Bob Smietana (Julie Roys) outlines how the current administration is demonizing faith-based partners, with friends of the current administration calling grants accepted by Christian organizations “money-laundering.”

Is Taking Government Money a Sin for Churches and Ministries?

In another part of the world, an African leader welcomes the challenge of USAID being taken away. Kenyan Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit states that “Disruption is always an opportunity to grow” though the Archbishop questions why Trump did not give anyone time to transition, noting that the most vulnerable will have to suffer the most.

Kenyan Anglican Leader Says USAID Shutdown An Opportunity

Many Christians appear to be outraged at the rug being pulled suddenly from underneath so many countries and missionary organizations, as well as humanitarian efforts, with Christians appealing  to the overwhelming amount of Bible passages in which God’s people are called to be just, fair, full of equity (for texts see Old and New Testament). 

 Politically-conservative Christians are calling this “woke,” claiming that leftists are only quoting parts of Scripture. There has even been a phenomenon of Christians speaking of “the sin of empathy.” Esau McCaulley took to Twitter/X to caution that

 “A consistent theme running through the Scriptures is that God judges empires—Egypt (Ex 3:14–20), Babylon (Dan 4:27), and Rome (Rev 18:11–13)—in part on how they treat the most vulnerable.  God’s opinion has not changed. Be careful how you discuss God, his word, and his character.

Some are pointing out that USAID does in fact serve America’s best interest. Meaning, if those in various countries are getting more diseases, naturally Americans will get them too. USAID was not only an aid for other countries but was a benefit for us.

In this vein, Nicholas Kristof writes how “A doctor on the scene told me that with U.S.A.I.D. absent, there is a greater risk that Ebola will spread — and maybe even infect Americans. It’s a reminder that a robust U.S.A.I.D. is a first defense against epidemics and pandemics, whether involving bird flu, Ebola or other diseases.”

Craig Greenfield took to Facebook to write,

“America – come get your cluster bombs.

Walking away from USAID is not good enough. You cannot just wash your hands of this one.

In the words of scripture: “Whatever one sows, that will he also reap…”

Here are the facts. It’ll take 60 seconds to walk you through it:

💥 During the Vietnam War, the US illegally dropped 2.7 million tons of bombs on Cambodia (more than was dropped on Japan in World War 2).

💥 500,000 American bombing missions targeted Cambodia, despite it being officially neutral during the Vietnam War.

💥 The U.S. still refuses to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM)—a treaty banning these horrific weapons, endorsed by over 100 countries. Instead, it recently sent cluster bombs to Ukraine.

💥 Cluster bombs scatter hundreds of tiny bomblets over a wide area, and many fail to explode on impact, leaving behind unexploded ordnance (UXO) that can kill or maim civilians decades later. These act like landmines, hidden in fields, roads, and villages.

💥 UXO have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and lost limbs of ordinary Cambodian men, women and children, that continue to this day.

💥 USAID funding has now been cut off to landmine clearance NGOs such as The Landmine Relief Fund – “I am over here because my mother told me as a little kid to clean up after myself,” (Bill Morse, former U.S. Army officer during the Vietnam War, and co-founder of the Landmine Relief Fund.)

I speak as someone who has lived in Cambodia for 17 years.

Together with local Cambodian leaders, we built Shalom Valley, the nation’s first adventure camp for kids.

And – get this – there are TWO bomb craters on the camp property (don’t worry they have been cleared of UXO’s and preserved as a place for teaching).

These bomb craters are from American B52 bombers.

We bring groups of young Cambodians to literally sit in the bomb crater, under the stars, and learn about peace and non-violence and the ways of Jesus.

It seems only fair to me that men like Trump and Elon Musk, should also come and sit and learn about how the manufacture and spread of these weapons by the US causes so much death and suffering. And how the US government has a responsibility to clean up their mess here. Hence the need for USAID. [pictured: an evening teaching and sharing session in the bomb crater at Shalom Valley in Cambodia]”

[Facebook post, Craig Greenfield, 2-15-25]

Saint Paul & Bonhoeffer

Paul tells us to weep with those who weep, rejoice with those who rejoice. 

Bonhoeffer, influenced by Luther, stressed how Christians are to identify with the lowly, not the haughty or powerful.

On this Paul and Luther are in full agreement. 

What else do St. Paul, Luther, & Bonhoeffer share in common? They all saw the church ravaged by disunity, factions, intense fighting…and they still all had an intense love for Christ’s Bride, as well as an ardent desire for authentic–not superficial–unity. But is unity possible in the American church?

On community, Bonhoeffer insists that 

“Every Christian community must know that not only do the weak need the strong, but also that the strong cannot exist without the weak. The elimination of the weak is the death of the community.

The Christian community should not be served by self-justification, which violates others, but by justification by grace, which serves others. Once individuals have experienced the mercy of God in their lives, from then on they desire only to serve. The proud throne of the judge no longer lures them; instead they want to be down among the wretched and lowly, because God found them down there themselves. “Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly” (Rom. 12:16)” (Life Together, 72).

Jesus’ own words: “God blesses the beggars because yours is God’s Empire.
God blesses the ones hungering now because you will be satisfied.
God blesses the ones wailing now because you will laugh.
God blesses you whenever the humans hate you and when they isolate you and degrade you and toss out your name as evil because of the Son of Humanity. Rejoice in that day and jump in joy for Look! Your wage is great in heaven. Their fathers were doing things consistent with these acts to the prophets.

However, Oy! to you, the wealthy, because you’ve got your encouragement.
Oy! to you, the now-filled-up, because you will hunger.
Oy! to you, the now-laughers, because you will grieve and wail.
Oy! whenever all the humans speak beautifully about you. For the fathers were doing things consistent with these acts to the false prophets.” Luke 6:20-26, The Second Testament (Scot McKnight) 

God, we weep with the countless Americans whose jobs have been taken away from them in the blink of an eye. Grant them peace during the pain and transition. When what we know is taken from us, we tend to lose our identity. Bring them to steadiness once more, lead them, Good Shepherd, once again to still waters. 

We weep with the farmers of America who are affected, the Park Rangers who are without income, and all other Americans directly affected by the loss of USAID.

We weep with the vulnerable women and children of non-Western countries who relied on aid through missionary agencies, and we pray for the missionary agencies as well, for peace and creativity, for them to find ways to shine justice in an unjust age.

The evil one rejoices when humans are afflicted, and rages when we flourish. May we continue to resemble you, Jesus: your compassion, justice, and quest for peace among nations, neighbors, and families. 

God, allow our “love to be genuine” and help us “abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good.” As your Church is disagreeing on what is good and what is evil, let us look all the more to you as you are revealed on the pages of Scripture, revealed in your precious birth, life, & lowly death. You identified with us when we were strangers and enemies. May we remember the poor and vulnerable and look for the least of these, for that is where you are truly found.