pursuing justice: defending the weak
Deuteronomy 10:14-19, “Pursuing Justice: defending the weak” [Listen]
Today is “Sanctity of Life Sunday”. Many set this day aside to focus on the value of human life – we are going to do that. Next Sunday we are going to talk about “racial reconciliation” and our tendency to devalue God when we devalue the image of God through racism and prejudice. While there are many ways to approach these topics, I’d like to look at them through the concept of “justice”.
Deuteronomy 10:14-19 (NIV)
To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless (executes justice for the fathersess-ESV) and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.
The concept of biblical justice, and how I should connect with it, avoided me for many years (I still have a long way to go). I understood justice in a narrow way. I saw God’s call to pursue justice as a call to think about, debate, and vote on issues that connected with law enforcement. It was a national thing for me. As a good Christian I should make sure we put criminals in jail. While putting criminals in jail is important, it is far from a complete discussion of justice.
When the Bible speaks of justice it’s important for us to remember that our form of government didn’t exist 2,000 years ago. People did not think about how they might change the standards of their country’s judicial system through electoral voting – it didn’t work that way. This was not the frame of reference for the prophets or for Jesus.
Since life’s highest standards are derived from the character of God, what is right and what is just flows from God. God’s will and those activities that result from God’s will is what is right, what is just. To fight against whatever moves against God’s will is is to pursue justice. Disease, poverty, hunger, racism and bigotry is a form of injustice. When you fight against these things you are pursuing justice.
Micah 6:8 (NIV)
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Jeremiah 22:3 (NIV)
This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Isaiah 1:17 (ESV)
…learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
Christians have often been less than God-honering as it relates to pursuing justice. It is common for those who would follow God to be intimidated or captured by the sinful designs of the culture they live in. We just don’t want to stand alone or give our lives for the Kingdom.
Slavery is an example of this. For years Christians accommodated slavery. They were enslaved by a culture that cares nothing for God. To stand in the face of this cultural, economic Goliath and say, “This must stop!”, was dangerous.
Today most cannot imagine owning slaves. We think, “If I was there 200 years ago I would have stood up to Goliath”. Really?
Abortion is somewhat like this. Abortion is a topic that, in this culture, can polarize any conversation and be dangerous to take a stand on.
Justice, for the Christian, is not only/primarily a political vote. It is something we must pursue and live for because it reflects the heart of God! We are called to move against those things that move against God’s design for us.
The cancer of sin that flows through the veins of this world produces death all around us. To fight against this is to pursue justice. Slavery still exists throughout the world – sexual slavery, ethnic slavery, racial slavery, economic slavery – to fight against this is to pursue justice. When you fight for those that are disadvantaged – the orphans, the widows, those with no homes – you are pursuing justice. When you speak for those who cannot speak for themselves you are pursuing justice.
Amos 5:21-24 (NIV)
“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grainofferings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like an ever-failing stream!“
As we embrace Jesus as our savior and king and treasure, we are called to fight for justice. I am not calling us to political action this morning. Political action is, at best, a small and partial answer. We must come along side those in trouble and help them. We must give ourselves to the cause – not just our vote and money. (see Luke 10:25-37)
I know this may be a bit off, but you did touch on the subject of widows and the fatherless. Single moms and divorced moms today are often called the widows of our day and age. What is our role as Christians for these women and their children who don’t have a father figure in their lives?
Diana Nelson
January 21, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I don’t think this is off topic at all.
I think God would have Christians prioritize their lives according to Jesus’ mission for us. We would invest our lives the way he did. All we do would focus on Christ as our purpose. We would invest in people.
This could very easily connect with the need you mentioned. Unlike 2000 years ago, our culture does not lend itself to thinking in terms of community.
We need Jesus to “rewire” or thinking. I don’t think about caring for widows and orphans as an obligation. Rather as an amazing privilege to build the kingdom.
It’s tough to give a specific answer to the issue you mentioned but I wanted to say it falls in line with our discussion and will have a connection to Matt. 6:19-24 (two weeks)
WW
Waldean
January 21, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Good discussion. I think there is a huge disconnect for Christians and ministering in lines with Jesus mission. We come from a background where it has been heavy on knowledge and lacking in application into Jesus mission. I spent a lot of time debating theology in college and a 3rd of that time investing in others. We spend a lot of time talking about knowledge and why rather than step out in faith to get to know someone, to serve and love them. I think of Jesus meeting with people and asking them to come with him, zaccehus is an example, the disciples. They didn’t think about 6 steps or , or craft an amazing vision statement, they responded in faith and followed.
When we think of the orphans and widows in todays culture it is the single and divorced men and woman, we don’t respond well to that. Mainly because we don’t know them. We say we serve a relational God and he has a relationship with us (which we are to model and live out), however we have a difficult time bringing his example of relationship to those who are hurting, suffering and who don’t know Jesus. When we align with Jesus mission, our relational priorities shift. People become important like they were to Jesus.
Craig
January 22, 2008 at 8:53 am
RE; Craig’s comment……
Profound comment.. Very often I find myself in some dialong with with a population that is characterized as “Orphans and widows and more specific..single and divorced men and women” It is my perception that church communities generally have to some extent written off these persons. Some definately are not “main stream” and they know that they certainly not being sought after through anykind of programming in most church communities. Some of the persons that inhabit this population are lonely, some desperate and certainly disenfrancised. It is certainly true that we do not know them… and sometimes we have no desire to engage them. As we begain to look past the walls of CBC It might be well to prayerfully consider a somewhat old fashioned activity of knocking on doors to connect with these people. Some of the down town appartments in Winona, the old buldings, I think could be accurately characterized as a “micro” mission field. Admitedly, to reach some of these people is difficult to do for a variety of reasons. I think this poplulation and others will probably never darken the door of a church we need to be seeking opportunities to share and engage this population here in Winona
Jim
January 22, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I think knocking on doors is a valid thing.
I wonder why people live next door to others and never say more than “hello” to them or even have dinner with them. I go to bed at night and my neighbors are sleeping less than 20 ft away from me (people next door, across the street, it’s a bit further.) They probably are an acquaintance, maybe more. I imagine there is some familiarity. If most of us live in Winona, we live in close proximity to others. Here’s another example let’s be honest, for some, co-workers get more awake time then their own families. I believe, I’ll have to answer to God when I go why Iived so close to someone and they never saw Jesus or heard me talk about him.
I have to give an account to God and as a pastor, I wonder what I’ll have to say if people aren’t after their neighbor nor if they aren’t a equipped to do so. Hebrews 13 deals with this. As a leader/pastor at our church, I look forward to helping people live in Jesus’ mission to their neighbor . If I don’t, I’m sinning and probably leading them into sin through ignoring.
Thanks for the comments Jim.
Craig
January 22, 2008 at 3:27 pm
There are so many single moms and dads in the Winona area. They make up a huge percentage of the overall population of Winona. In fact this portion of the population is growing in size.
We need to be looking at how we engage them and invest in their lives. There are so many kids aht would benefit from our interactions.
I really do believe that we are called to be part of their lives and love them.
Michael
January 23, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Re: Craigs reply to my comment……PRAISE THE LORD…THE KIND OF SENSTIVITY, CARING AND CHALLENGE IS WHAT WE NEED TO SERIOUSLY ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY!!! I FOR ONE AM READY TO POUND ON DOORS AND COLD CALL PERSONS IN THE GREATER WINONA AREA TO ENGAGE THEM THE BEST WAY WE KNOW HOW WITH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!!! I AGREE THAT WE ARE HELD RESPONSIBLE IF WE ARE PASTORS OR NOT. WE NEED TO GO OUT 2 BY 2 AND POUND ON SOME DOORS. LETS PRACTICE RANDOM ACTS OF KINDESS…GIVE OUT COOKIES WITH A NON THRETNING MESSAGE OF INVITATION TO THEM. THERE ARE NOT VERY MANY PERSONS WHO WILL REFUSE A COOKIE…….WE NEED TO DEVELOP A NUMBER OF OUT REACH OPTIONS AND OR PROGRAMS AND SEE WHAT WE GET AS FAR AS RECEPTION!!!
IN CHRST …….JIM
Jim
January 24, 2008 at 4:04 pm
HEY MICHAEL…..YOUR OBSERVATION I RIGHT ON I CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE A PART OF THEIR LIVES AND TO LOVE THEM WITH THE WHITE HOT LOVE OF JUSUS CHRIST. WE NEED TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER IN THOUGHT FULL PRAYER HOW WE MIGHT ENGAGE VARIOUS PUBLICS IN OUR COMMUNITY. WE NEED TO DISMANTEL OUR THINKING THAT WILL EVER ALOW US TO HIDE OUR SALT AND LIGHT BEHIND EXPENSIVE STAIN GLASS.
Jim
January 24, 2008 at 4:11 pm