I have been thinking and praying long and hard these past couple of days about the current immigration crisis. Practically every other post in my feed is either bashing politicians or attempting to justify what is currently happening on our boarder. Rather than thinking things through or researching topics to formulate their own opinion based on facts, it appears as though people are taking news stories at face value. One would think that this far into the game, people would be much more hesitant to place their trust in the media, however here we are again with another partisan war on our hands.
Here is my take:
1. First and foremost, God has instructed us to respect our leaders. You don’t have to like them, you don’t have to trust them, but remember the golden rule- if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. Regardless of your personal beliefs about President Trump or any other politician, they, just like you, are children of God. Who are you to tear them apart every chance you get? Rather than insulting our politicians and criticizing every move they make, how about you pray for them? I know it’s not a popular idea, but I personally still believe in the incredible power of prayer and the God I pray to.
2. Take a look at the word “illegal” for a second. The definition of illegal is “contrary to or forbidden by law”. When a person enters our country illegally it is a crime. If a United States citizen is arrested, typically their children are taken away from them and put into incredibly broken DCFS system, unless there is a family member willing and able to take them. Why aren’t we just as concerned and vocal about that issue? Oh, because it doesn’t fit the current “Donald Trump is the devil” agenda. I’m just going to leave this little nugget right here for now.
3. Quit taking everything the media says seriously. Half the time they don’t even know what they are talking about. For instance, the photos the AP released that started this mess were from 2014. Yes, you read that right. They were from BEFORE Trump was in office. Guess they and every other liberal news organization that shared the story kind of shot themselves in the foot with that one. Oh, and of the 12,000 kids the media keeps telling us were “ripped away from their families and put in ‘tender age’ camps”, 10,000 of them didn’t even come with their parents! That child is safer in a place where they have a bed, food, water, and others to relate to than they would be on the streets, which is where they would likely end up.
4. Last, but never least, do not, I repeat, DO NOT pick and choose Bible verses to fit your agenda. If you want to use the Bible, by all means do it, but take the full thing. Yes, Romans 13:1-2 tells us to obey the laws of the land, and yes, Romans 13:9-10 tells us to love our neighbor and in doing so to do no harm. So, here’s a bright idea- USE BOTH. There is a reason God not only put them in the same book, but in the same chapter! The laws have been set in place for a purpose. They provide protection for the country. They protect our national security, our citizens, our jobs, etc. They are good laws. Additionally, we need to love others. Period. Love has a lot of sub-attributes including respect, kindness and truth. In this particular situation, it would be used like this:
We love our neighbors. We welcome immigrants from all over to this grand nation that was built on the backs of immigrants. When you come here the right and legal way, you will live in the best nation in the world and have your shot at the “American Dream”. However, should you choose to do it the wrong way- illegally, we will kindly and respectfully decline your entry, because the truth is that you are committing a crime.
We have a broken immigration system. I understand that. I think our president does too, so let’s give him a chance to fix it. He has already made the first step by signing this executive order. Lets rejoice in that, be grateful we have an elected official that listens to the people, and continue praying for him and his team to have wisdom beyond understanding, grace, empathy and compassion.
XOXO
ELK
Emily Louise Keller 