ANOTHER VIEW ON IMMIGRATION

MANY WERE DELIGHTED that the immigration bill failed in the Senate. Both those who saw it as an amnesty bill and those concerned about the drastic drop in wages in some areas of our country did a little jig. I have very strong ideas on the subject, so I will share them with you.

First of all, I love immigrants. Unless we are pure-blooded Native Americans, if we go back far enough, we come from at least one but usually two immigrants. Adam Teets (then spelled Deats) immigrated from Germany in the 1600's. Andrew Golz immigrated from Germany near the dawn of the twentieth century. So I, like you, come from immigrants. I have met many immigrants and the more I see, the more I perceive that many who have come to our country more recently believe in America more than those who have been here longer. So while I firmly believe that those who immigrate today should be required to study our nation's history, freedoms, and form of government, I also firmly believe that every person in this country should have to do the same. Perhaps it is a form of "confirmation". You know, true Christians teach that no one is born into the kingdom of God. We must come and make a decision to belong to Jesus Christ. Our nation is unique in that we automatically give citizenship to anyone born here. Therefore, if a pregnant woman can by any means possible be in this country when she delivers, presto, her baby is a citizen and chances are, she too will be one from then on. Now while it is politically impossible to remove natural-born citizenship from those born to American citizen parents, we can make history and civics a required part of every child's education, and every adult evening school could offer these for free to adults so that people will understand what they are a part of.

We have a crisis in simply getting loyalty from our OWN citizens. Man in the street polls consistently show that the vast majority of Americans have NO MEANINGFUL WORKING KNOWLEDGE of our country. Few know we live in a republic, and that we elect leaders to do what is right based upon their unique perspectives, not simply to follow polls which change by the day if not the hour. Pure domocracies have never survived historically. However, many of the ignorant and uniformed are advocating that today. President Bush has been pilloried because he stuck to his guns in Iraq. Tony Blair will be working a new job because he did the same in Great Britain. The Immigration Bill failed because people beseiged congress with their feelings that it would be a disaster, and Congresss voted accordingly. Now in this case, I believe the people saw that those in power had lost touch and did not truly understand what they were doing, but I would not like it one bit if Congress succombed to the people all the time. If 10,000,000 homosexuals sent emails, faxes, and crashed the phone lines to get gay marriage recognized nationally, and Congress voted to do so, I would would be really upset. They were put in office to do what is right, NOT to be marionettes controlled by the loudest voices.

That said, it would be an unmitigated disaster to allow millions more from Mexico with limited if any loyalty and who are not citizens to stay and keep coming. Study HISTORY to know that nations who allow that type of invasion will implode. It must be orderly, and in order to gain the rights and privileges of citizenship, one must prove themselves worthy.

It has been an epidemic in our society for people to try to come to Christ this way (refer to our older post, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO THE KINGDOM). They want eternal life, but they do not want to turn their lives over to Jesus and let him be their Lord. The church is infected with millions who do not live in accordance with the Bible, whose language is not the language of salvation and holiness, and who want to take from God - money, healing, psychological wholeness - with no obligation on their part to be servants of God and to be his ambassadors in this world proclaining the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We have people running over our borders with no intent of supporting our country, but taking from it, signing up for social programs, getting educational, health, and other services with nothing required in return. Now the bill that was defeated called for accountability and called for fines, but we all know exactly how well those would be implemented by a government which cannot even tell who is who. I believe we need those measures, but the government must have credibility on the issue in order to be trusted with such a task. The last several adminstrations of both parties have been hopelessly inept on the issue.

Perhaps this bill got as far as it did because some senators have no more loyalty to our country than the illegals. Numerous Senators have proclaimed that the war is lost; politicians seem bent on our country being defeated and also becoming more like the failed European societies - societies with broken socialistic systems, high unemployment, and extreme weakness on the world stage. I do not hear these same sentiments from legal immigrants. I say let's open the gates to those who need us and those whom we need - but legally. I also say we need remedial education for Lindsay Graham (R), Ted Kennedy (D), President Bush(R) and others.

I hear the seeds of a national crisis in the voices of the illegal immigration proponents and demonstrators. I hear cries of anguish and hatred. I see loyalty to Mexico, a country with wretched leadership and endemic corruption, trump loyalty to the United States. I see not only a lack of desire in learning English, but a despising of English, a fierce nationalism, and a desire to function as a society within a society. Among the Asians who have come, there is often an unfortunate isolation as well, and language is a large part of it, but there is at least a willingness to try to learn some English and participate more in the institutions that mold our society.

First, let's control the border by making common sense rules and not tying the hands of the border guards.

Second, let's deal with those who have broken our laws. They will not be law-abiding citizens down the road if they justify the whole illegal way they came over. Even but significant punishment is needed.

Third, let's create a guest worker program, and assign that status to those who are contributing to our country.

Fourth, let's streamline the whole citizenship process.

Five, let's teach English, civics, and American History to all. It should be mandatory, and it should be done universally and widely. While not necessary in a dicatatorship, it is absolutely necessary if our form of government is to survive. We want full participation in the political arena that is impossible with a language barrier and with total ignorance in what it means to live and maintain this most unique country of the United States of America.

We need to pray for our country and for our leaders to solve the problems in a lawful and just fashion. If we say and do nothing, we are partners in unwise behavior.

We also need to pray for President Bush. At a time when his leadership in Iraq is most pressing, at a time when he needed to have political capital to be able to get a better judges appointed when the opportunity arises, he split wide his own party and severely damaged his credibility on other issues. That is what Satan loves to do, and he did it in this case. The foiled car bombings in London show we are at risk every day. Pray that he will trust God to restore his fortunes, and that he will be able to have this surge make a difference and be able to bring many of our troops back home.

I would like to see our country come together - people of all backgrounds and with many perspectives. It won't happen until we insist on loyalty to receive benefits, and it won't happen until American citizens stop believing in fringe ideas and politically-motivated ideas. We are two nations - and it isn't American and Mexican. Rather, the first nation consists of those who believe that all rights are given by our creator God, and they are given with the condition that man submits to God and follows the mandates of the Word of God. This first nation believes that God, not man, is best qualified to govern, and that ALL who govern do so as servants of God, responsible to God, and NOT the people. The first nation believes that all men are made in the image of God, and that rights are given by God without regard to race, sex, or national origin. They know to treat the foreigner and the alien well, knowing they themselves were once aliens. They will assimulate any who are willing and embrace them the same as anyone else. The second nation believes that we are all here by accident, and that man, not God, determines rights, and that man, not God. is best equipped to run this nation, and that man may change laws and offer rights willy-nilly to suit the lusts and sinful desires of mankind, and that anyone who objects is some narrow-minded stick-in-the-mud.

Which nation do you belong to? More importantly, do you pray that the members of the second nation will learn what it is to be an American, but even more importantly, what it means to be a true child of God, one washed in the blood of the lamb and proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord? Many in the first nation are still lost. We appreciate them for their loyalty to the country, and as Jesus said, those who are not against us are for us. However, we do not equate being a good American with being a child of God. What a tragedy to be a loyal and upstanding citizen of this wonderful country, but stop short of being a citizen of heaven. That is where our ultimate loyalty lies, and that is the nation that shall never be destroyed. Those who are citizens of heaven do not have to worry about backroom deals, corrupt elections, the effects of lobbyists, or unjust laws. Our God is perfect and he is never up for reelection. Our God never changes, and does not have a "living constitution"! The Word of God stands forever. We know his requirements, and we can build our lives on them because they NEVER change.

My friends, come into the kingdom of God and be a citizen of heaven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. My friends, God wants you to honor your earthly king, so honor your leader, whomever he or she is, and be sure to love your country and do what is right for her, contending for righteousness so that we may live in peace as so that justice will reign in the land. However, we live in an imperfect world, so set your ultimate sights on God, not man, and on the Bible, not the body of laws we live under, no matter how good it may be. Our lives here can be much better, but I am looking forward to the wonderful eternity that Jesus Christ has planned for me. How about you?