What’s going on in Springfield, Ohio?
Recently, the small town of Springfield, Ohio has made national headlines. Depending on the news source, the stories about this town will differ dramatically. Today, however, I want to move beyond the talking points and examine the situation for what it truly is. I’m attempting to offer a different perspective, one not rooted in political talking points, but in the Word of God. That which is Truth.
Why is Springfield, Ohio in the News?
During the recent presidential debate, President Trump claimed that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are eating cats and dogs and that gangs have overrun apartment complexes in Aurora, Colorado. The statement was aimed at critiquing the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policies, but it quickly caused an uproar online and debate between people ensued. As we covered here, the Aurora, Colorado claim was completely true, but the comment on Springfield, Ohio has no evidence of being true.
As ridiculous as President Trump’s statement was, it has undoubtedly brought national attention to a small town of 70,000 Ohioans. A town that has been begging to be heard by their nation and helped by their government.
Response to the Statement:
Many have argued that the intent behind President Trump’s statement was to slander the Haitian refugees living in Springfield. And many have strongly criticized these foolish remarks made by President Trump, and rightfully so. Its evil to slander any people and its evil to falsely represent a situation. The Haitian migrants and refugees in this town are not evil and we in no way should paint them as such.
But with this, we need to proceed with caution. Many have, in their rightful critique of President Trump’s statement, crossed a boundary we shouldn’t cross. The boundary is the judgement of intent. Proverbs 21:2 says, “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.” You and I aren’t able or called to judge intent as we are not the Righteous Judge of anything, only God is. We are to speak up, and I encourage that, but when we become the judges of intent we are stepping into a space only reserved for that person and God.
This event is applicable to more than just politics, it can be applied to all areas of our life. We are to call forth righteousness when we see there to be none in their actions and we can praise righteousness when we see righteousness done in their actions, but we are not to be the judges of intent. The actions of a person reflect who they are and what they value (James 2:18).
Ultimately, we don’t know the intentions behind the comments made by President Trump, but what we do know is that what was said was a lie and we are to combat lies with what is true (Ephesians 4:25). We are never to be messengers of lies and what has been amplified in this situation is a blatant lie (Proverbs 12:22). Foolish talk does not bring honor to the Lord and what President Trump said was certainly foolish and not honoring (Ephesians 5:4). So, in our calling out of what is known to be wrong, we must keep our hearts pure by not becoming judges of intention. Call out the evil and combat the lie with truth.
Facing the Facts:
Now moving past what was said, let’s look at this situation. Both sides have been very wrong on this issue. On the right you’ve had conservatives spreading the lie that pets are being eaten by Haitian migrants, which has led to people slandering the Haitian refugees. And on the left you have liberals that are completely dismissing the real struggles and hardships that are affecting this community and the residents of Springfield, Ohio.
The Haitian migrants are legally there and were placed there by the federal government after a crisis in Haiti. In the governments rescuing of 20,000 Haitians out of a crisis, they subsequently created another crisis in a small town of only 60,000-70,000 people. And if you don’t think that adding 20,000 people to this population is significant, in 1 day their population size grew by 33%. That doesn’t happen over the course of the decade, let alone one day.
“The real story of Springfield, Ohio’s refugee crisis is not about cats and dogs. It is the story of a town…once again being forced to clean up a mess perpetuated by the federal government.”
This has placed tremendous burden on the socioeconomic status of the city and once the Haitians were placed there the federal government turned their backs on the citizens of the town offering no help or assistance with this new influx of refugees. So understandably, much of the frustration you will hear from the citizens is because they have been abandoned by their government after their government created this strain. It’s not that the Haitian people are to blame, they sought refuge in the best place on earth. It’s not that the Haitian people are evil, it’s that our government refuses to help the people of Springfield, Ohio navigate this process that the government themselves imposed on the people.
What have Christians said?
Similarly to what I said earlier about how the right and left have reacted, it is the same for Christians. How Christians have reacted unfortunately depends on how they politically identify, which is inextricably wrong and that can’t be expressed enough. Just because you stand against one evil does not mean you are standing for the truth. Just because you stand against the lies that have been perpetrated against the Haitian refugees doesn’t mean you are standing for the whole truth. Just because you stand against the struggles of the citizens doesn’t mean you are standing for the whole truth. You only stand for truth in part and evil in part. Righteousness sees nothing but the whole truth and true righteousness sees beyond ideology.
Our Response:
So, like I mentioned, the Christian response has been equally split and equally wrong. Our response should be to stand against the lies that are being perpetrated against the Haitian people and to be there to uplift them. Our response should be to stand with the people of Springfield, Ohio, help their voices be heard, and lend our helping hand. This community is in turmoil, and it is our job to step up and intercede for this town. They need our prayer not our divisiveness over political lines and partisan talking points. They need to see the fruit of our actions not the thorns of our words.
This is my call to the Church: stand up for this community. Pray for unity in this community. Pray for understanding between the citizens and refugees. Pray for revival to ignite in this melting pot of a community. It’s often in the turmoil where God has the most room to intervene, but the church must do its part. It’s up to the Church to rise up and meet this cultural moment.
Resources:
https://slowtowrite.com/an-immigrant-in-ohios-thoughts-on-springfield/
https://www.newsweek.com/springfield-migrants-are-taking-toll-citys-most-vulnerable-opinion-1953385