After the recent attacks in Paris, I’ve seen much debate (like everyone else) on cable news and social media. The responses among the people I know have ranged anywhere from “don’t let another person from Syria enter the country” to “open the flood gates.” This entire ordeal opens up a plethora of subjects to discuss – How should our governments respond (force, tighter immigration policies, only let in Christians, roll out the welcome mat)? How should Christians respond?

Among Christians debating the topic, the most striking difference is between the approach of older evangelicals and the millennial evangelicals (especially those who travel internationally). What I am reading from the more seasoned crowd is that we should shut off the borders to the United States to Syrians because European national Muslims attacked Paris (there is yet to be any evidence that the attackers were Syrian). Much of this crowd have had their opinions formed during rise of the Moral Majority and other conservative Christian causes which tended to conflate Christianity and the United States Government. They often see attacks like this as an affront to the United States.

The millennials, on the other hand, have had their opinions informed by the end of the Clinton era (where we disputed the definition of “is” and other moral absolutes) and the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. For their entire life our country has been at war. They tend to view the world through the lens of social justice, and are less concerned about security and national borders. They do not intertwine the United States and Christianity and often feel that the United States reacts in a very “un-christian” manner towards the powerless.

So, what should we do? I’m not going to advocate for opening the floodgates or shutting off the spigot. What I am going to argue for however, is a change in the tone. We do a disservice to our faith when we answer with smugness, anger, or heated rhetoric.

What should be uniting all of us is the Gospel of Jesus Christ – the fact that we no longer live our life condemned, but on the other side of the cross. It is only the Gospel that will allow us to open our hearts and minds up to those with whom we disagree. It is only the Gospel that will compel us to walk across the street to love our neighbor who may be a Muslim. And it is only the Gospel that will change the life of the radical jihadist. Our prayer should be not one of imprecation against those with whom we disagree; rather it should be one that he will open the hearts of those who stand at enmity with him to his saving Grace.