Justice

I feel that not only is there a large division in churches between traditional and contemporary/conservative and liberal, but there is a big divide with what churches choose to preach about and focus on: in other terms, what the church deems is the most important about Jesus's message. On one side, you have those churches who emphasize the fact that Jesus was a rebel, an outcast - someone who fed the poor and spent time with lepers and had dreadlocks and wore clothes he made himself. Kind of like Shane Claiborne, except he's Jesus. Then you have churches who see Jesus as the talker, the guy who always gave great advice and who shared the good news about His father in Heaven and the Kingdom to come. Which Jesus is the real Jesus? Who should we follow?

Well, the answer is that neither of these guys is who Jesus was (and is!). Jesus did, of course, feed the poor and spend time with lepers. That was what he spent a majority of his time doing. But Jesus also spent a lot of time teaching about His father, especially to the disciples. You can't split Jesus in half because you only want to emphasize one part. Some people only want to do good works because this is what they find more appealing, or maybe because it's easier for them. This is the same for people who only want the evangelizing side of Jesus. They like to talk about how great Jesus is, but going out and physically helping people just doesn't do it for them. We absolutely can't have one without the other!

I was really reminded of this when the other day in my honors seminar, my teacher put a definition of social justice up on the board. The definition of social justice that scholars have agreed on (and this is in the secular world, mind you) is this: Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being.


So interesting! This basic definition of social justice incorporates both sides - meeting the physical needs of people (a society that's equal would have no hungry or thirsty) and sharing the message of Jesus (recognizing the dignity of every human being means helping those see dignity and love themselves - the only true way this will happen is if they follow Jesus). I love that! You just absolutely need to value both if you're going to follow Jesus. You need to walk the walk and talk the talk. And this isn't even me getting into how one is "saved" (faith or works or both?). It's just recognizing that if we're going to truly follow Jesus, we need to have equal parts of "good works" and "evangelizing". When you think about it, why do the two even need to be separated? Jesus didn't seem to divide his ministry into categories.


I think that's all I have to say. Just thought it was interesting that a secular definition got it spot on (besides that the definition didn't mention the Holy Spirit working through us, or that God is the only One who can create this perfect world in the end) and many churches struggle with incorporating both. So, let's walk and talk at the same time :)