Seeking Justice for the Oppressed

Saturday 6/18/2016 5:38 AM

When I observe the world in which I live and converse with my students it soon becomes obvious that there are glaring injustices and inequalities in our world today. When I read the Bible it urges me to love God above all and to love my neighbor as I love myself. It suggests that if I love God and neighbor then I will seek justice for the oppressed, I will feed the hungry, and visit those in prison.

While I have donated food for food banks, served dinners for the homeless at my church, led Bible studies in a federal penitentiary, done one-on-one mentoring of a young man incarcerated at a juvenile detention center near my home, make monthly donations for a local social justice cause, for a ministry to young single mothers, and to support the education and material needs for a child in Africa, it seems as if these actions on my part are merely a bit of salve to alleviate a symptom but do virtually nothing to cure the disease. How can I best seek justice for those oppressed?

When I think of the systemic changes that need to happen to address these issues it seems impossible. I have thought about running for political office to see if I could change oppressive policies but I abhor the current political climate in our country and it seems as if those who do enter the political realm soon become entangled in the mire and eventually become a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution.

Today I read an excerpt from A Wesleyan Spiritual Reader, by Reuben P. Job. He describes John Wesley as the most influential social reformer of his day and writes these words: “From the early days at Oxford until a few days before his death, Wesley was about the ministry of caring for the poor, the oppressed, and the imprisoned. And all of this while living a rigorous life of prayer, study, and reflection. This commitment to neighbor and passion to proclaim the gospel story was so great that John and Charles rode in a cart with a condemned prisoner so that they could sing and pray on the way to the hangman’s scaffold. Holy living is a direct result of and inseparable from a holy heart. To experience Christian perfection is to live as Jesus lived. It is to be obedient to the One proclaimed as Savior and Lord. … To know Christ and to be know by Christ means to walk with Christ in the everyday business of life.”

Somehow performing acts of mercy to alleviate this kind of suffering seems like addressing only half of the problem. Riding with a condemned prisoner to a hangman’s scaffold without addressing the reason why the prisoner felt compelled to commit the crime in the first place seems incomplete. That kind of action, while helpful to the person facing death alone, seems like it will only ensure that I will have another prisoner to accompany tomorrow. As a Christian, what is the best way to address the root causes of hunger, oppression, and injustice. What can I do today that will make hunger, oppression, and injustice things of the past?