Compassion Doesn’t Choose Sides

Christianity Today and long-term reader, “that odd day between the devastating sorrow of Good Friday and the exhilarating joy of Easter,” and he had spent much of the day reflecting on the refugees from Kosovo. “Their plight seems much like this day.”

But Gorman was distressed by more than the refugees’ plight: He was distressed by remarks made by the heads of two well-known evangelical relief organizations. And so he should be.

“Early on in the NATO military campaign, one of these leaders appeared on cable TV. He not only spoke of the horrific conditions in Kosovo and the refugees’ experience, but also urged viewers to pray for the success of our military personnel. While I understand the logic behind such a request (‘military success will stop the killing in Kosovo and allow refugees to return home without fear’), it troubles me deeply.

We give as Christians to a Christian ministry, not as Americans to an American organization.

“More troubling still were comments from a different evangelical agency head, when he and colleagues from other religious humanitarian agencies emerged from a White House meeting about their agencies’ role in the Balkans. Acting as an unofficial spokesperson for the group, he informed a national audience that he had told the White House that their agencies represented the American people, and that they supported the U.S. and NATO military action.”

Gorman says he reacted immediately: “‘You do not represent the American people but the Christian church!’ My wife and I have given to this agency for nearly a quarter of a century, and when we do, we give as Christians to a Christian ministry, not as Americans to an American organization. Especially in time of war, that distinction is absolutely crucial.”

Gorman, an evangelical United Methodist and dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at Saint Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, continues: “I appreciate the difficulty that Christian agencies face constantly, but particularly during military action, in having to work closely with governments, including the governments of the nations in which they are based. Still, there is no reason for Christian humanitarian agencies to choose sides.

“Except for one side—the pierced side of Christ, the side of the victims of war and terrorism and evil in all its despicable forms. This is the side we should choose, this is the place to stand, on Holy Saturday and on every other day.

“Before long, I suspect, this will mean standing not only with Muslim Kosovars in countries like Albania, but also with Christian Serbs in places like Belgrade. If we have chosen one side now, how will we, in good conscience, be prepared to choose rightly then?”

We agree. Relief agencies need to be neutral so that they can have the greatest possible access to those in need—no matter what side of the border victims are on. Most relief agencies realize that when they become partisan, doors shut to those needing help. Christian relief agencies have a special calling to avoid any adversarial stance and to be repairers of the breach—and thus to model Christ’s countercultural way for all believers.