We Say, How Long?

"For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ" (Romans 14:10).

The prophet Habakkuk opens this book with these words, "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear?" He ranted the rant of one who sees trouble, plundering and violence were before him; he could not understand why the Righteous Judge would allow such things to happen in the creation which He called good. All this translates so well with what is on the minds of many today. Why and how long? Last night while on the last break at work, I spoke with a Hispanic coworker, born and raised in Yakima, Washington. He gave me some Spanish tips and talked of Mexicans and Central Americans who cross the border into the U.S. seeking higher wages in the orchards and fields. There is a resentment, my coworker says, from some of the people south of the border toward the laws and the people here. An American may vacation in Mexico and could be beat up for being white, all because of some seething reaction to past injustice from some white fellow towards a Mexican.

On deportation he said, "A Mexican could be deported from the U.S. all because of a traffic ticket...Say a cop pulls the guy over, asks for his license, and when the guy doesn't understand English and isn't a citizen, the cop will get the INS. The man has a wife and two kids living here while he is sent back 1,000 miles away. It's not right." And I could just hear such words forming in my coworker's mind: How long?

I learned a lot sitting with that man outside of the factory, in the cool early morning air, eventually giving my comments, and thinking of what to say to him; the words of Jesus to his disciples on what to do in such circumstances when they were handed up to the officials was, "Whatever is given to you to say at that time, speak that." So I spoke. Those glorious words, that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11) came to mind, so I said them. "All these leaders, immigrants, citizens, congressmen, Federales, everyone will have to do those things sooner or later," said I as we walked back into the factory. "But it's better to do it now on earth than at Judgment Day for the first time."

My coworker listened with interest and when I spoke, though he still had the smattering of that resentment he spoke of when he told me that he has been told by white men that they are more superior to him because of their white skin. I just said, "That's not what God says."

"Behold the proud," says the Lord in Habakkuk 2:4, "his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith."