“Social Justice” is a hot button topic among Christians. For some, it has become a code phrase for political applications of liberal theology. Conservatives use it to accuse liberals of building entitlement or socialist government programming. Conversely, liberals may embrace it to paint conservatives as selfish or uncharitable. The truth is, every Christian wants a just society, but we might differ on the means of achieving it.
American culture tends to equate justice with punishment. We create thousands of laws to punish the guilty, but spend comparatively little effort on ensuring society takes care of its poor and needy. We balk at the idea that what we own may be an impediment to justice for someone else. However, the lament beginning with Isaiah 5:8 provides a common sense commentary on the economics required to foster a just society:
“Ah, you who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is room for no one but you, and you are left to live alone in the midst of the land!”
In God’s realm there is enough for everyone, but we thwart the system when we amass more than we really require. We don’t all need to earn equal wages or own equal property, but we do need to work toward a society where everyone has at least what they need. And our feelings about what people may or may not deserve don’t count as much as we might like them to. Contrary to popular sentiment, Christ doesn’t ask us to evaluate what we think people deserve, but to evaluate how we as individuals and communities use the gifts God has given us to serve others. The change giving creates in the heart of the giver is as important as the need met for the receiver. Just as nothing really belongs to Caesar, nothing belongs to us either. Do we live like we believe that?
True peace is not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of a just society. A society is just when we are as concerned about the “least of us” as we are about ourselves.
Comfort: Justice costs less than selfishness.
Challenge: Take a hard look at whether you are using the resources God has entrusted to you to foster a just society.
Prayer: God of Peace help me create Your justice.
Evening readings: Ps 40, 67
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