California or Bust
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God….” Ephesians 2:19 KJV
We were called to Richmond for a company meeting. As the president of our company opened the meeting he began by introducing a guest he had invited to attend. The gentleman was a friend of his and, of course, he encouraged everyone to introduce themselves to him when they had a chance at the different breaks during the day. Little did I know how much our company was about to change because of this man.
A short time after the meeting it was announced that this gentleman would become our new director of sales. Our little family owned company was now going to get a taste of a different style of management. He came in and immediately everyone knew who was in charge. He commanded respect and most people feared him. As the years wore on, you can look back and see that this was probably one of the best changes in our company’s history.
It is an issue that plagues a nation. It is immigration. In booming economic times immigrants are almost sought out to do the jobs that no one else wants to do. When the economy slows down or the immigrants start taking over neighborhoods, we raise our arms and shout that something needs to be done about this problem. If history is any indication, a country that cannot control its borders may lose control of part or all of its land.
Immigrants migrate into countries seeking a life with more freedom or better opportunities to improve their lives. Sometimes this lure attracts more immigrants than the system can handle and extreme measures are used to cut off the flow. Imagine risking everything to cross lands that you are totally unfamiliar with. Dangers and disease could be around every corner, but it is the chance you take to improve your life. Once you arrive and settle in, the land almost becomes your own. But what about all the people who are already there?
Language is another concern with immigration. Most immigrants don’t walk into a new land speaking or knowing the language the current residents speak. Soon suspicion surrounds the immigrants as they start speaking two languages. Then commerce almost has to cater to these two different languages and cultures.
Joseph was a hero for the ages. Sold into slavery and delivered into Egypt, he was knocked down almost every time he tried to stand up. With his ability to interpret dreams, his conditions changed and he was on his way to help Egypt survive one of the worst droughts ever. The Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of food management because Joseph had devised a system to store up food so that that Egyptians would be ready for the drought. Yes, Joseph was a hero in Egypt even though he was not born there.
The Egyptians were so pleased with Joseph that they let his entire family immigrate there. The Egyptians were warm and welcoming. The Israelites carved out their plot of land they were given and all was well.
One of the biggest problems with a large immigrant population is that eventually they start thinking that this is their country, too. The current residents get very upset by this because, this is not the immigrants’ land. They were allowed here from the goodness of the residents’ hearts. So the residents start making rules and laws to make it harder for these immigrants to stay or new ones to migrate here. Border security is increased. The immigrants feel threatened and they start to protest. Tensions start to rise.
So who is right? Is it like an arm wrestling match where the stronger arm wins? Do you throw all the immigrants out? If you do this, what do you do with all the jobs you need them for? What about the economy they help stimulate by being here? If the immigrants get fed up do they revolt and claim the land as theirs?
Many, many years after Joseph died the population of Jews grew so large that the Pharaoh ordered an execution of all Jewish boy babies. The Egyptians had forgotten all that the Jews had brought to the table and they feared that they would eventually take over their land. One mother had the bright idea of placing her baby in a waterproof basket close to where the Pharaoh’s daughter came to bathe. She had her daughter follow the basket and as soon as the Pharaoh’s daughter picked it up, the little sister of the boy popped out of the reeds and asked if the Pharaoh’s daughter needed someone to care for the child until it got a little older. The Pharaoh’s daughter honored the little girl’s request and for at least a little while the baby’s real mother was able to raise him.
That little baby in the basket turned out to be Moses. This is the same Moses who would take all these Jewish immigrants and leave Egypt to arrive at the foot of the Promised Land. As much as the Egyptians feared the Israelites taking over their land, they feared not having them around doing all the jobs they didn’t want to do themselves even more.
On August 24, 1821 Mexico won its independence from Spain. In order to encourage growth in their northern territory they continued to offer land grants to the people who would settle there. The Catholics had established some missions here, but for the most part there wasn’t much here. Those whom seemed willing to take Mexico up on their land grants were old soldiers and foreigners willing to marry their women in order to have the possible opportunities that this barren frontier offered. Agriculture, cattle, sheep and horses were the main industries until it was realized its coastline offered possible ports that could be very lucrative. More and more immigrants flooded the land until they had to make laws to restrict them. This didn’t sit too well with the country the immigrants came from, so this neighboring country set up a few little “flare ups” to give it an excuse to invade this Mexican territory.
President James K. Polk had his visions of Manifest Destiny; God had destined us to spread our territory from coast to coast, and California was his objective. Its vast coastline offered opportunities for many ports for importing and exporting. So using the cause of protecting our citizens in a foreign land, Mexico’s California, our country took over the land and called it our own. In 1850, California became our 31st state. I guess you might say the immigrants won this one.
Technically, we are all immigrants on this earth. We move in and take possession of a land that once belonged to someone else. Eventually, even our land will pass on to other hands. Our best hope lies in living a Godly life, so our new permanent homeland will be a land where we will spend an eternity with God.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Thank you so much that I wake up every morning to a land filled with such beauty and an abundance of freedoms. It is no wonder someone would desire to reside here. But You offer an even better place after we depart this earth. Please help me to live like this is the land I want to reside in forever. Amen.
