The liberty of citizenship...
From my perspective in Canada, I am watching with interest the first week of the new USA presidency roll out, in particular with the illegal immigrant situation. I will try my best not to be political, but to articulate through a spiritual/energetic point of view.
Even though I have always known illegal immigration to be a 'thing' in the USA, only recently have I realized the broad scope of it, and how much these illegal immigrants have been exploited and been taken advantage of by many Americans who use them as a slave class, most not even earning minimum wage.
In a plea to the President this week to have mercy on these people, Bishop Mariann Budde, drew my attention once again to this enslaved class of illegals. Being a Canadian, I was quite shocked how the Bishop spoke in such candid terms about how these people do our 'menial' work. "They pick our crops, clean our office buldings, labour in poultry farms and meat packing plants, wash the dishes after we eat, work the nightshift....." Is this considered acceptable to have an enslaved class of people like this in society? These are human beings like any of us. Why would any godly leader consider it to be acceptable to encourage the continuation and enabling of bondage of any people?
Red flags went up for me immediately. My guess is, if the Bishop really loved and cared for these illegal immigrants, she would want liberty and freedom for them and encourage them to seek after it. This can only come through citizenship. Would she not advise them to leave and come back legally, as free and equal Americans? We know the majority of illegal immigrants are not hardened criminals, but they are still living a life of bondage, servitude to legal Americans. Perhaps one day, there will be a way to fast-track these people to citizenship through legal Americans sponsoring their beloved 'slaves'. But, in a spiritual sense, they should not continue as they are, as subservient beings to other humans.
My mind went to the biblical story of Philemon (slave owner) and his runaway discontent slave, Onesimus. While running to the disciple Paul in Rome, Onesimus had come to know the God of love through belief. We come to appreciate who we are when we know who God is. Because Onesimus now knew who he was, he was able to go back to Philemon, no longer with a slave mindset, but as a free equal brother. Yes, he may have still had his old job, but he now knew liberty and freedom of Spirit. He believed in who he was... a child of the most High.
In my view, these illegal immigrants have to want liberty and freedom to receive it. They need to taste it so badly, that they take steps in that direction. As long as they see themselves as slaves, as less than legal Americans, they will continue to be in bondage. Many people will selfishly continue to cheer for them to stay in their bondage. They might be wise to hang out with people who cheer them on to becoming free and liberated citizens.
God led the children of Israel out of 400 years of bondage towards the promised land., gave them a wonderful opportunity to be landowners again. However, they missed going into the land because they couldn't visualize and taste freedom and liberty. They yearned to go back to Egypt into slavery again. Life was easier then. No self-thinking. No accountability. Menial servitude. We know that Pharaoh and the people's Eqyptian slavemasters were not happy to see their slaves go. We are seeing this today disguised as care.
Responsibility and accountabiity comes with citizenship. I have two sons who are in the middle of the USA green card citizenship process. They want it. They want it badly. It costs money, takes time and patience, honesty, and integrity. There are no short cuts. How bad do you want the citizenship? Are you willing to do what it takes to go through the process? Part of becoming citizens is knowing the history of the country, the current laws, speak the language, write the language. My sons want to bring value to the country, to contribute, as opposed to taking selfishly. Citizenship is a privilege and must be taken forward with integrity, responsibility, and accountibility.
Like Onesimus, perhaps we could say that belief in God leads to belief in ourselves, who we are. Honoring ourselves is to honor him, the one who created us. When we honor him, we honor the earth and those on the earth. Everyone is valuable. Everyone is loved. We would understand that we are all masterpieces of the Great Artist. No person is less than or more than another person. Just as we are subject to the universal laws God created (love begets love, we reap what we sow, give and to you it shall be given/karma), we must remember that dishonesty breeds dishonesty. What we send out comes back to us in some form. If we are operating below the law, in a land illegally, it cannot end well for us. Karma always has a way of catching up with us.
My prayer and intention for these beautiful people in bondage is that they would wake up to whose they are.... they are a child of the most High God. They deserve the nations of the world, like any of us. But self-honor, country-honor, and kingship honor and respect is the only way forward to a bright future. I hope that the honest ones find their path forward to legal citizenship, and not resist what is. What we resist will persist. Break those chains that bind by setting goals, believe in yourself, take hold of what you want. Freedom. Liberty. Don't settle for any less.
.....Lori Kostenuk
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