Monday, August 04, 2008
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God Calls Us To Fight Against Worldwide Injustice
by mrs violetI can remember watching reruns of The Lone Ranger on a black and white boxed TV, with muffled static sounds, like it was only yesterday. This was back in the days when when playing cowboys and Indian's was not politically incorrect, and children were not viewed as mini terrorists in the making if they galloped around school playgrounds and back gardens shooting mock guns.
Life seemed so much simpler then.
I have learned a couple of different lessons from The Lone Ranger over the years. I thought I would share a few of those things with you over a couple of posts.
The first lesson that The Lone Ranger taught me was to stand up for injustice. I have one of those hearts that struggles with injustice. As a child I was often getting myself into trouble by taking on other people's battles, and not always for the noblest of causes either. As an adult I am trying to channel this into more positive domains.
We too as Christians are entreated to stand up for those suffering injustice. Maybe we are not called to ride off into the sunset on our trusty stead fending off cattle thieves and land sharks, but we are certainly to be concerned with the things that break the Father's heart. This is never at the expense of the gospel, but as a natural extension of it. People like George Muller, Gladys Aylward,and Corrie Ten Boom have always inspired me to think more about these issues.
The things that move my heart to prayer and/or support are causes like child sponsorship (Compassion), encouraging entrepreneurs (Kiva), lessening poverty (Fair Trade), and human rights (Stop the Traffik). My heart also goes out to ministries like NightLight, who work with women rescued from a life of prostitution in Bangkok. And on a local level I love the work in Sydney (and worldwide) of Mercy Ministries.
I am always reminded of the admonishment that occurs in Zechariah 7:8-10 to the children of Israel: And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'"What are the issues that touch your heart?
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Comments (30)
I think there is a lot of romanticism associated with helping people in the far corners of the earth, and there's nothing wrong with that, but I have to remind myself that there are plenty of people within a 20-mile radius of my home that are suffering too. Sometimes it seems easier to help those we can't see than to reach those within our grasp.
@GodArt@xanga - i agree. we can't forget the people suffering right around us.
i have a really compassionate heart, and it is always hard to see what is going on in the world. but it is such comforting thought to know that God is bigger than AIDS, child prostitution, homelessness, and poverty.
my heart is with those who don't know Christ. that is the one issue that matters to me, because without Christ, everything goes wrong. that is at the root of all our problems. God gives people hope and peace within themselves.
It's great to see more Christians standing up against injustice, to care for the poor, the suffering, the afflicted. For too long, mainstream Christianity has been almost solely about "bringing people to Christ", and we forget that as part of the redemption plan, God has also called us to be agents of reconciliation and healing on this earth.
I'm strong for animal rights.
Also genocide and war and such. there's never a good enough reason to kill millions of people. It's beyond wrong
the treatment of orphans in other countries....homeless children...abused kids....battered women
What is Justice?
This is a great post!
potable water, mostly in africa.
A big issue to me is healthcare and health education for the poor (in America as well as around the world).
Poverty and human trafficking mostly I think. And also violence in general. I remember watching the movie City of God and just bawling. I have the picture of the little kids' faces who were shot burned in my mind forever. I have a hard time accepting that such horrible things exist.
great post! yes, helping the poor, children, the oppressed is heavily emphasized in the Bible...after hearing Tony Campolo speak, I'm starting off small by sponsoring a child through Compassions and I'm looking forward to starting a laundry love project in Berkeley (www.just4one.org) hopefully it'll happen...i do have a heart for those stuck in human trafficking and for the poor
Fair Trade.
I think that it is entirely possible to get too wound up in specific causes, such as injustice, and civil rights, as well as other human and social issues.
The issue that touches my heart the closest is the fact that I live in a country where anywhere between 1 out of every 1,000 to 3 out of every 10,000 people in Japan are going to a Devil's Hell, and they have no clue that it is happening. Many of the people here are actually punching their own tickets there (to the tune of almost 100 suicides every day), all the while thinking that they are doign themselves, society, and their families a favor....when in reality, they aren't.
@JandJinJapan@xanga - .... you know just once, it would be nice to write a post and have somebody actually read it in context....
but we are certainly to be concerned with the things that break the
Father's heart. This is never at the expense of the gospel, but as a
natural extension of it.
Obviously.... that concerns me a well.
x
@GodArt@xanga - or we manage to do both.... a little like what the Apostles did in Acts 1:8...
Nothing romantic in my mind about fulfilling the mandate Jesus left for us.
@mrsviolet - I think any place exotic (like India or Africa) can seem romantic, but once you're there, it may not be. Good point. And Jesus' mandate?
"...and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
It started local (Jerusalem), then went a little further (Judea and Samaria), then to the ends of the earth. I think that's a pretty good model. The gospel should be like a ripple in a pond, starting small and reaching further and further.
My greatest passion at present is to see those in the church learn how to love one another. "They shall know you are Mine by the love you have for one another." That is not happening. People in the church don't even know how to love themselves. How can they love anyone else? It makes into a cruel statement, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
When the church learns to love by the continuing love relationship they have with the Lover of Our Souls, everything else will fall into place without our planning or design.
@GodArt@xanga - I so agree with that.
I think though sometimes I limit myself in thinking I 'have' to go. There is so much we can do from our own homes, locally nationally and world wide. We have so many resources (ie in the Western world), I am finding my mind set challenged all the time about different ways I can help. My situation right now, doesn't allow me to go, but I can still help.
Having grown up as a child whose parents were in ministry, I think if anything I can see the lackluster too well. It would be a great challenge to be in OS missionary work.
Thanks for chatting with me about this. I appreciate you taking the time.
@AngelBeast777@xanga - That is a very good heart to have. I pray that we all (starting with me) will catch that and start living it out more and more authentically.
@edddDA@xanga - me too. One of the major crimes the police deal with in Manchester UK is HT. Yet the average Brit is blissfully unaware., because we think it happens in some far off place.
@JandJinJapan@xanga - sorry that came across quite rude on second reading. Please forgive me.
The more I pay attention to the news & the more I learn, the more my heart is broken about dozens of things. Sexism, racism, homelessness and hunger and poverty and AIDS and orphans and the cycle of violence in inner cities and girls who aren't given a choice other than abortion and the kids who get picked last in gym every day and the secret cutters and human trafficking and slavery and child soldiers and people who need health care but can't afford it and illegal immigrants' families being broken up and animal rights and abuse victims and child prostitution and it just goes on and on. I have to keep reminding myself that I can't do everything, but to do what I can.
@JandJinJapan@xanga - I've heard about how hard it is to share the gospel in Japan. I think in most affluent countries it's much harder for folks to care about salvation, God, etc. Do you attend a church for foreigners or a local Japanese church? I'm curious about how Japanese Christians are reaching out to other Japanese. My youngest brother has a heart to serve somewhere in Japan.
Issues that touch my heart are: plight of North Koreans and refugees in China, Zimbabwe, human trafficking...the list is so long and sometimes feels so overwhelming...
Thanks for posting on this mrs. violet. I am reminded that I need to pray more.
@mrsviolet - When I went to Italy to study for a semester, I remember my professor saying that unless you are called to stay, you are called to go. We are called to go get out of our comfort zones and help wherever we can, but we're not all called to be overseas missionaries. That always seems like a huge pressure. But I think we can clearly be "resident missionaries" wherever we are.