Skip to main content

Justice

Our view of justice is narrow and limited. Typically when we, as Christians, talk about justice we are really only referring to punishing wrongdoers for their crimes. While that is certainly a part of justice that isn't the only thing. In the Bible justice consists of much more.

Consider the book of Amos, one of the minor prophets and therefore a book that most Christians barely touch. Amos is announcing judgment against the nation of Israel for their infidelity to their covenant with God. What do you think is the most repeated indictment against Israel? Interestingly it's not idolatry, sexual immorality, or war although these things are mentioned.

The primary sin of in Amos is Israel's neglect of the poor and their oppression of the needy.

Over and over again Amos declares that judgment is coming to Israel because of their treatment of those less fortunate. The poor are trampled and the needy are crushed. There is no justice in the land.

Biblical justice includes both criminal justice AND social justice. I know that the term "social justice" has become a sort of dirty term nowadays, but Christians need to grow up and stop letting the political agendas of the day dictate our vocabulary and holiness. Helping the poor, reconciling broken communities, and freeing the oppressed are intrinsically bound up in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We live in a world full of injustice. We, as Americans, sit atop the heap and often reap the benefits of poorer nations' work. I sit here writing this on a computer. Where was it made? How were the people who actually made the parts treated? What about my clothes? When you look into it you find that many of the luxuries we enjoy are made by people who are being oppressed so that we can enjoy them.

So what do we do? Well, the first thing to do is listen. When a community says they are facing injustice or oppression, maybe we shouldn't immediately say "No you're not!" Usually we respond that way because we know that they are right and that it will take a change on our part to facilitate reconciliation, and we don't like change.

Read Amos. See just how much God cares about this issue. Remember the words of Jesus, that the difference between the sheep and the goats was how they treated the least of these. It wasn't their doctrine or theology, as important as that is, but how they loved people.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving, the day that we are supposed to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. It is a time of family reunions, football, and turkey eating. I sincerely pray that each and every one of you has a good day today. I'll admit that being thankful has not been easy for me this year. As pretty much all of you know, my mother passed away December of last year. Though she had been in the hospital for months, we were not expecting it. In fact I was sure she would be finally able to come home within a matter of weeks. Instead she peacefully passed on into the arms of Jesus, whom she loved more dearly than anyone else. As you can imagine, the entire family was heart broken. After what can easily be described as the worst Christmas ever, I returned to home to Illinois. It was here that I finally broke down. I spent the next months doing everything except being thankful. I cursed God, wept, screamed, begged to have her back, and was generally not the nicest person to be
3 comments
Read more

Matthew, The Promised Messiah

Imagine, if you will, living as a Jewish Christian in the first century. You grew up following the Mosaic Law and have studied the Old Testament backwards and forwards. The life of the synagogue, that shared community of faith, is precious to you. It was, for the longest time, the cohesive core of your walk of faith. You grew up waiting on the promises of God to be fulfilled. Now you've heard the good news you've been waiting for; the news the entire Jewish people have been waiting for. God has acted decisively! The covenant promises made to Abraham have at last been fulfilled! The Messiah has come! Eagerly you listen to those proclaiming the Messiah, a man named Jesus from the town of Nazareth. You listen and are astounded at his life and teaching. Truly this man was a great prophet, just as Moses promised. You listen in awe as your entire concept of royalty is turned on its head, as this Jesus assumed the throne as the promised king of Israel not by war or riches but by a
Post a Comment
Read more

Reading Aloud

What is the primary way we use Scripture today? I think the answer, at least in our society, is private reading and study. The majority of our spiritual advice can be summed up in "study the Bible more." The moral of many sermons is simply that we don't read the Bible enough. I think that this is absolutely true, but I probably mean something a little different. While I obviously agree that we, in general, don't read the Bible enough individually that isn't actually my main gripe. I think we don't read the Bible enough out loud, in community, as a part of worship. This, I think, should be a central part of our gatherings every week. We should simply read the Bible out loud and listen together in community. How much is the Bible read aloud in your gathering? I'm talking specifically about just reading, not during sermons or classes. How often is the Bible simply read without someone commenting on or explaining it? Just the Scriptures read aloud for all to h
Post a Comment
Read more