Primary Injustice

I am currently preparing a sermon on Proverbs 22:22-23 which reads, "Do not rob the poor man because he is poor, and don't crush the oppressed at the gate, for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them." This proverb is about justice. Justice is a major Biblical theme and I have been think much on this topic. I strongly believe that this proverb is not simply about the poor but a broader idea of those that are oppressed and afflicted. These three terms are used interchangeably in different translations of this proverb.

I believe that the evangelical church does not address this clear Biblical theme of justice enough and when we do we address the wrong issues.

I have been thinking much about injustice in our society when I came across an article yesterday at http://www.baptistpress.com/bpnews.asp?ID=22064. The article was about a panel on poverty in America and a quote from the article really got my attention.

The quote from the article is:
"Nothing is more urgent in this hour than the church's involvement in the eradication of poverty," said Derrick Span, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Community Action Partnership, who appeared on a panel with Land. "Poverty is sinful, and poverty is anti-God. Those who believe in God have no alternative but to be involved in this struggle to eradicate poverty."

I want to be clear, I applaud Mr. Span's work with CAP and I like their misison statement of, "It is the mission of the Community Action Partnership to be a national forum for policy on poverty and to strengthen, promote, represent and serve its network of member agencies to assure that the issues of the poor are effectively heard and addressed. " (www.communityactionpartnership.com). I believe that there is poverty in the world today and the church should play a key role in being part of the solution of helping those in poverty.

My problem with the quote is that Span believes that the primary social injustice of our day in America is poverty. Some on panelannel make the connection between poverty and racism. Another panelistelist says, "Forrest Harris, president of American Baptist College in Nashville, said, "Racism is not only a sin" but is part of "the very system and structures of American society," and "it creates poverty." (www.abcnash.edu)

In wrestling through my sermon on injustice I asked that simply question, "What is the greatest injustice in our society?" It seems that Span would say poverty and Harris would say racism connected to poverty. I take issue with either poverty or racism being the greatest or primary injustice of our day because America provides numerous ways out of poverty and generaly speaking poverty in America is living like a king compared to the average person in a county like Haiti. There are INSTANCES of injustice dealing with poverty and racism but I don't believe that our government or society has structures that force people into poverty or force them to remain at that level, nor do I believe that there are laws or structures that are racist (comparatively speaking). We rightly did away with the Jim Crow laws of the south and there are numerous stories of people coming out of poverty in this United States of America and our powerful economy.

I say all of this not to belittle the fight against poverty or racism but to put it in its context of social injustice. The greatest social injustice of our day is federal law that allows for the killing of the most poor, oppressed, and afflicted (Proverbs 22:22-23) of our society, the unborn. My unborn son Mason has no rights in this country.

I was born in 1978 and a quarter of my generation has been lost to abortion and the liberal church still wants to fight the 1960's battles against racism and poverty. Fight those fights where they need to be fought but have some integrity in placing those issues in their proper place otherwise you will only isolate yourself instead of convincing others of your cause. These types of over-the-top accusations by Span and Harris cause me to want to distance myself from any of their issues. Fight the fight, but do so with that boundaries of orthdox Christianity and do so as reasonable people who keep their issues in context.

If you desire to fight injustice in our society like the Bible commands us as Chrisians to do, then take up the fight of the Pro-Life movement and give to your local Crisis Pregnancy Center.

In His Grace

PS the pic is of the president of the American Baptist College in Nashville