Christians are not "with ICE"

You cannot say “I’m with ICE“ and continue to be a Christian at the same time. This is very clear in Jesus’ teachings. Regardless what you believe happened in the recent shootings, this statement is not tenable as a Christian and for more important reasons.

There seems to be some major confusion for many professing Christians in America. I see many people professing to be Christian and publicly supporting ICE as it forcibly removes our neighbors from this country. How you vote in private is one thing, and I understand that can be a hard choice. What you say, whom you stand with, whom you support, and where your heart lies are entirely different matters—these are the things that make a follower of Christ. And what they mean is laid out very explicitly in the foundational texts.

Jesus does seem to indicate that his followers can pay their taxes and give the government what it requires of them, at least to some degree. (Although when looked at next to his other statements like the ones below, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” probably doesn’t leave much for Caesar.) However, there are zero confusing statements about who his followers should publicly support with their hearts, their minds, and their souls. Allegiance was extremely important to Jesus. If your allegiance is to a cause that is antagonistic to the core principles of Jesus’ commandments, you are no longer following Christ. Importantly, though baptism also served other purposes, it was a public act of allegiance to a particular Kingdom and way of life, indicating very clearly that what was said and done in public was critical to his cause.

And if you are not quite clear on Jesus’ teachings, please allow me to lay out the overall theme, with concrete references, as clearly as I can.

Jesus did not mince words about allegiance. This teaching below is specifically talking about money—note: the economy is about money. (Xenophobia and racism are spoken against explicitly in the story of ”The Good Samaritan”.)

[Luke 16:13] - “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

When people asked him what it meant to serve him, this is what he said:

[Matthew 22] - 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

[Matthew 7:12] - “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus says a lot about forgiveness and allegiance, but he is also very explicit about action.

[Matthew 7:21] - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

And again, what is the will of the Father? John makes it even more clear what it looks like to ‘love God.’

[1 John 4:20] - “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

And if for some reason you got the idea that Jesus was just talking about people of your same cultural group or belief system, he explicitly laid that out as well.

[Luke 6:32-35] - 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

[Luke 6:27–28] - “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

And if you still do not believe it, read the story in Matthew 25:31-46 about sheep and goats. Jesus could not have been more explicit about what it means to follow him. Here is a snippet:

[Matthew 25] - 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

”I was a stranger and you did not invite me in” is about as clear as it gets.

At this point in American history, one could nearly say that standing between ICE and your neighbors is a requirement of the Christian faith. Saying the opposite is not acceptable.

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.