Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Those children

OpinionPeggy Haymes  |  June 19, 2018

I sat down to write about something else, but that topic will have to wait because I keep coming back to those children.

Of course, I’m referring to those children at the United States southern border who are being taken away from their parents, from the only security they’ve had in their already chaotic and dangerous worlds. And then, if reports are correct, those caring for them are prohibited by federal regulation from comforting them. They cannot reach out to soothe a terrified child by holding them or hugging them. No one gets rocked to sleep there.

Think about this the next time your child or grandchild or niece or nephew awakens from a bad dream, screaming with fright, Imagine not taking them into your arms, rubbing their backs and rocking them back to calm. Imagine leaving them in their room alone with their terror.

Many of those children showed up at our borders because their families are fleeing worlds of chaos, danger and trauma. Whatever the particular circumstances, these children are being deprived of their only safe connection. In so doing, in the name of the United States of America, children are being traumatized and abused. It doesn’t matter if they are being housed at Club Med (which they’re not). The sudden, forced separation is traumatic.

We’re learning a lot about trauma these days, thanks to advanced brain imaging. We’re learning that trauma rewires the brain, literally changing it. We’re learning how deeply trauma settles into our bodies, and researchers are now considering how many illnesses may in fact have their roots in early childhood trauma. We are changing the course of the rest of the lives of these children in ways we cannot predict nor imagine.

God loves those children, and for God’s sake, we are compelled to love them as well.

No child is a bargaining chip. Not in a nasty divorce battle. And not in defending our borders. I believe that no government should operate as hostage taker, threatening to harm the children if their demands are not met. The irony is that not only will this not protect us but in the long run it will create more enemies. When these children grow up, I can only imagine that a few, if any, will be our defenders and supporters.

Sunday morning, in the hallway between Bible study and choir warm-up, a friend and I were commiserating about how hard this following Jesus stuff is, what with his command to pray for our enemies and the like. I keep trying to get out of this command to pray for those whom I don’t particularly like — and some whom I very deeply and actively dislike — with no success. Following this Jesus is hard because sometimes in our world the answers are complex and complicated.

Except this time.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, whether Democrat or Republican or neither, whether conservative or liberal or something else, whether or not we celebrate the “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday” in our sanctuaries, we have to stand up for the sanctity of these human lives.

As I was writing this, something else kept hanging around my mind. It’s a haunting line from an anthem the choir sang on Sunday, words that were originally scribbled on a wall by a Holocaust victim:

I believe in love even when I don’t feel it.

As we sang those words over and over, a picture flashed in my brain. It was a picture of a child screaming, a child alone, a child abused at the border. It nearly slayed me right there in the choir loft. My knees got weak, and it was all I could  do to stay standing, all I could do not to wail the words as I fell into a heap.

Little children, let us love those little children not only in word but also in deed.

Previous story:

Baptist leaders accuse Justice Department of twisting scripture to defend separating children from families at U.S. border

Related commentary:

On the border: ‘Children of a lesser god’

Jesus first, then creation. Otherwise, we preach another gospel

Mr. Sessions, sometimes love breaks the law

Out of context: misunderstanding Romans 13

Separating Families Causes Life-Long Trauma for Kids

#VeryBiblical: a response to Jeff Sessions

Sessions distorts Romans 13:1 to say civil laws are God’s will

Blessed assurance: Call to the table in the face of terror

How America treats its own children

 

 

 

 

 


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
More by
Peggy Haymes
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • The fantastical world of climate change denial: Slouching toward annihilation

      Opinion

    • Veterans and faith groups urge Congress to secure the safety of Afghan immigrants

      News

    • Frederick Buechner influenced millions with his insightful writing and quotable lines

      News

    • Remembering a sign for the times: The serpent and the seminary

      Opinion


    Curated

    • In latest ‘gOD-Talk’ discussion, Black millennials discuss hip-hop and faith

      In latest ‘gOD-Talk’ discussion, Black millennials discuss hip-hop and faith

      August 16, 2022
    • Colorado to spar over discrimination case in Supreme Court

      Colorado to spar over discrimination case in Supreme Court

      August 16, 2022
    • Crossing the rubicon? Mar-a-Lago raid enflames right wing fantasies of Christian Caesarism

      Crossing the rubicon? Mar-a-Lago raid enflames right wing fantasies of Christian Caesarism

      August 16, 2022
    • An interfaith discussion on the role of religion in mental health

      An interfaith discussion on the role of religion in mental health

      August 16, 2022
    Read Next:

    No, Dan Patrick, God did not write the U.S. Constitution

    OpinionRick Pidcock

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Hymn stories: ‘The Church’s One Foundation’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Veterans and faith groups urge Congress to secure the safety of Afghan immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The fantastical world of climate change denial: Slouching toward annihilation

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • When forced to choose between their ministry and their transgender child, this family chose love

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Remembering a sign for the times: The serpent and the seminary

      OpinionDalen Jackson

    • Frederick Buechner influenced millions with his insightful writing and quotable lines

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • No, Dan Patrick, God did not write the U.S. Constitution

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Black religion and reparation questions

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Progressive National Convention joins with AFL-CIO to advance racial and economic justice

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What happened to American conservatism? Engaging Matthew Continetti’s The Right

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Historic Kentucky church calls gay man as co-pastor

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Department of Justice investigating SBC on sexual abuse

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘Everything is changing at the same time,’ veteran religion reporter explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Skepticism holds seeds of hope: The SBC and clergy sex abuse

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Tony and Lauren Dungy know something about influence, on the field and at home

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Here’s what I’m learning in therapy

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: I also stand with Brittney Griner and kneel for the Anthem

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • It’s easier to be a bully today, author explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • A thoughtful question at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • When conservatives today speak of ‘states’ rights,’ they likely don’t mean the popular vote; here’s a case in point

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 8-12-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Veterans and faith groups urge Congress to secure the safety of Afghan immigrants

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • When forced to choose between their ministry and their transgender child, this family chose love

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Frederick Buechner influenced millions with his insightful writing and quotable lines

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Progressive National Convention joins with AFL-CIO to advance racial and economic justice

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Historic Kentucky church calls gay man as co-pastor

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Department of Justice investigating SBC on sexual abuse

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • ‘Everything is changing at the same time,’ veteran religion reporter explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Tony and Lauren Dungy know something about influence, on the field and at home

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • It’s easier to be a bully today, author explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 8-12-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Some evangelical leaders see FBI visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as evidence of the religious persecution coming to them

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New study finds scammers luring migrants with false information via Facebook and WhatsApp

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Progressive Baptist congregation on Wake Forest campus votes to close

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • It isn’t a church and doesn’t have members, but it is a way to keep United Methodists in the fold as their congregations disaffiliate

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Rural church offers community development grants through Gratitude Project

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Russell Moore named editor in chief of Christianity Today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Online religion content isn’t luring Millennials away from in-person church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Hymn stories: ‘The Church’s One Foundation’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • The fantastical world of climate change denial: Slouching toward annihilation

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Remembering a sign for the times: The serpent and the seminary

      OpinionDalen Jackson

    • No, Dan Patrick, God did not write the U.S. Constitution

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Black religion and reparation questions

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • What happened to American conservatism? Engaging Matthew Continetti’s The Right

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Skepticism holds seeds of hope: The SBC and clergy sex abuse

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • Here’s what I’m learning in therapy

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: I also stand with Brittney Griner and kneel for the Anthem

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • A thoughtful question at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      OpinionMarvin McMickle

    • Advice from a sunflower

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?

      OpinionDan McGee

    • I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • To be more welcoming, let’s remove our flags

      OpinionJustin Pierson

    • News flash: Not all Baptists are Southern

      OpinionBrian Kaylor

    • Why aren’t we defending Brittney Griner?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • A school administrator reflects on rebuilding relationships between schools and homes

      OpinionStanton Eugene Lawrence

    • Judging the stripper and the carouser in ourselves at the Communion table

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • After the Guidepost report, we need to know more about FBC Woodstock’s City of Refuge and NAMB’s support for it: Was ‘moral failures’ code for sexual abuse?

      OpinionJoanna Sullivan

    • Forsaking Baal for the God who is in recovery

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King and Critical Race Theory

      OpinionKen Zagacki

    • In latest ‘gOD-Talk’ discussion, Black millennials discuss hip-hop and faith

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Colorado to spar over discrimination case in Supreme Court

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Crossing the rubicon? Mar-a-Lago raid enflames right wing fantasies of Christian Caesarism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • An interfaith discussion on the role of religion in mental health

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Republicans keep mostly mum on calls to make GOP ‘party of Christian nationalism’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Faith-Based Politics of El Salvador’s Millennial President

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Reckoning with their history, Lutherans issue declaration to Indigenous peoples

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Religion, Spirituality Second Most Frequently Read Genre in U.S.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis meets transgender guests of Rome church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Politicians seek to control classroom discussions about slavery in the US

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Despite vastly different values, evangelical ‘Hamilton’ connects secular left and Christian right

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Both Open- and Close-mindedness Increase in U.S.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Native Americans urge boycott of ‘tone deaf’ Pilgrim museum

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Boston’s Jews are getting a ‘Jewish tavern’ to study religious text — and drink beer

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • ReAwaken Tour host says he feels harassed by NY prosecutor

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why the largest US Lutheran denomination apologized to a Latino congregation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Supreme Court Wants to End the Separation of Church and State

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Suspect in Dallas salon May shooting indicted for anti-Asian hate crime

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Anglican Division over Scripture and Sexuality Heads South

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Amy Spitalnick, who took on neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, is moving to Bend the Arc

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New York City’s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ben & Jerry’s fears its new Israeli owner could sell ‘Judea and Samaria’ ice cream in latest court hearing

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Alexander Hamilton gave his heart to Jesus at a Texas church this weekend

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Baby Blues: How to Face the Church’s Growing Fertility Crisis

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Orthodox Alaska Part 2: The Beatles, Bees And Orthodoxy Animated In One Man’s Life

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS