I think that some actions are not matters of opinion or open to debate, they’re simply morally wrong. Cruelty is one of them.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to a standard that reflects love, compassion, and justice. And when I scour through Jesus’ teachings and actions, I see no instance where cruelty, as the Oxford Dictionary defines it— “callous indifference to or pleasure in causing pain and suffering”—is ever condoned. In fact, as far as I can tell, cruelty stands in direct opposition to the entirety of Jesus’ life and teachings… so much so that God rejects Jesus’ cruel death on Easter morning.
One of our mission partners, World Relief, shared news with us and it was reported by CNN regarding the abrupt halting of services and funding for refugees in the United States. To me this is a stark example of cruelty. Refugees, many of whom risked their lives to support U.S. efforts abroad or fled unimaginable suffering, and who were granted legal entrance to the US now find themselves abandoned without the sustenance resources they were promised. For many, this means losing access to housing, case management, and basic services—forcing them into homelessness and uncertainty. Stopping entrance of refugees is one thing; betraying your promises and endangering lives is cruel and wrong.
This is not just a political issue; it is a moral one. As Christians, we cannot turn a blind eye to such callous and imposed suffering. Our faith compels us to act. Bishop Dan wrote this week to remind us that the Bible calls us, more than 35 times, to love the stranger. Leviticus 19:34 says, “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Similarly, Jesus himself identifies with the marginalized, saying in Matthew 25:35-40, “I was a stranger, and you invited me in… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
It’s not just a refugee crisis, as Fox reports the now stalled threat of the pauses in federal grants and loans threatens small-businesses, grants that support community mental health, funds to schools that have lower-income and homeless children in them, shelters like Hesed House and utility assistance to low-income seniors, support for veterans. To review, audit and phase out programs that no longer have efficacy seems prudent. To back out of promises that will mean bounced paychecks, joblessness, and the revocation of essential services that keep people warm, safe and healthy is a betrayal of those promises and an act of cruelty.
In response to these crises, our church is stepping up to do the right thing. Starting with our mission partner, World Relief, whose Chicagoland chapter has 119 families under their responsibility. UMCG will fully fund the resettlement of as many families as we can for their first 90 days in the United States. This includes providing housing, case management, and other essential services to help them achieve self-sufficiency at the cost of $4500 per family. This government program previously cost each taxpayer about $12.56 per year.
Why? Because it’s the moral thing to do. Our faith leaves no room for cruelty, but it demands action. As James 2:15-17 reminds us, “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Let us come together as a nation to fix our issues—not through cruelty or indifference but through compassion and commitment. Let us uphold the values of justice and mercy that define who we are as followers of Christ. The road ahead may not be easy, but it is the right one. And when we walk it together, we embody the love of Jesus in a world that desperately needs it.
Let us not give up striving to be a church that reflects mercy and compassion in all we do—standing with the vulnerable, speaking out against injustice, and living out the radical love of Jesus Christ as we illuminate our communities with God’s grace.
