Old systems, new situations

THE CHALLENGE OF IMPERFECTION

The migrant crises in Europe, America and Canada are conglomerates of imperfection. Imperfect circumstances in their own countries drive millions to countries with better opportunities.

The route to get from A to B is all but perfect — it’s dangerous, arduous and long. Many die on the way. Arrival on the other side is not perfect either. Countries have borders, rules of entry, and the right to say who are accepted and who are not.

I know the long road of normal immigration. When we came to Canada 26 years ago, we could not just walk over the border and expect the best. There was a point system: if one had enough points, depending on skills and qualifications, one could be accepted as a landed immigrant. This status had to be granted before one entered the country. Although we did temporary work in Canada, we had to leave the country to apply for landed immigrant status. These rules may have been adapted, but for ordinary immigration there are still rules — and for good reasons.

Another set of rules are applied for refugees, people who flee from mortal danger. Germany discerned between migrants (seeking better work) and refugees (whose life were in danger). Migrants were deported to their countries of origin. Refugees still must go through safety checks to ascertain they are not terrorists in sheep’s clothing.

Many European countries could not handle the massive influx and closed their borders. The U.S. and Canada got flooded with illegal immigrants. There were not enough staff and facilities to accommodate such an avalanche of people. Both countries plan to restrict illegal immigration.

In this unprecedented crisis, the system was not perfectly tuned to cope with the situation. Emergency measures had to be taken. Reporters saw an opportunity to expose weaknesses. However, I never heard on newscasts that anybody came up with viable alternatives. It is easy to criticize, it is harder to create a better system.

God instituted strict measures for Israel regarding mixing with other nations. These rules protected their religion (Ex. 23:20-33, 34:12). The one true God gave true worship to his people — worship without the atrocities of human sacrifices and sexual immorality. The Saviour that God promised would be born from Israel; therefore, they had to guard the lineage.

People of other nations who wanted to become part of Israel had to obey the rules. All males had to be circumcised. Males and females had to learn and obey God’s law regarding sacrifices, feasts and daily living.

Because Rahab of Jericho and Ruth of Moab chose the Lord as their God, they were assimilated into Israel and became part of the messianic lineage (Matt. 1).

There is a right and wrong way for immigrants.

Jacob Van Zyl of Lethbridge is a retired counsellor and the author of several faith-based books.