Generosity is the Key to Our Immigration "Crisis"

I have heard many people, from family to Facebook ‘friends’ to politicians to social media pundits, say “Those 'illegals'  are just coming here for the benefits and to take advantage of programs that MY taxes pay for!”  First, based on facts presented to me by someone VERY involved in immigration, this is not why most immigrants come to the US.  Most are escaping very grave violence and oppression in their countries of origin, and willing to give up everything they ever had for just a chance to share in the historic generosity of Americans.  Second, my response to the statement above is “SO WHAT?”  Is it hurting you personally?  Don't you also benefit from the programs?  Do you really think you would pay less taxes if “they” weren’t being cared for?   We are called by God to be generous with one another, as He is generous with us.  Being “generous” is synonymous with being “charitable”, or “loving”.

When we understand God's generosity, we realize how wealthy we truly are. Even if we have little money in the bank, our lives are rich in God -- feeling protected and cared for by God, giving us an abundance of peace that gets us through trials and battles with wisdom and endurance.

God's generosity also leads to material goods. Every material blessing we have comes from God. He delivers it to us through the talents and skills that he has given to us. Whatever we earn through our own efforts comes originally from God's efforts. God is the source of everything that's good in our lives.

However, there's always a purpose that's bigger than us. Everything from God is meant to bless others, too. We are channels of God's generosity.

Whatever we have that we refuse to share becomes the cause of sin. We succumb to selfishness, which is akin to greed. The problem with greed is that it hurts others by denying them what God wants to share with them.

What makes us vulnerable to this sin? Self-reliance. It comes from thinking that we can rely solely on ourselves and on our own resources instead of partnering with God in generosity. Even when we recognize that God has been generous with us, self-reliance says that we are responsible for preventing the poverty of giving it away to others.

When we protect our lives by storing up our goods, others suffer. In this Sunday's Gospel reading, (Luke 12: 13-21) Jesus addresses both greed and self-reliance, because they are completely contrary to the personality of God.

Generosity grows when we understand that God is the provider of everything good and that he will continue to provide for us even when we give away what he gives to us -- especially when we give away what he gives to us. Think about what you have in abundance (be it money, or joy, or wisdom, or lessons learned from experience, or ___ ). Now look around. How might you be the answer to someone else's' prayers?

Whatever we hope to have already belongs to God and is meant to be shared with others. This is the primary economic principle of the kingdom of God. The Body of Christ thrives only when there's a continual exchange of goods. We call this the communion of saints.