Let us go beyond all earthly odds

by Letters Editor · April 26, 2012

From Jean de Dieu Kayinamura, Johannesburg

The modern society we live in is characterised by self-centred attitudes, isolation and protectionism towards outside world and strangers. Among those strangers we overlook and hate, are refugees and asylum seekers.

South African society has been branded with xenophobia towards refugees and asylum seekers of African descent. The saddest part is that we, as Christians, are put in the same pot as the perpetrators of these inhumane acts, and perhaps not unustly as xenophobia happens under our noses in our community.

The victims are �the guys next door� whose shops are looted, whose shacks are burnt to ashes, whom we hate as they agree to work hard for a mediocre salary and so on.

Does the biblical verse �I was a stranger and you took me in…� mean anything to us? If we believe that God created man in his image, then the stranger with shabby clothes, funny language and with a different culture is God�s ambassador in our lives who deserves respect, dignity and love. Otherwise there would be not much to be desired in Christian life.

Welcoming them and offering hospitality should be of paramount interest in Christian communities. Let us remember the simple verse and important commandment from our Lord Jesus Christ in our daily deeds: �Love one another.�

Indeed, one may be financially unable to provide any assistance but to give the refugees and asylum seekers back their dignity, sense of self-worth and hope during their stay in our midst would do wonders in their lives.