Chapter 4: Government, Borders, and National Sovereignty (2 of 2)

Step 4: Use misplaced compassion to enable evil. Open borders don't just let in refugees. They let in human traffickers (sex trafficking is a $150 billion industry — open borders fuel it), drug cartels (fentanyl floods across the southern US border, killing over 100,000 Americans annually), criminals, and potential terrorists. "Compassion" that ignores these realities isn't compassionate. It's reckless. And it gets people killed.

Examples of Misplaced Compassion Enabling Evil

Chamberlain and Hitler. In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler and gave him Czechoslovakia, believing appeasement would prevent war. Hitler wasn't satisfied. He invaded Poland. World War II killed 70 million people. The lesson: appeasing evil doesn't stop it. It emboldens it. Compassion without wisdom is complicity.

Russia and Ukraine. After Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea, Western nations responded with weak sanctions. "We don't want to escalate. We need dialogue." In 2022, Russia invaded the rest of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands dead. The lesson: failing to punish aggression invites more aggression.

The Iran Deal. The 2015 Obama administration gave Iran $150 billion (including $1.7 billion in cash flown to Tehran on pallets). Stated goal: prevent nukes, promote peace. Result: Iran funded Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, Assad, terror across the Middle East, and their nuclear program. The lesson: funding evil regimes doesn't make them peaceful. It makes them more dangerous.

Open Borders and Fentanyl Deaths. Fentanyl floods the US southern border from cartels manufacturing it in Mexico using precursors from China. In 2022, over 110,000 Americans died from drug overdoses — mostly fentanyl. "Compassion" that refuses to enforce borders isn't compassionate. It's deadly.

Your Response: Biblical Wisdom, Not Secular Sentimentality

1. Recognize: compassion without wisdom is foolishness. "The naive person believes everything, but the shrewd person discerns his steps" (Proverbs 14:15). True compassion helps the genuinely needy, protects the vulnerable from predators, considers consequences, and requires wisdom. False compassion feels good but does harm, prioritizes sentiment over truth, and ignores consequences.

2. Support border security — it's not hateful. A nation without borders isn't a nation. Support border enforcement (walls, agents, technology), deportation of illegal entrants, vetting of refugees (ensure they're actually refugees, not economic migrants or criminals), and legal immigration pathways.

3. Distinguish between refugees and economic migrants. A refugee is someone fleeing persecution (war, genocide, religious persecution) — protected under international law, deserving asylum. An economic migrant is someone seeking better opportunities — understandable, but not grounds for asylum. Be compassionate, but be honest.

4. Support policies that actually help. Instead of open borders (which help cartels, traffickers, and economic migrants), support aid to countries of origin, legal immigration pathways for those who qualify, enforcement against traffickers and cartels, and refugee resettlement for genuine, vetted refugees.

5. Personally welcome legally present immigrants. Befriend immigrants in your community. Help them learn English. Share the gospel. Support genuine refugee resettlement. This is biblical hospitality (Leviticus 19:33–34). But supporting individuals is not the same as supporting open borders.

Action Steps: What You Can Do This Week

1. Educate yourself on immigration policy — understand the difference between refugees and economic migrants, how vetting works, the scale of illegal immigration, and the consequences (trafficking, drug smuggling). Don't rely on headlines. Dig deeper.
2. Support border security advocacy — vote for candidates who will secure the border, enforce immigration law, and oppose sanctuary cities. Write to representatives.
3. Personally help a legal immigrant in your community — befriend them, help them learn English, share the gospel.
4. Pray for leaders — for wisdom (not sentimentality), courage to enforce laws despite criticism, protection of citizens, and just treatment of genuine refugees.
5. Speak truth to misplaced compassion — when someone says "Jesus welcomed strangers, so we should have open borders," respond: "Jesus welcomed individuals. He didn't command nations to erase borders. I can personally welcome strangers and support border security. Both are biblical."

The Hope: God Is Sovereign Over Nations

God raises up nations and tears them down (Daniel 2:21). He's sovereign over who rules, which nations rise, which fall. Your job: advocate for just policies, vote biblically, pray for leaders, and personally welcome the stranger. God's job: control outcomes, steer history, accomplish His purposes through nations. Trust Him — even when borders are chaos, governments fail, and the world seems insane. God is still on the throne.