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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.

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