A Culture Within a Culture
Greetings to our sisters in Christ!
The scriptures say we are not citizens of this world:
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ
Philippians 3:20
(Conversation means citizenship)
I'm sure you have all seen that in this life. As you strip your life down from the worldliness and as you become more godly, you see that we are a godly culture within this worldly culture. If you have repented and have been transformed on the inside then you will be striving in obedience to the Word of God on the outside, amen? When you once dressed like a harlot, you now (if you are obedient to scripture) dress in long loose, unadorned dresses and skirts. You fully cover your head. You shed the sinful pride and vanity of makeup and jewelry. (These are ALL scriptural commands in God's Word and not to be overlooked lest you be in sin.) That shows you are called out visually. You also kill your flesh and strive to be obedient to your husband, having a meek and quiet spirit, staying home and raising your children, being frugal with your resources etc shows that you are called out in your actions. Many of these godly traits are looked down upon in this culture.
I've been thinking about this topic because the state we are in is one that employs a lot of Spanish people to harvest their fields, all year long. As we mingle among them, we see they also are a culture within this culture and they too, are looked down upon.
We've noticed that they are a quiet people and more often than not, we see whole families together in the store with fathers pushing the cart alongside the wife with well behaved children in tow. We've also noticed that many are kinder than the average American with great work ethics. They are hated by many Americans, stating that they take away jobs from the American people. We've traveled all over this country and see that where there are groups of them, there are either meat processing plants or agriculture to be harvested. There's a viscous cycle going on because Americans won't do such jobs for an average pay yet they want to buy the products for average prices. You can't have both. If you want more pay, you pay more. If you want to pay less, you earn less. The Spanish people are thankful for these jobs and the end result is a product that is priced at what the Americans will pay.
It's a crazy dichotomy that we see as we travel, white men of healthy build, standing on street corners begging for money and taking from society while the Spanish work hard to support their families, oftentimes being separated from them.
I want to note that we don't encourage illegal immigration, we fully welcome those who become citizens. I'm also not going to get into the politics of whether they should be here or not, whether they should send their money back to their family or not...I'm simply showing a side that maybe others have not seen and making a point about cultures inside cultures and how they stand out in the world. These are the general observations we have seen, I'm not saying they are without fault or don't have any troubles within themselves.
We passed some of the fields they work in. The first one is just the rows with black plastic on them, ready for strawberry plants.
They bend over and hand pick each berry, pack it in the crate and walk (or run) it to the truck, the faster they pick, the more they make.
I told brother Jim that I remember how sore I was trying to keep up with our big gardens, I can't imagine stooping over every single day, all day long doing what they do. We have a heart for those who are poor and will work hard to provide for themselves and their families. Oftentimes many family members live together in small quarters. Many Americans could learn much from them.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 23:22
This all ties in with something that happened while we were out witnessing the other day at a big event, you can read about it here: https://titus24sisters.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-seriousness-of-submission.html
After most of the crown had gone, we heard bells ringing and looked behind us to see a little Spanish man, pushing a cart.
He was selling frozen fruit & milk bars and when brother Jim saw that (after preaching for 7 hours) he went right over and enthusiastically chose a couple for us, gratefully thanking the man and giving him a gospel card. That man was thanking us heartily and we were happy to see many other people supporting his business as he walked down the sidewalk. We smiled at the timing for brother Jim to have a (rare) cold treat to soothe his throat :-)
That day we were much like the Spanish; under the blazing hot sun in the field all day, sowing seeds of Truth, with God reaping the harvest :-)
As we watch these Spanish people find a way to live in a foreign culture (America), being hated by the natives (Americans), how much more can followers of Christ live holy, called-out lives in this culture, being hated by the natives (American Christians)???
Have blessed day sisters.
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
The scriptures say we are not citizens of this world:
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ
Philippians 3:20
(Conversation means citizenship)
I'm sure you have all seen that in this life. As you strip your life down from the worldliness and as you become more godly, you see that we are a godly culture within this worldly culture. If you have repented and have been transformed on the inside then you will be striving in obedience to the Word of God on the outside, amen? When you once dressed like a harlot, you now (if you are obedient to scripture) dress in long loose, unadorned dresses and skirts. You fully cover your head. You shed the sinful pride and vanity of makeup and jewelry. (These are ALL scriptural commands in God's Word and not to be overlooked lest you be in sin.) That shows you are called out visually. You also kill your flesh and strive to be obedient to your husband, having a meek and quiet spirit, staying home and raising your children, being frugal with your resources etc shows that you are called out in your actions. Many of these godly traits are looked down upon in this culture.
I've been thinking about this topic because the state we are in is one that employs a lot of Spanish people to harvest their fields, all year long. As we mingle among them, we see they also are a culture within this culture and they too, are looked down upon.
We've noticed that they are a quiet people and more often than not, we see whole families together in the store with fathers pushing the cart alongside the wife with well behaved children in tow. We've also noticed that many are kinder than the average American with great work ethics. They are hated by many Americans, stating that they take away jobs from the American people. We've traveled all over this country and see that where there are groups of them, there are either meat processing plants or agriculture to be harvested. There's a viscous cycle going on because Americans won't do such jobs for an average pay yet they want to buy the products for average prices. You can't have both. If you want more pay, you pay more. If you want to pay less, you earn less. The Spanish people are thankful for these jobs and the end result is a product that is priced at what the Americans will pay.
It's a crazy dichotomy that we see as we travel, white men of healthy build, standing on street corners begging for money and taking from society while the Spanish work hard to support their families, oftentimes being separated from them.
I want to note that we don't encourage illegal immigration, we fully welcome those who become citizens. I'm also not going to get into the politics of whether they should be here or not, whether they should send their money back to their family or not...I'm simply showing a side that maybe others have not seen and making a point about cultures inside cultures and how they stand out in the world. These are the general observations we have seen, I'm not saying they are without fault or don't have any troubles within themselves.
We passed some of the fields they work in. The first one is just the rows with black plastic on them, ready for strawberry plants.
And the workers....
...in a strawberry field.
They bend over and hand pick each berry, pack it in the crate and walk (or run) it to the truck, the faster they pick, the more they make.
I told brother Jim that I remember how sore I was trying to keep up with our big gardens, I can't imagine stooping over every single day, all day long doing what they do. We have a heart for those who are poor and will work hard to provide for themselves and their families. Oftentimes many family members live together in small quarters. Many Americans could learn much from them.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 23:22
This all ties in with something that happened while we were out witnessing the other day at a big event, you can read about it here: https://titus24sisters.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-seriousness-of-submission.html
After most of the crown had gone, we heard bells ringing and looked behind us to see a little Spanish man, pushing a cart.
He was selling frozen fruit & milk bars and when brother Jim saw that (after preaching for 7 hours) he went right over and enthusiastically chose a couple for us, gratefully thanking the man and giving him a gospel card. That man was thanking us heartily and we were happy to see many other people supporting his business as he walked down the sidewalk. We smiled at the timing for brother Jim to have a (rare) cold treat to soothe his throat :-)
That day we were much like the Spanish; under the blazing hot sun in the field all day, sowing seeds of Truth, with God reaping the harvest :-)
As we watch these Spanish people find a way to live in a foreign culture (America), being hated by the natives (Americans), how much more can followers of Christ live holy, called-out lives in this culture, being hated by the natives (American Christians)???
Have blessed day sisters.
Love in Christ,
Sister Deb
The biblical gospel...