I feel like America has more in common with a kindergarten playground than a nation, complete with crybabies adept in the art of emotional outburst. Can you identify? Dare to wade into the hot waters of the immigration debate, for instance, and you run the risk of being called a racist, a hater or xenophobe. Many common sense, level-headed people have completely withdrawn from the debate – because we have better things to do than risk having our heads chewed off by some tantrum-throwing ideologue bent on name-calling. This nonsense needs to stop, or our country will be obliterated from the inside out. What is a Christ-follower to do in the midst of this nonsense? It’s time for a common sense approach to America’s immigration problem, and it needs to begin with you and me.
My wife is not an American citizen, yet she is here legally. My grandfather was an immigrant, along with my great grandparents. All came to America with the necessary legal documentation, or they would have been labeled “WOPS” (Without Papers) put back on a boat, and returned to Italy. They understood the principle of being a positive contributor to society, and modeled it well. We’ve allowed the real issues about American immigration to be totally destroyed – and we can’t afford to allow it any longer.
America does not have an immigration problem. We have an illegal immigration problem. That one word, “illegal,” makes all the difference in the entire debate, and we need to start inserting it to prevent the distortion and distractions from continuing.
The problem with the current immigration debate is that it’s been taken over by extremists on both sides of the issue. There can be – and must be – a middle ground approach to our illegal immigration problem. This is what I am proposing. We all need to take a deep breath, relax for a moment, and get our wits about us. Extreme views are keeping us from using our minds.
One one hand, I appreciate President Trump’s concern to make America safe again. Over the years, the U.S. border has come to resemble Swiss cheese. It’s full of holes. (Nations, by definition, have borders). Many people want our borders made more secure – but are afraid to say so because they run the risk of being called a slew of names. The opposite of a secure border is an insecure border. Immigrants need to be here legally or else we are toying with the very existence of our nation. We will be of little use to anyone if America disintegrates into a land of chaos, anarchy and rebellion.
A great many people see the foolishness of having borders that aren’t borders, especially in light of the ongoing threat presented by radical Islam. If you are not familiar with the Muslim doctrine of “tawriya,” (situational lying) Google it – and wake up. It is unlike anything understood in Christianity or Western culture. It still amazes me that so many Christians are ignorant of tawriya. Our ignorance could lead to the undoing of Western civilization – and this is no exaggeration.
On the other hand, I appreciate the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, which stands on Liberty Island, near where my ancestors landed, on Ellis Island, after crossing the Atlantic:
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
We need to continue to be a nation that welcomes immigrants, but we need to be wise to how our sympathies could be used against us by people with ulterior motives. Not all people are simply tired, poor and yearning to breathe free. We know for a fact that there are those who are angry, well-funded, and yearning to wreak havoc upon Americans. That’s a major fact many are forgetting. Our amnesia could cost us dearly.
WHAT’S A CROSS-WALKER TO DO?
For starters, you can be level-headed. Resist the temptation to give in to extremist views, and determine to be a person who thinks, prays, and acts accordingly. Be someone who really follows Jesus Christ. Here are a few practical things to consider when it comes to your views on immigration in America:
1. Remember that all races are equal at the cross. Racism is wrong. We should judge people not by the color of their skin, but by the conduct of their character, as MLK, Jr. once dreamed, as the Bible makes clear – repeatedly. Revelation 7:9 says this: “. . . before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” One race is not more important than another. No race is superior to another. This is the end of the discussion when it comes to racial equality
2. Authority, and law, matter. Romans 13:1-2 says, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.” Would you hire an employee without doing a background check? Would you not get reference checks before hiring a baby-sitter? Do you leave your front door unlocked at night? Do you not check the front door to see who is there before responding to the door bell? Why throw caution to the wind when it comes to checking the backgrounds of potential American residents? Immigration law matters – because it exists to protect citizens from crime, chaos and anarchy.
3. A peaceful society is not developed by accident. It can only be cultivated on purpose. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people — for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” A peaceful, godly and holy society is not just a good thing we should pursue – it’s a matter of God’s will and our being responsible to work toward this end. Christians have a divine obligation to do all we can to make sure we don’t just talk about this, but make it a growing reality.
4. This is not a #MuslimBan, as social media extremists, and others in the mainstream media, are trying to brand it. There are forty-six “Muslim” nations that are not among the list of seven that the Obama Administration labeled as terrorist threats. If this were a #MuslimBan, people from all Muslim nations would be banned from entering the U.S., including Indonesia and India, the countries with the first and second largest Muslim populations in the world. Travel is not, however, restricted from either of those nations, and dozens more where Islam reigns. Don’t allow people to brand this as a religious war when it is not.
5. The President could have done a much better job explaining to the American people the reasoning behind his immigration action. Often, it’s not what we do that causes waves, but how we do it. President Trump could stand to read “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” the timeless classic from Dale Carnegie. It would help him act a bit more Presidential. We may very well need to secure our borders, but there are a great number of Americans who need to be patiently, tactfully educated about why this needs to be done and done quickly. Failure to do so has caused waves that could have been largely avoided if only there were a bit more tact, patience and diplomacy.
6. Get your news from multiple sources – and stop relying on mere headlines to understand what’s happening in the world. In the same way we mustn’t judge a book by it’s cover, we mustn’t judge an issue by a headline we may read. Stop reading only the headlines, Twitter feeds and Facebook chatter. Do your homework, which takes work, and read multiple news sources. You should be reading the news with a Bible in hand, so you can filter everything through a biblical lens. Understand what is truly happening by being well-informed – then make it a practice to pray that God’s will is done. By reading multiple news sources — thoroughly — you will be better informed of the truth and better enabled to pray. Have we forgotten that prayer is one of the powerful ways we can influence society toward God? I think we have.
7. Our nation needs real revival, genuine spiritual awakening. We Christians in name need to become real cross-walkers, people who daily take up our crosses (death to self) and follow Jesus closely. Being Christian in name has become all too common in America — and our fake faith needs to come to an end. Are you really following Jesus Christ? Do you read the Bible often — and put it into action? Has your reading of the Bible simply become part of your routine, but not a matter of your transformation? Do you look more like Jesus Christ in character this year than you did last year? America needs a bath, and it needs to begin with those of us who say we are following the Jesus of the Bible. If we are, we will be characterized as people who speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). So far, I don’t see a whole lot of that happening in the immigration debate — or much of anything we are debating in America these days.
If I were bent on destroying America, I would encourage people who do not embrace the Constitution, the rule of law and Judeo-Christian values to enter without any hindrance whatsoever. I would label anyone who opposed this approach a “racist,” a “hater” and a “xenophobe,” knowing it would most likely get the majority of law-abiding, peace-loving people with common sense concerns to sit down, shut up and focus on other things so I could get my way. So far, that approach has worked brilliantly. If we allow this practice to continue, I suggest we replace our National Anthem with a new American’ dirge – because a peaceful, godly kind of culture that honors God will be impossible.
America does not have an immigration problem. We have an illegal immigration problem. Moreover, we have a problem discussing issues with tact and kindness. We Christians need to (re)discover what cross-walking is all about. It’s all about really, truly, passionately, following the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s time we start encouraging everyone we know to do the same — now, while we still have time to turn America around.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HOW CAN YOU BE A BETTER CROSS-WALKER IN THE MIDST OF OUR IMMIGRATION DEBATE, AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME?
