Christianity and Social Justice

Social Justice goes to the very core of Christianity.  Jesus taught that we as Christians have to be there for those that were on the fringe of society.  Remember that Jesus fed the poor.  Jesus healed the sick.  Jesus reached out to people that were considered unclean.  We as Christians need to work for social justice throughout the world.

Jesus never turned away someone that was considered less than human by the religious leaders of the time.  We need to remember that we cannot judge people and say that they deserve what they are getting.  We have to be there for all people.  We cannot say that this group is unclean and we cannot help them.  We have to follow Jesus’s example and be there for all.  Jesus gave us the perfect example of how we as Christians need to be the leaders of Social Justice.  Jesus taught the disciples and us the importance of being there for others in their times of need. 

Anyone that reads Matthew 25:34-46 cannot deny the importance of being there for people who are in need. Jesus tells us in these verses to reach out to those that others have abandoned.  We must feed the poor, we need to give water to those that are thirsty, and we need to clothe those that do not have clothes.   Jesus further says that we must welcome the stranger and visit those in prison. 

The first three are easy we can understand why we must do them.  We justify that these individuals should be treated equal.  Christians all around the world have opened their churches and homes to those that are hungry providing meals.  We donate clothes to organizations that insure all people have what they need to stay warm.  Christians have also started organizations that provide water to communities that do not have access to clean water.

Yet, we have a much harder time with welcoming the stranger.  We are afraid of the stranger.  We believe that they will bring in diseases in our life.  We are afraid that they will hurt us or others.  We have this fear of the stranger so much that they push people away.  We even worry that they may change the environment of our churches and homes.  Yet, it is often the strangers that have the greatest need.  It is the stranger who comes to our churches and we do not make a part of our inner circle.  How many first time church goers do not go back because of the isolation that they feel?  Are we truly opening our churches and hearts for those that are seeking the saving power of God?

We also have a hard time with the idea of visiting prisoners.  We feel that they are in prison because of the actions that they committed.  We feel that they deserve their punishment and they do not deserve any peace.  We even go as far as believing that they cannot accept Jesus because of the fact that they committed sins that led to their confinement.  We believe that they will never change their ways.  Yet, what we miss is that they need to be witnessed to.  We need to open our lives up to them so that they will find the salvation that they need.   How many people have gone to jail and have never experienced the peace of Christ?  How many of us close our doors to those that are released from prison?  How many people have changed and accepted Christ in their life but we have not trusted them?

The sad part is that some Christians have stood up for Social Justice while others have stood against it.  The one group follows the example of Jesus’s love.  The other group uses the Bible to justify their behavior of not showing Jesus love to all groups.  They assert in their life that there are certain groups that are in so much sin that they should not be considered worthy enough to be Christians.  They justify not supporting them because they pick and choose scriptures that they feel condemn the group that they are not supporting because of their so called “behaviors”.

Think back to the time of slavery in the United States.  There was a large group of Christians that believed it was against the will of God to own slaves.  They believed that no person should own another.  They would eventually be known for the crusade to help free slaves.  The Underground Railroad had many Christians that put their own life on the lines to ensure that slaves could become free.

At the same time there were other Christians who were using scripture of the Bible to justify the slavery of people.  This group was openly attacking other Christians who were helping as they thought “property” escape.  They were picking and choosing scriptures that they felt proved that African Americans were not human. 

It took a war and almost a hundred years to change the minds of the Christians that considered African Americans less than human.  After the freeing of slaves some Christians considered them equals.  In these communities African Americans were able to thrive.  They became leaders in government, business and communities. 

At the same time Christians who had thought slavery was justifiable treated African Americans as less than human.  Many African American’s lives were worse than we they were slaves.  They could not vote.  They only jobs that they could find were to be servants to rich white Americans.  The Jim Crow laws segregated the society in many areas of the country. 

Then in the 1950’s-1960’s things began to change.  Christians that believed that African Americans were equals began fighting for the equal rights in communities that treated them unequally.  Christians joined other religious leaders to march for freedom.  They stood up against those that were considering African Americans less than human.  There were lives lost.  Yet, eventually the Christians who believed in fairness equality won out.  There are still issues yet; there have been so many changes.  You would have never considered fifty years ago having an African American President in the United States.  We have accomplished that and more because of the Religious that took a stand against inequality.

There are so many minorities that need Christians to take a stand.  There are children who go hungry because their parents are making a very small minimum wage.  There are individuals that are living on the street because of the inability to find housing because of their lack of decent income.  The sad part about this is that many receive disability because of both physical and psychological issues.  We have women that make less money and are treated with no respect throughout the world.  They are not giving the chance for education or decent jobs because of their sexual identity.  We have members of the GLBTIQA community that are mistreated and are treated as less than human.

The thing that we have to consider is that these minorities are being mistreated by Christians.  Christians that have gone through the Bible and picked out verses and justify their beliefs.  Because of their actions many of these minorities will never come to know Jesus.  They feel that the Church is against them so why go.

Yet, the whole Church is not against them.  There are as many Christians that believe that these minorities need to be treated equally.  They are standing up for their rights.  They have chosen to let social justice be a part of their life.  Instead of condemning people that are different they rejoice in them.  They understand that we are created equally.  It is humankind that makes people unequal. 

We need to remember that Jesus causes us to Social Justice.  God created us equal and we as Christians know the gift of forgiveness.  We need to stand up for those that have been disenfranchised by society.  We have to remember that we cannot treat anyone unequal.  We cannot as Christians justify as not being equal to us.  We have to remember that Jesus accepted us the way we are.  We are sinners that have been forgiven.  We have to remember that when we start treating people unequally we are going against what Jesus wants from us. 

Look at your life and see if you are truly living a Godly life.  If you are treating anyone unequally then you are betraying what God has called you to do.  We have to remember the example Jesus taught us.  We have to show love to all people.  We have to clothe those that are less fortunate.  We have to feed those that are starving throughout the world.  We have to ensure safe water resources for the world.  We have to welcome the stranger into our church communities.  We have to treat anyone that is different from us with respect.  We as Christians are called to be leaders in social justice.  Are you following the lead of Jesus in your day to day life?