Vince Deagler

have i got your attention?  hope so.  this past week i got tangled up in a rather extensive discussion on facebook dealing with illegal immigration.  the discussion was framed around the question “what should be the xtian response”?  i thought i would use this post as an opportunity to summarize my thoughts in light of this discussion.

first, let me broadly define where i am coming from.  i believe following christ is a lifestyle that comes complete with a xtian worldview.  that being a christ follower requires me to integrate the belief system i get from christ into my life.  here is where it starts to get tricky.  the immigration issue we presently face in america is not an individual problem, you and i can’t solve it as individuals.  it requires gov’t action.  but that presents us as christ followers with a whole new set of problems.  the bible is not a political text book.  exactly what gov’t system does the bible dictate?  my answer is none.  i do believe it authorizes human gov’t, directs us as citizens to submit to the gov’t, and lays out the general purpose of gov’t.  but it doesn’t say any one system is preferred over another.  in america we have a democratic republic which allows us to participate in our government…the we the people component.  so we do have input, and i believe our input should reflect the worldview we get from christ.  but now apply that to this problem and you will see what i’m getting at.

as a follower of jesus i am to love my neighbor as myself.  does that summarize the entire scope of a xtian worldview?  and what exactly does that mean anyway…in practical terms?  and since the problem requires gov’t intervention, how does the value of love fit in?

granted i am asking more questions than i am answering, but lets think out loud…shall we?  my take on the discussion i participated in was, “xtian love” means comprehensive reform including a path to citizenship for the illegal.  let’s test the theory.

does a xtian worldview value the concept of obeying the law?  of course it does.   but wouldn’t comprehensive reform that includes a path to citizenship for the illegal, reward the illegal for breaking the law?  how is that xtian?

another question.  when christ told us to love, wasn’t he talking to us as individuals?  we all should love our neighbor.  just how does a gov’t do that?  compassion, love, generosity in scripture is based in a changed heart willing to give to others.  that is not how gov’t works.  when gov’t is involved, and they must be to accomplish reform, they tax, they pass law, they spend.  i don’t think that is love.  i wish the gov’t could act with the values of christ.  but love is an individual act, not a gov’t program.  see what i mean, it isn’t so easy to integrate our belief system into political solutions.  but there is more.

another question.  what problem are we trying to solve in this discussion of reform?  can’t be poverty, most of the poverty in the world would be completely unaffected by comprehensive immigration reform in the usa.  can’t be corrupt gov’ts in the world, the only gov’t involved would be the usa.  so what problem are we trying to solve?

then we must ask, is that the problem we as xtians are to be addressing.  and is this solution the means to address it.  here is what i’m getting at.  the biggest problem in the world is sin.  that is why there is poverty, corruption, pain and suffering, all the world’s misery.  the answer to sin is the gospel of christ.  our mission is to disciple the whole world.  teach them to obey the teaching of jesus.  i do not see how immigration reform would get us one step closer to fulfilling the great commission.  it would allow a few million illegals to become americans…is that the gospel?  is that the mission of the church?

i could go on, i’ll spare you.  i have seen what gov’t solutions can do.  my whole life we have had a war on poverty, a war on drugs, we have engaged in social engineering of all kinds.  we have family courts, child protective services, a welfare systems, sex education, no fault divorce, a gay agenda including the redefinition of marriage, abortion on demand, etc.  in my humble opinion, almost everything the gov’t touches gets worse.  applied to immigration reform, since we did this in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s and now have a worse problem then before, i would have to conclude the gov’t isn’t the answer…and it certainly isn’t a xtian answer.

we are called to disciple all nations.  turn people into followers of jesus who obey his teaching.  what would happen if the great commission was fulfilled in mexico?  really, i’m serious, what would happen in practical terms?  in time gov’t corruption would disappear, b/c corruption is incompatible with following jesus (remember how zacchaeus a corrupt roman tax collector was transformed).  when gov’t corruption dissipates, poverty would begin to disappear.  you have to look no further than the history of the usa to see how xtianity intersects with personal prosperity.  with corruption and poverty on the run, why would a mexican ever want to come here?  and guess what, the problem of illegal immigration is one step closer to being resolved.  and we are not limited to mexico, we can do this globally.  so, may we the church rise up to the task of fulfilling the great commission.  let us not get side tracked by symptoms of the real problem.  just thinking out loud.