Saturday, June 25, 2011

God Says To Love Immigrants

He gives justice to orphans and widows. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. You, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. -- Deuteronomy 10:18-19

We are a nation of immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans, each and every one of us are here because we have ancestors who came to this country as immigrants. Yep. Every one of us. We like to forget that sometimes.

I know. The number of illegal immigrants is ridiculous. But so is our refusal to show kindness and compassion to people who are -- for the most part -- only trying to build a better life for themselves and their families.

I’m one of those people who knows we’ve got a problem but I don’t have any answers. I don’t think anyone does, even though some politicians try to fool us all. I do know the answer isn’t in bills such as the one recently passed by the Alabama Legislature. Forcing schools to verify legal status makes it certain that those children won’t be in school. They’ll still be living in this country; they just won’t get an education. How does advancing illiteracy cut down on illegal immigrants?

Some of the harshest critics of immigrants are people who claim to be devout Christians. That makes no sense to me either. Clearly God tells us to show love to foreigners. He doesn’t specify whether they’re legal or illegal. He doesn’t talk about nationality or numbers. He simply expects us to care for them -- because we, too, were once foreigners in a land not our own.

The next time you’re tempted to moan about your tax bill or berate someone because he doesn’t speak your language, remember who you are. As Christians, we’re held to a different standard than others. God expects us to offer kindness and compassion and love to those foreigners you’re looking down on. Instead of condemning them, say a prayer for them and those Christians who have allowed their hearts to harden toward people God has called us to love.