I recently wrote a devotional for my friends at the Made To Flourish Pastors network where I serve on the Board of Directors. MTF’s annual Common Good Conference curates a rich day designed to resource pastors and congregations as they work, serve and worship in their communities. They asked me to write on the topic of justice, framed by this question:
I see injustice, should I remain quiet?
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17 NIV
It might be easy to default to what we believe to be the ‘right’ answer to this question, which is “of course not, you should always speak up when you see injustice.”
But that is an oversimplification.
Speaking up for justice or against injustice is a requirement of the Christian life, but many of us fear doing so because the consequences may be harsh, or fear we may not be heard. We also can speak from a reactive place which is not helpful. Speaking up against injustice must be deeply engrained in our way of viewing the world and it requires real courage.
This scripture is instructive as it lays out the life of the righteous person. We are “to learn, to seek, to defend, to take up the cause and to plead.”
Calling out injustice is not optional for the Christian, but it must flow from a discipled life where we have learned and worked and helped, not just spoken.
If we only call out injustice from a place of outrage and not from a place of wisdom, then we will be rendered ineffective. And we must realize that we are called to do so, regardless of the outcome.
As a holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel understood this, not just intellectually but also from his lived experience, a place of deep suffering and real wisdom. He knew and lived out his deeply held conviction that silence is not an option:
“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” and
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
We must be living righteous lives that give us the moral authority to speak out against injustices everywhere when we see it. This is the life of a follower of Jesus in its fullest expression.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to see with my eyes and my heart all the injustices around me. May I ever increasingly steward my influence and power to call out injustice and work for justice in the places where I live, work and serve every day. May I move towards justice from a place of wisdom to bring real change and may I “Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out. Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless.” (Isaiah 1:17 MSG)
My next post will pick up the again on the topic of Systems with Part V: Navigating Complexity and Emotional Health. Stay tuned…