Monday, August 28, 2023

Roll Down Like A River


Sixty years ago today, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the “I have a dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a voice for civil rights, a cry for justice.  He famously quoted the prophet Amos - "Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:23-24, NIV)

While there has been much to celebrate in the intervening decades, there are miles to go to find “justice for all” in this great republic. Whatever your politics, whatever your views on economics, as Christians we should all be able to agree on the importance of justice in our society, justice in our legal system. But, it remains but a dream. Legal teams that examine cases find that about 1 in 20 cases result in wrongful conviction!  If you are a person of color or poor, the rate of wrongful conviction goes even higher in our system.

Justice starts with you and me!  Deeply rooted in the whole of the Bible as the will of God for us, a high calling as His own, we need to be concerned with justice, not only in our legal system, but in our day to day living. Justice, in the most basic sense, means to ‘make right,’ to bring about that which is good.

The Mosaic Law, which made the people of Israel distinctly different from the surrounding cultures, included repeated injunctions for the pursuit of just lives.  God’s people were commanded to do this - “Don’t pervert justice. Don’t show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right." (Leviticus 19:15, The Message)  "Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous." (Deuteronomy 16:19, NIV)

Our concept of ‘loving justice’ is often about the other guy. “But, Jerry, I love justice! I want the score settled, bad guys put in their place.”  Such justice is not really justice at all because it often colored by self-interest and/or fails to account for the context of the actions of another. It is retribution, or even vengeful, more about protecting our status than actually seeing justice done.

Jesus developed the idea that justice is shown by a refusal of pre-judgment. He did not see others for their race, sex, or religion. He saw people first.

The late Timothy Keller, pastor, wrote:  “Jesus shocked the social sensibilities of the day by receiving and treating all classes of people with equal love and respect. Samaritans were seen by the Jews as racial inferiors, yet twice Jesus places Samaritans on the same spiritual level as the Jews. (Luke 9:54; 17:16) Jesus touched off a riot when he declared that God loved Gentiles, such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, (Luke 4:25-27) as much as Jews. Jesus reached out to lepers who were social outcasts, touching them and defying the contemporary social prohibitions (Luke 5:12-16; 17:11-19). He exhorted his disciples to not only be generous to the poor (Luke 11:41; 12:33; 19:8) but to welcome them into their homes and families. (Luke 14:13)”

James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, addressed the common (then and now!) practice of Christians, favoring those with greater resources or social influence. Christians in 2023, including this writer, need to humbly receive the inspired Word and pray for a life that is conformed to the will of God. "My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim that you have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people more than others? For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that you are guided by wrong motives?" (James 2:1-4, NLT) "And yet, you insult the poor man! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?" (James 2:6, NLT)  Few things will make our testimony more counter-cultural than seeking to be people who treat all with the same respect, kindness, and acceptance.  This does not blind us to sin or wrong, nor does it rob our ability to call for change.

However, if we are just, we will not let stereotypical labels cause us to dismiss entire groups of people with whom we disagree or whose actions are reprehensible in the eyes of God. We will be like Jesus who challenged sin but with the desire to see persons changed by the love of His Father.  In our justice, love comes first. It is nearly impossible to seek another’s reconciliation with God if we hold them in contempt! Interestingly, the only people that were treated with contempt by the Lord Jesus were those who hid themselves in self-righteousness and claimed to have ‘insider status’ with God Himself. Their pride made them deaf to the Spirit, incapable of hearing His invitation to truly know God. I wonder if He might say the same of so many ‘Christians’ in our nation who are churched and outwardly socially acceptable, but who lack charity towards those who are different, who are without God or His love?

Keller writes these provocative thoughts. “The sinful human heart rejects God as Lord and Savior and seeks to justify itself (Romans 1:21-25; 9:32), and one of the ways we justify ourselves is by “looking down” on those who are different (Luke 18:9-14). One of the main ways humans do this is through differences of race and culture. We take mere cultural differences and preferences that–biblically speaking, are neither good or bad–and we view them as virtues.  We see cultures who lack those things as inferior. This is how we bolster our sense of self-worth.” (https://quarterly.gospelinlife.com/justice-in-the-bible/)  Read that again!  

It is not a wonder to me that a large percentage of Americans have abandoned the church and turned a deaf ear to preachers who proclaim their cultural preferences and values as the ‘Gospel of Christ.’  Jesus is not uniquely American!  If Jesus is wrapped up in our political rhetoric, our prosperity teaching, or our prejudice, He will become invisible to those who need to know Him as we do. He is the Savior of the World.  Oh that we would pray for a larger vision, for eyes that are like His eyes, as we look at others.

When we see them as persons, not problems; as equals not as inferiors; as those that God desires to reconcile to Himself – we will change.

Are you a person deeply committed to justice, praying that your attitudes, your words, and your actions will be generous, fair?

Here is a word from the Word. May the Spirit make it living Word for us today. "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

We Will Stand

Sometimes it's hard for me to understand

Why we pull away from each other so easily

Even though we're all walking the same road

Yet we build dividing walls

Between our brothers and ourselves

 

But I I don't care what label you may wear

If you believe in Jesus you belong with me

The bond we share is all I care to see

And we'll change the world forever

If you will join with me

Join and sing sing

 

You're my brother you're my sister

So take me by the hand

Together we will work until He comes

There's no foe that can defeat us

When we're walking side by side

As long as there is love

We will stand

 

The day will come when we will be as one

And with a mighty voice

Together we will proclaim that Jesus

Jesus is King

It will echo through the earth

It will shake the nations

And the world will see see that

 

Take me by the hand

Join with me

Join and see yeah

James Hollihan | Russ Taff | Tori Taff

© 1983 Curb Word Music

CCLI License # 810055


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