Help the foreigner

https://odb.org/2025/05/13/a-helping-hand-3

Leviticus 25:35–38 (NIV): 35 “ ‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. 38 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

May 13 is a watershed moment in Malaysian history in which politics coupled with power fueled the first racial violence in post-independence Malaya that led to the National Economic Policy. The NEP was justified on the basis that racial inequality led to racial riots, but over the years, it has most sadly been used as an excuse by politicians to enrich themselves and their cronies. The truth of the matter is that with the economic status of indigenous and native elevated, you will not simply throw stones at an urban home like in the days of old as you could well hit a Malay home. In other words, any disruption of economic activities in contemporary modern Malaysia will likely hurt everyone – Malay, Chinese, Indian, Dayak, or Kadazan!

In ancient Israel, as recorded in the Holy Bible, the issue was the opposite. Instead of the foreigner enjoying economic prosperity like early Malayan migrants, the foreigner struggled in their lives. This is because Israel then was very much an agricultural society, and practically every Israeli family was a land owner since God gave everyone a piece of the Promised Land after Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. But if you’re a slave or a foreigner, you don’t get a piece of that land and thus will end up as labourers in the field working for a wage.

Without land, the foreigner will also need to rent their own home and thus the wage which put food on the table and a roof over their heads may just be enough for them to survive day in day out. This, unfortunately, is reminiscent of most of our journey in life until we have saved enough to buy our own place. And if we had been careful with our wages while we were still working, we may have enough as we retire and grow old.

The point is that throughout the ages, there will always be people and families who struggle. In the case of ancient Israel, it was the foreigner, the orphans, and the widows. In the present world, it will be those starting out and those from underprivileged families or those caught in the web of crime or substance abuse. In as much as the LORD bequest that we help the foreigner during ancient times, we must, whenever we can, help those who need help in our midst. No one should starve to death, and neither should anyone be denied an education because of lack of finance. As a fast developing prosperous country, everyone who lives in Malaysia, whether a foreigner or a citizen or a native, should enjoy a reasonable and respectable standard of living. So long as we are willing to work, we should be able to make a living by the grace of God! Amen!