Andrew Walker: A case for borders

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, July 23rd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. A recent family vacation has WORLD Opinions managing editor Andrew Walker thinking about borders.

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ANDREW WALKER, COMMENTATOR: If you’ve traveled internationally, you know the sound of a foreign airport terminal, that low thrum of voices speaking unfamiliar languages. Add small kids into the mix, as we did this summer, and it’s a real challenge. But heading home, even with the long customs lines, I felt something unexpected: Gratitude. Gratitude for national borders.

Immigration debates can stir up a lot of emotion—especially when our call to love others seems to run up against immigration law.

The tension can tempt us to shrug off the whole conversation.

But we should not.

Christians need to understand the deeper purpose and value of borders.

To begin with: Borders are not arbitrary. Look at Scripture and you read of God’s providence in the way He orders the world. Look at the book of Acts. In Chapter 17, we read about God making every nation—having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. From the beginning, God established nations, languages, and borders. This was no mistake or problem He had to overcome. It was a way to check humanity’s pride and limit our drive for control.

Borders also make the rule of law possible. Christians may disagree on immigration policy, but we ought to be able to agree that government is commanded to begin with justice and order. Borders are essential for that.

They also define political communities. Without them, how do we even know who belongs to a nation and what laws apply to whom? Borders allow us to live together under shared rules that promote the common good. Seeing them that way, borders aren’t a necessary evil. They’re a moral necessity.

Borders also reflect a principle of good government: that laws are made for specific communities—not vague, undifferentiated masses. Different countries have different customs, interests, and ways of life. That’s a good thing! The idea of one global “brotherhood of man” may sound appealing to some. But the reality is that cultural differences exist—and they require coordination, structure, and leadership. Even though God’s Kingdom is made up of people from every tribe and nation, that’s no call to eliminate them by eliminating borders.

Borders protect order, the foundation of justice. Where there are no borders, there is no final authority to turn to when conflicts arise. Nation-states strike a balance: they’re big enough to provide security and small enough to reflect shared values. Borders let societies govern themselves according to their moral and cultural traditions.

Because nations are diverse, borders help preserve what makes each one unique. It is good that Nigerians live like Nigerians. It is good that South Koreans live like South Koreans. In a borderless world, cultures lose their shape, and with it their language, customs, and traditions.

Despite what some critics say, borders are not signs of fear or hatred. They’re not xenophobic. They’re not nativist or bigoted. They remind us that people with real differences also carry real responsibilities—to one another and to the communities they serve.

Enforcing borders isn’t always easy. But it is necessary. As I stood in that long line at the Cincinnati airport, I felt thankful for the men and women who work to protect our borders. Thankful for the rule of law. Thankful to be home inside America’s borders.

I’m Andrew Walker.

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