This continues my series on immigrant ministry.
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Immigrants tend to work hard and be successful. This is for at least three reasons.
As a result, immigrants tend to be successful. They get high marks at school; they are appreciated at work; their business prospers. They become wealthy and comfortable, their children become doctors and lawyers, and they bask in the glory of the immigrant dream.
- In most parts of the world, mere survival requires hard work. So ‘normal’ work for immigrants is, by Australian standards, over-the-top workaholism.
- The purpose of immigrating is to seek a better life, so immigrants work hard to achieve this.
- Australian government policy has for some time favoured skilled migrants, who are more likely to have a strong work ethic.
As a result, immigrants tend to be successful. They get high marks at school; they are appreciated at work; their business prospers. They become wealthy and comfortable, their children become doctors and lawyers, and they bask in the glory of the immigrant dream.The danger of this is that immigrants might develop a value system opposed to both the gospel of grace, and the call to sacrificial discipleship. They truly are honest, hard-working people – surely that gets them credit with God? And why should they – or even worse, their children! – give up all these honestly acquired trappings of success, to serve God sacrificially by, say, going into paid ministry?
In this case, the gospel calls people to repent of one of their motivations for immigrating in the first place: enjoying a better life.
What do you think, everyone...?
Comments
Of that many Australians need to repent. Perhaps it will be the common idol of migrant families, but like most idols it power lies in its goodness.
The question that I don't think middle class Christians have a good answer to is what does faithful discipleship look like in the midst of 'a better life'. I'm sure migrants need that as much as any of us.
While I'm all for the goodness of this creation, I take it that our general attitude should not be that of constantly wanting more, but being content with, and praising God for, what we already have (Php 1:12-18; 4:11-13; 1 Tim 6:6-10, 17-19). If anything, we should seek to be sacrificially generous, like Christ, who impoverished and emptied himself (2 Cor 8:1-9; Php 2:5-11).
In doing, I hope we:
(1) in a small way, mirror God’s grace in our own generosity;
(2) enact what Oliver O’Donovan calls “communication”: we hold things not for ourselves, but for the other.
I’d put two caveats on this:
(1) We must avoid an incipient asceticism. Like I said, I’m all for the goodness of creation.
(2) When being sacrificially generous, we mustn’t neglect people we’re in close relationship with, and whom we have responsibility for. It would be crazy for parents to take bread from their children’s mouths and give it to some stranger. Or for children to neglect ageing parents and give their money to charity, or even ministry and mission work. 1 Timothy 5:8: "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." And Jesus' "corban" comment in Mark 7:9-13.
What do you think? Am I being too cynical...? Maybe it's a reaction against my accounting background...