Kerby Anderson

The refugees spilling into Europe illustrate the magnitude of this humanitarian crisis. Some estimate that more than half of the population of Syria has fled the country. Some have settled in nearby Lebanon and Jordan. Hundreds of thousands are trying to make their way to Germany or other European countries.

How should the world respond? The Bible admonishes us to treat aliens and foreigners with compassion. Deuteronomy 10 instructed the nation of Israel to “show love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.” Leviticus 19 tells them to treat the foreigner as a native-born citizen. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches that we should do to others what we would want them to do to us (Matthew 7:12).

On the other hand, we need to inject some common sense in the international response to this crisis. For example, when Europe asks for us to take refugees, perhaps our response should be: “You first.” The United States has taken in more refugees than any country in the world. Europe never had offered to take refugees from Central America streaming into our country. We are trying to deal with millions who have come to this country illegally.

We might also encourage Europe to reconsider their laws that make the problem of refugees worse. The Schengen agreement is one of the foundational principles of the European Union. It allows people to travel across national boundaries without passports. The refugees have found a weak link, that is a country with a porous border, and have used that to spill into the rest of Europe.

A final concern is ISIS. I have had experts on my radio program document that ISIS has infiltrated these refugee groups and are using the crisis to move ISIS operatives into Europe.

How should we respond to this crisis: with compassion, but also with some common sense.