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Our part in the assimilation process
Years ago when I was employed as an English teacher at a school in Germany, I volunteered on weekends at a refugee house. The Polish family I’d been assigned to help—mother, father, and four children—had, sadly, felt forced to leave their country of birth for economic reasons. Though educated and skilled in a trade, the father, a gentle and humble man, had lost his job and become demoralized when unable to find another.
Today, large-scale immigration, resulting from civil war, poverty, and racial and religious persecution, raises the important question of how destination countries can successfully assimilate growing numbers of diverse individuals and cultures. While education, economic opportunity, and social support systems inarguably facilitate one’s integration into a new culture or society, none of these things can guarantee happiness and success. Nor can they extinguish the fear that we might lose our identity or way of life by adopting another’s character or culture.
Yet the immigrant experiences of notable men and women in the Bible, such as Ruth (who found stability and happiness in a foreign country) and Joseph (who, taken from his homeland as a slave, became a ruler in Egypt second only to Pharaoh), give us a reason to hope that wherever we go, we can make our home, make a meaningful contribution, and feel welcome. More important, they demonstrate that we have nothing to lose and everything to gain by striving above all else to assimilate more of the divine character in our day-to-day lives.
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