Oppressing Strangers

 It seems that is human nature to be afraid of things that are strange to us. This fear extends to other people who are different from us, too. Because of this fear of the unknown, people have felt justified in oppressing strangers to keep them away from them. We need to realize the sinfulness of this practice.

God made it very clear to the Israelites at Sinai. (Exodus 22:21) He commanded them not to oppress strangers or torment them, for they had been strangers in the land of Egypt. In other words, we are strangers to someone in our world, and we don't want them to oppress us, so we must not mistreat them either.

People are people. We are all made in the image of God. That makes all of us valuable to God, and it should make us valuable to each other. The differences should not be anything to drive us apart. In fact, the opposite is true. We should be attracted by people who are different from us, so we can learn from them.

Yes, I know some strangers are dangerous people, who might be out to harm us. In that case, we can protect ourselves and our families, but there is still no reason to oppress or torment anyone. Instead, we are to love strangers and be accepting of them, unless we find out that they want to do us harm. Love is the best way to win over people and disarm them. It is much more effective than oppression or torment.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 23-25.