Sunday, November 23, 2014

IMMIGRATION and CHRISTIANS


At this stage of my life, I have absolutely no expectations of the general population, the world's people, those who "are of their father, the Devil."  Their self-righteousness, their selfishness, their hatred, their racism, none of it surprises me, nor does it make me "disappointed in their behavior."

Professing Christians, however, I still have expectations of.  Christians by definition possess the mind of Christ and demonstrate the fruit of the Holy Spirit, compassion, kind-heartedness, forgiveness, empathy with the suffering and struggling people around us.

On paper, anyway.

When one reads the vituperative, vicious, vindictive rantings from professing believers on the subject of "illegal immigrants' in the U.S., he is (I am) hard pressed to attribute those words to a child of God.
The theme is, essentially, 'pack 'em all up and ship 'em back where they came from'--men, women, children....all of 'em.......now!

The rationale for this drastic action is based on the advocates' view of The Law.  All these undocumented immigrants are in violation of The Law, therefore they must go!
That would be 12 million immigrants shipped back to such places as Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, etc, places which have government by drug-gang and the highest per capita murder rates in the world.

That would be 12 million immigrants many of whom have been here for 10-15-20 years and have families and children.....children who, by the way, are U.S. citizens according to The Law.  Will you tear them from the arms of their children or deport U.S. citizens with their "illegal" parents?

A word or two about The Law:  For one thing, much of what these people are in violation of is not The Law but some administrative regulation or other...some missed deadline or not-properly-filed form......though the anti-immigrant forces generally equate such bureaucratic miscues with murder and mayhem.

And an especial word to Christians about The Law.  You are outstanding in your hypocrisy and pharisaical attitude in applying The Law so selectively.  May I remind you that you have broken The Law?  Not the law of a state or a nation regarding immigration but the greatest Law of all......God's Law.  Yes, you're guilty, but you're not suffering the consequences of your crime against a holy and righteous God because, without any merit or right to it, you received mercy and compassion.

I see this wholesale opposition to all "outsiders" as thinly veiled racism, self-righteous demonstration of superiority to such "lesser beings" coupled with a thin veneer of legal standing based upon The Law.  It is totally lacking in grace, mercy, love, tolerance, empathy, compassion......all that silly, sentimental slop one might find in the Bible.

Of course, the hypocrisy is heightened now that the spokesman for lenient treatment of immigrants is the current President.  I am not naive in political matters.  He is a typical politician and uses veterans, immigrants, etc, for whatever purpose he has on his agenda.  At the same time, the words of his speech the other night had some value.  One commentator said "He sound like Bush (W)"  And he sounded like Reagan.....and when Bush and Reagan said such things, they met with opposition at the time.

But the reaction to the President's intentions in this matter is a new record-high (or low).  The hatred directed toward this man is stunning...and I will restrict myself to that calumny originating with professing Christians.  Shame on you!  Shame on you for the nasty, vulgar, insulting memes and other trash you post on your pages.  Shame on you for your utter disregard for Biblical instruction regarding our correct attitude toward the rulers God has put over us.

The bottom line is born out of the Biblical statement on the nature of sin:  "lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life."  Here we have the pride of life in full feather.  Here we see professing believers acting out their sense of superiority based on where they were born and the color of their skin.  Had Reagan or Bush made that speech, the reaction would be much less intense......they're white.  But to have a Black President advocating for all these non-white interlopers and acting as if we should show them some mercy and compassion.....Pride holds high their banner "The Law," and one day those same proud people will stand before God desiring mercy and compassion for themselves.  "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy." (James 2:13)