Is America Really the Land of the Free?

I had to make a trip to Johannesburg today.  I took two couples here on a "Vacation With A Purpose" to the airport.  (Side note: Vacation with a Purpose is a program that is geared more towards the tourism side of visiting Africa with a dash of mission outreach work).  It is a 2+ hour drive from the "farm" where we live to the airport.  It was a long day.

On the way in I saw a HUGE traffic jam coming out of Johannesburg and I knew I would have to go back through that.  So I decided to kill some time at a mall and do some shopping that I had been meaning to do.

While I was there I also decided to get a (much needed) haircut.  I found a very nice barber shop in the mall with nobody in it so I walked in and sat right down.  It was a nice shop, but the decor was trying a little bit too hard to look "cool."  I struck a conversation with the barber and found out that he was from Pakistan.  I was a bit surprised because South Africa has a large Indian population from when the British forced them to immigrate during the colonial period if the black population did not want to work for low wages.  That is a whole other story...  but not many Pakistanis live in SA.

He told me that he had been running his own business but some chain boutique came in right next to his shop and undercut his prices driving him out of business.  He lost the 200,000 Rand (about $20,000) that he had invested into the shop and now had to work at someone else's shop to make a living.  He seemed a bit sad telling the story.  Who wouldn't be!?  But he still had hope.

He wanted to go to Canada or Australia and open a shop.  When he mentioned Canada I wondered why not America?  But I knew why and I am sure you know why... prejudice.  He knew that getting into America as a Pakistani is nearly impossible and even if he did, finding a job and making a living would be even more difficult.  It was not even an option in his mind.  He would have better luck in another country!

Then I asked him if he liked South Africa and he gave an overwhelming, "Yes!"  Why?  Because he loved the FREEDOM that he had in South Africa.

The Sable says, "I wish I were free."

Why did I tell this story?  Because those two things are exactly what America believes it is known for: 1)Opportunity and 2)Freedom.  But he saw neither of them in the "land of the free and the home of the brave."

I am NOT bashing America because I hate it or because I am an angry ex-pat.  I tell this story because of my deep LOVE and affection for my home!  I am unabashedly an AMERICAN!!!

The baby ostrich says, "I'M FREE!!!"

But meeting Ivan (not what I was expecting either!) today challenged me to think about how we as Christians LOVE!  We claim that America is a Christian nation founded on Christian values, yet one of the most fundamental values of the Christian faith is that we are commanded to LOVE our enemies!

Ivan is NOT an enemy, but the reason why it is difficult for a young Pakistani man seeking freedom and opportunity to get into the United States of America is because we see him as the enemy.  We see him as the face of terrorism.  We see him as someone who is challenging our American values and way of life.

YET!!!  He wants exactly what we claim to have: freedom and opportunity!

So this made me think of Romans 3:23 because no one is perfect and every single one of us has fallen short of God's perfect, glorious love.

So instead of an (false) idea of who we think we are, instead of an ideal of freedom and opportunity, instead of thinking we are the greatest... maybe we should embrace reality, the God's honest truth, which is that we are NOT perfect!  And maybe we should humbly look to Jesus Christ for salvation, not America or ourselves.

The hardest part of faith is remembering that salvation lies outside of ourselves in a living person that has made promises.  Salvation and the transformation of our mind, heart, lives, and world does not come from within us.  It comes from the outside, from a person, from Jesus Christ.  When you cling to Jesus you cling to the one who loved his enemy (us) when he was hated (by us).  When we cling to Jesus we cling to the one who offers freedom (from ourselves) to truly live and love.  If you truly trust that Jesus offers freedom and forgiveness and life then no fear will get in the way and stop you from loving young Pakistani men who want to be free.