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Economic and Social Justice
I was doing some reading online today and read these two definition options for the term "economic and social justice."
Option One: "For some Christians, practicing economic and social justice means that churches should practice charity: setting up soup kitchens, assisting victims of natural disasters, and helping people find jobs."
Option Two: "For other Christians, practicing economic and social justice also means trying to change the conditions that cause people to be poor or unemployed."
There is a difference. Which one do you subscribe to? Anything to add? I'll follow up in a few days on this issue.
I subscribe to neither view, ... and to both, depending on how you look at it.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the church should focus first and foremost on Christ. It's Christ that changes men, not church programs or political action. The abolitionist movement, the child labor reform movement, the Salvation Army, the International Red Cross Society and the Civil Rights movement were all begun by people whose first devotion was to the pursuit of Christ. In pursuing Christ, they found Him, and in finding Christ, these men and women also found His particular calling on their lives. They went on to help alot of people, but primarily as an outpouring of their love for Christ, not because they were pursuing social justice as an end in itself.
Christ will call some of us to feed the homeless. Christ will call some of us to change the world through social or political activity. So long as Christ leads the effort, it will be a genuine act of the Church Universal, and not simply another copy-cat program that makes people feel good about themselves for a while.
So I subscribe to neither view, and to both views ... all at the same time. The question we need to be asking ourselves, is: "What is Christ calling _me_ to do?"
Mike, this is a post by Dr. Peter Leithart with a conclusion that yes, Christians are to be involved, led by the Spirit. I think it fits in with what David was saying, and I think you'll find it encouraging, especially at the end. Here's the link: http://www.leithart.com/2010/06/07/sermon-notes-58/
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