Amazing article by Chuck Colson's BreakPoint on the issue of illegal immigration. He does a perfect job of breaking down the issues. As Colson points out, regardless of the various factors that are true and relate to illegal immigrants currently in the US, none of these change "the fact that they are here in violation of U.S. law."
These are some of the comments I want to highlight. For those readers that may not follow the Christian faith, I ask for you to take into consideration that the following is written to a Christ-following audience. I believe it presents a well-balanced approach to the issue, and good possible solutions. As I have said here many times, the government needs to change the restrictive immigration quotas that are not working anyways.
These are some of the comments I want to highlight. For those readers that may not follow the Christian faith, I ask for you to take into consideration that the following is written to a Christ-following audience. I believe it presents a well-balanced approach to the issue, and good possible solutions. As I have said here many times, the government needs to change the restrictive immigration quotas that are not working anyways.
As hard as this issue is for our leaders, it’s even harder for Christians. We’re commanded to be good citizens who are committed to the welfare of the city in which God has placed us to live. The porous borders that have enabled 11 million people to settle in this country illegally raise obviously dangerous security concerns. Those same borders allowing people to seek a better life for their families allow terrorists to come in to destroy us. We need to tighten border security. And we must oppose blatant disregard for the law. If immigration laws are too restrictive, the answer is to amend them, not ignore them.
But along with these concerns, we also need to recall God’s command to welcome the foreigner and sojourner in our midst. The Scriptures tells us that hospitality toward the aliens in its midst is the hallmark of a good society. In fact, extending the hand of friendship toward those who are different from them is a way the people of God distinguish themselves from their unbelieving neighbors.
While this kind of hospitality doesn’t require that Christians advocate open borders, it does require us to be salt and light in the debate over immigration reform. At the very least, we should work to elevate the level of discourse and prevent the demonizing of the “other” in our midst.
And we ought to remind our fellow citizens who are so angry about immigration that it is our desire for cheap labor that has contributed to the problem. It’s bad enough that illegal immigration is a “no-win” issue; it should not be a “no-truth” issue, as well. And in the end, we must, as Christians, treat everyone in our midst with godly compassion.
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