I recently talked to a man who adopted a child from an extremely deprived background. His story was simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. I was struck by the convergence of so many “social justice” issues in a single life. This child and his families dealt with racial prejudice, abuse, neglect, starvation, lack of health care, abortion, orphan care, and likely other issues of which I’m not aware. These issues can be extreme leading to legal involvement from resources like https://lawtx.com/, and others in the same line, for those who are facing backlash and need their voices to be heard amongst the loudness.
I’ll confess, somewhat sadly, that social justice issues haven’t always been at the center of my radar screen. The development of RICH’S RIDE has shifted my consciousness a bit. As I read and think about “social justice” I’ve developed a few conclusions:
Social justice is unachievable.
We live in a broken world. Hunger, slavery, abuse, sex trafficking, poverty, and other forms of injustice manifest that brokenness. I can’t solve those issues. Neither can you.
Humans can’t fix the world. That’s God’s job, and God’s big story unfolds even when we can’t perceive it.
We’re called to seek justice.
“Unachievable” doesn’t mean “ignorable.”
And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. (Isaiah 1:17)
We can’t fix the world, but we CAN change the world. We can make a difference. We’re called to do what we can, where we are, with what we have.
God invites us to walk with Him, give what we have, and trust Him for the rest.
Social justice is at the heart of the gospel.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Jesus put His face on the victims of injustice. I cannot claim to love God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind or to love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22) while I turn my back on those victims.
We allow others to hijack social justice issues for selfish purposes.
Politicians and pundits create and promote angry, divisive, single-issue disputes to advance their selfish agendas. Such disputes waste enormous amounts of time, energy, and resources while doing little or nothing to promote justice for victims. Those who encourage and foster discord are less interested in addressing problems than exploiting the weak and helpless for personal gain.
Social justice issues are “pro-life.”
More about this tomorrow.
Your thoughts about social justice?
Please leave a comment here.
Want to receive free updates?
Click below to get Bouncing Back
delivered directly to your inbox.
