Put God first; love your neighbor

To the Editor:

We say that we are a Christian country; that we are followers of Jesus. The Jesus I follow never used the military, never used a gun or any violence against another person, opened himself to relationships with all kinds of people and welcomed strangers.

To put the country, America, first is elevating the nation above Jesus and his teachings, fearing and rejecting those not like us. Yes, we have issues we need to address — the disparity between the wealthy and most of the U.S. — the influx of people needing safety from violence and economic instability, all things that impact our picture of who ‘us’ is.

If Jesus had a brief message, I think it would be “Do not fear; I am with you; I will not leave you orphaned.”  With Jesus as our leader, we do not fear the future; rather, we have confidence in what may come, taking his words “Put God first; love your neighbor,” seriously.

Susan Anderson

Rhinelander