Secrets of the Desert

The huge desert that covers the lower United States and Upper Mexico is full of the bodies of young men and women who have tried and failed to enter the United States illegally. It's easy to say that they shouldn't have been out there, and hence, they have only themselves to blame. It is less easy to justify such a comment. Anyone who studies history knows that large rich countries attract immigration even if they don't want it. I don't plan to go into all of the many stories about such movement, except one. In the last years of the Roman Empire, the Goths came to the eastern frontier seeking shelter from the Huns who were pursuing them. The local authorities allowed them to enter if they would fight in the Roman Army. The Goths did in fact fight as requested and did a great service to the empire as a result. Despite this service the Romans failed to reward the Goths with permanent residence. As a result the Goths revolted and their campaign took them as far as the City of Rome itself, which they sacked. Ultimately, the Goths ended up with Spain and parts of North Africa which they held until the Mohammedans came along. Our current argument about illegal immigration is a political matter and is not germane to this blog. However, how we treat people and what we do with them as human beings is important. Had the Romans embraced the Goths they might well have salvaged their empire for several centuries more. Their actions were short sighted and the wounds were self inflicted. People are people regardless of where they were born and why they act as they do. Ignore their humanity at your peril. Immigration is not simply a political issue, it is also a moral issue. The desire of a poor man who was born in a poor country to want to better himself may be inconvenient to those who already have prosperity, but it is not unforeseeable. When he ends up dead in the desert, his death is not insignificant nor un-avoidable. God's eyes see much further than our eyes. Let's look at the immigration problem through God's eyes. No more bodies in the desert. There are enough of them there already.