[Vision2020] Illegals--how convenient

[keely emerinemix]

Whew.  I was  beginning to wonder how I or "mekt7" would ever respond  to 
the plight of illegal immigrants, but now he's provided both of us -- and 
all of you -- an answer.  The "illegals" should just TRUST GOD to grant them 
legal entry into the country, and it's their lack of trust in Him that 
bothers Mekt7 and, I'm assuming, compels him to assure the aliens that they 
now have no assurance of his advocacy on their behalf.

Man.  That was close.  I was afraid that as a disciple of Jesus, I'd have to 
do something icky like care for the poor and the alien, confront the powers 
that endanger them, and question my position of privilege in a society that 
benefits from their work.  But now I can just . . . oh, I don't know . . . 
decide that the problem is a lack of faith.  Yeah, that's it:  sounds 
righteous and pious without the messy involvement or personal cost.  I'm 
guessing that this revelation came to Mekt7 after a lot of study and even 
more time spent with undocumented border crossers; after all, a declaration 
of near-total faithlessness on the part of people "not like us" wouldn't be 
made rashly or anything.  And certainly Mekt7 wouldn't ignore the fact that 
privileged white Americans risk sounding callous and uncaring when they make 
such sweeping, self-justifying claims.  Especially if they're religious 
people from whom a sober examination of the situation and an accompanying 
commitment to justice would be expected.

So I'm eager to hear from Mekt7 how he came to such a conclusion, and I hope 
he responds so we can all hear.

Of course, it'll be a little tricky for me to change my orientation -- 
having worked with illegal immigrants for more than a decade, I'm aware that 
some of the most deeply committed followers of Christ Jesus I've ever known 
have crossed without papers, and not arrogantly but desperately and in 
faith.  And I know that if it came down to feeding my family or not, I would 
trust in God to provide for me but would move in the direction of open doors 
and likely outcomes -- and so would anyone else with children in need.  An 
imperfect faith, perhaps, but the one that would motivate me to care for my 
family nonetheless.  I'll also have to question where else I can justify 
inaction on my part because of other people's lack of faith, and then I'll 
remember books like "Southern Slavery As It Wasn't," which assures me that 
black slaves had only to trust in their benevolent Christian masters to gain 
freedom eventually, obviating the need for those arrogant, Godless northern 
abolitionists who failed to trust God by resting in their privilege and 
instead worked out their faith in fear, trembling, and revolt against 
injustice.

And for a local application, I can now remind anyone who has three, four, or 
five undocumented boarders in their houses that rather than relying on 
illegal boarders to make the mortgage, they can set them free and trust God. 
  Neat.  Maybe now I can rent my empty apartment!

All in all, it's an exciting prospect and a whole lot easier than really 
thinking things through.  Thanks, Mekt7 -- hope to hear from you.

keely








From: mekt7 at netscape.net
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Illegals
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:02:12 -0400

  I finally figured out what it was about illegals that bother me. 
Regardless of nationality, illegals don't trust God to provide them a lawful 
way to enter the US legally. Real politcal refugees can request asylum. If 
they come from countries with a serious track record for cruelty and there 
is a reasonable case, they usually will get asylum.
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