The New York Times has published a very interesting article regarding migrants, and Hispanic migrants in particular, called “For Some Hispanics, Coming to America Also Means Abandoning Religion”.
This article is very interesting, in that it shows what may happen, and what it does happen, when migrants move to another country in search of prosperity. While God does still play an important part in their lives, a great number of migrants, after settling down into a new country, and start to have the life that they wished for before arriving to their new land, simply start forgetting the source of their strength during their days of despair as recent arrivals.
The articles comments that a number of Hispanics are claiming that they have no religion at all, as do many other Americans. But what really interests me, as a Latin American and also as a Protestant, is that the studies cited in the article, not only talk about the “exodus” happening in the Catholic Church, but that this exodus is also occurring within the Protestant churches.
This shows us something, that regardless of the confession of faith we may declare our lips, The word of God is clear when it says: Romans 3:
10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
In Romans, this refers to those who don’t want to know about God, but as Christians, we sometimes go back to our old self, and don’t want anything to do with God. We make promises in our countries of origin like “God, if you help me in the new land where I am going, I am going to pay you being a good Christian, believer…..etc.” But this does not take into consideration that our hearts may deceive us: Jeremiah 17:
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
I am a migrant, and I expect a lot of my readers are as well. I have seen how many people have come to Australia or the USA, with great hopes to move ahead financially, and how this hope drives them away from God as they get those material things they had always wanted. Financial and social security, for them, meant that they did not need God anymore. This is a very too often situation, one that I see repeated too often, just as the article of the New York Times makes it clear as well.
Not to be misunderstood, but I am all for having a house, a car, and those things that may our lives and the lives of those whom we love more comfortable. But I also know that as a Christian, my priorities are very different from those who don’t want to know about God. All material gains, are because God has given them to us as gift, not to hold on to them as to forget who gave us health and strength in order to get those material gains.
Let me finish, quoting Scripture once again:
Mathew 6:33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Blessings.
Luis A. Jovel
This article is very interesting, in that it shows what may happen, and what it does happen, when migrants move to another country in search of prosperity. While God does still play an important part in their lives, a great number of migrants, after settling down into a new country, and start to have the life that they wished for before arriving to their new land, simply start forgetting the source of their strength during their days of despair as recent arrivals.
The articles comments that a number of Hispanics are claiming that they have no religion at all, as do many other Americans. But what really interests me, as a Latin American and also as a Protestant, is that the studies cited in the article, not only talk about the “exodus” happening in the Catholic Church, but that this exodus is also occurring within the Protestant churches.
This shows us something, that regardless of the confession of faith we may declare our lips, The word of God is clear when it says: Romans 3:
10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
In Romans, this refers to those who don’t want to know about God, but as Christians, we sometimes go back to our old self, and don’t want anything to do with God. We make promises in our countries of origin like “God, if you help me in the new land where I am going, I am going to pay you being a good Christian, believer…..etc.” But this does not take into consideration that our hearts may deceive us: Jeremiah 17:
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
I am a migrant, and I expect a lot of my readers are as well. I have seen how many people have come to Australia or the USA, with great hopes to move ahead financially, and how this hope drives them away from God as they get those material things they had always wanted. Financial and social security, for them, meant that they did not need God anymore. This is a very too often situation, one that I see repeated too often, just as the article of the New York Times makes it clear as well.
Not to be misunderstood, but I am all for having a house, a car, and those things that may our lives and the lives of those whom we love more comfortable. But I also know that as a Christian, my priorities are very different from those who don’t want to know about God. All material gains, are because God has given them to us as gift, not to hold on to them as to forget who gave us health and strength in order to get those material gains.
Let me finish, quoting Scripture once again:
Mathew 6:33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Blessings.
Luis A. Jovel
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