Praying God's Wisdom: Truth and Mercy

 

Do not let truth and mercy leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will find favor and good understanding, in the sight of God and people.

 This morning as I consider our SOAP verses for today, for some reason God is bringing our country’s immigration issues to mind. I wasn’t thinking about it before doing my study today, so that’s why I credit it to God. I see that the two sides of the issue are each focusing on one of the values discussed in verse 3: mercy and truth, but neither side seems to embrace both. In fact, it seems impossible to hold both equally in our hearts, but with God, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13).

 The right wing/conservative side of our country has been touting the importance of truth. They are citing the letter of the law, stating that by entering the country illegally, all illegal immigrants are law-breakers. While that is technically true, I would be quick to remind you that we are, each and every one of us, law breakers as well. Have you ever driven over the speed limit? Not come to a full and complete stop at an intersection? Taken a pen from a place of business unintentionally? Not given the full truth on a form? Romans 3:23 is very clear, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Each and every one of us is a sinner, a law-breaker, a criminal. Do we all deserve to be punished? Yes, yes we do, but praise God, He has made a way out of our predicament!

 The left wing/liberal side of our country has camped out on the value of mercy. They are quick to point out that most of the illegal immigrants in our country are regular people, families, moms and dads and kids. They are hard workers and contribute much to our society. In fact, we wouldn’t have food on our table, or a table to eat off of for that matter, if it weren’t for them. This viewpoint would have us ignore the law saying that they are here illegally. They would say that the benefit, to them and to us, outweighs the infraction. But that leaves quite a big blind spot. I’m drawn to Isaiah 53:6 which says, “All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him.” Our sins, our law-breaking, has consequences. Someone has to pay the cost. We cannot just go about our merry way ignoring the devastation we have caused behind us.

 So what is the answer? If truth is without mercy we have no hope and if mercy is without truth we have no structure, no consistency to trust in. Praise the Lord that in Jesus we have both. Sin has a price, and He paid it in our place. We deserved death, but instead He died for us. But how does this translate to the immigration issue? I think that here, as well, biblical truth prevails. We need to use both mercy and truth in how we approach this problem. Yes, technically, illegal immigrants are criminals – but so are all of us. And yes, they are real, normal people deserving of mercy. So how do you satisfy both sides? I think it has to be done with common sense immigration reform, driven by God’s love for people, all people. We need to create a realistic path to legal immigration, to naturalize those who are here and keep an open door to those who would like to come in. People are quick to site strained systems and limited resources, but I would counter that more people here legally and contributing to that system and those resources only broadens them. We have plenty of space in our country, there are vast stretches of the middle that are barely populated. In fact, our current housing crisis is based not on a lack of space, but a lack of construction, which these immigrants would likely help, not hinder. More people paying into funds like social security could add to the security of it that currently teeters on the precipice of demise. Are there bad people trying to come in as well? Certainly! But I would add that there are plenty of bad people already here, who already are full blown American citizens. In fact, percentagewise, the vast majority of offenders are citizens. There should be reasonable checks and balances to allowing people to live in our country, but I emphasize reasonable. You shouldn’t have to live, homeless, in a border town for months or years barely surviving with your children in constant danger in order to secure an appointment through a lottery, just to have it, too, revoked.

Here's the Thing: Yes, people who are here illegally are breaking the law and that needs to be addressed AND yes, they are real people, families like yours and mine, who should be shown God’s mercy and love. Yes, we are all sinners, have sinned and will sin again. Yes, we are deserving of punishment, of death. But PRAISE GOD, He, in His infinite mercy, made a way for us to be free, free from guilt and shame and out from under the weight of a punishment we could never satisfy on our own. Shouldn’t we extend that grace to others as well?