When we think about the immigration problem today confronting us we need to think through the biblical aspect on the role of the government and the church, and what that entails. They are different, but also in some ways conflicting when it comes to immigration. We as God’s people need to give serious thought to this issue.
We as Christians are commanded by God to care about the orphans, widows, strangers (aliens) in our land. We are told in Leviticus 19:33-34 “And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”
It is obvious from this and many other Scriptures how we as Christians and the church as a whole need to be concerned and how to treat aliens in our midst. However, what about the legal status of the aliens in our country? That is another question, and brings out two different things when it comes to the alien in our midst.
We need to always keep in mind that the church and government have two different roles. The government’s role is to preserve order and do-justice. It was St. Augustine who said: “Peace flows from order,” and enforcing the law is very important in promoting order and peace.
It is important that immigrants come in, but it must be in an orderly, legal fashion. Also, we must also imply as well that employers cannot be allowed to continue to ignore the law against hiring illegals. It would seem to me that if we do not enforce the law then we are teaching millions of people a terrible lesson that law does not matter. I would dare to say – failure to enforce the law has created the problem that we have today.
Those of us who live in the USA must understand that one of the reasons why we have an economy made strong is because of the rule of law.
Martin Luther said: “Unjust law is no law at all.” I concur. To secure our borders and provide orderly process for immigrants is a just law and the church needs to respect the law even while we administer aid, compassion and love to those in our midst.