a way to cross the border into Canada. They are risking life and limb to do this in frigid temperatures.

Pictures of desparate people have stirred the hearts of God's people. "I'd love for our church to sponsor someone" or "We are so glad our church is sponsoring a refugee family" are popular sentiments heard in church meetings nowadays. I'm grateful that compassion is alive among fellow believers.

Sometimes in meetings where evangelical church groups want more information about culture or religion of Muslim refugees we ask "Why are you sponsoring?" Sometimes we only get blank stares. It is possible that a committee was assigned to work out the logistics and was primarily implementing a decision. We challenge them "go ahead and bring a refugee family in but do what only the church can do". The government will not pray with newcomers or share the Good News that the only permanent refuge we or any refugee has in the world is the Lord.

What are realistic expectations when newcomers arrive? Should we expect that they will start attending church? Certainly not if they are Muslims. Sooner or later they will find their own communities. They will start meeting each others' needs. From our experience, many of the newly arrived refugees are quick to beg churches or Christian agencies to sponsor other family members stuck in hostile environments. Naturally they want to be reunited.

Each sponsoring church will benefit greatly from people in their midst with cross-cultural giftings and experience. Many Christians and churches have jumped on the band wagon because their emotions were stirred but have not had a track record of showing concerns for refugees who have settled around them. If we merely sponsor Muslim refugees and leave them to themselves, we may help the Muslim cause more than the mandate of the church.

Dear Heavenly Father, as my brothers and sisters show your love to newcomers in practical ways, help them to also proclaim you. Amen.