This morning, The Washington Post published an article in which they claim that, in a meeting with lawmakers in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump referred to some countries as "****holes".
This may be the shortest blog I've written ever written, but I wanted to supply a brief response.
1) Some countries are ****holes.
This is objectively true.
Honduras has a homicide rate 15x higher than the US. North Korea is ran by a tyrannical dictatorship that starves tens of thousands of people each year, publicly executes political opponents, and runs concentration camps. Look at what's happening to farmers in South Africa.
Some countries are so terrible, that their citizens would rather die trying to escape than live there a day longer.
It is not racist or hateful to acknowledge this.
2) Jesus loves ****hole countries.
The fact that these countries are terrible does not mean that we are apathetic or spiteful towards the people living there. On the contrary, their dire state is precisely why we take particular care for them.
As Christians, this is why we pray for these people. This is why we send missionaries, and build schools and crisis centers in these places. If they were all hunky dory, there would be no need to.
If you look at Scripture, Jesus always had a particular heart for the broken. His earthly ministry was often focused on them. And while that is not a political position, it should be the primary factor in determining how we, as Christian, see and treat these people.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." -Luke 4:18-19