Social Justice

So after 3 days of heavy rain and strong winds in my hometown in Md., I caught myself saying several times, "tough night for the homeless." Though I am not one, I have ministered to many homeless and poor on the city streets and in poverty-stricken countries.

Jesus said whatever we do for "the least of these", we do unto him. Yet today churches are still trying to figure out what to do with the poor. We sit in slumber in our padded pews, giving comforting 'talks' from the pulpit that keep the congregants coming back and writing checks for offering. As long as we don't make them mad, they will return. Then there are the Joel Osteen types that make you feel really good about yourself, tell you how to live in an unreal world, and guarantee you prosperity.

Meanwhile millions of children try to survive without food and clean water with little or no hope of a future or longevity while we are adding gymnasiums for the youth, building commercial kitchens to host the quarterly church fund-raising spaghetti dinner and forming the summer 'all-Christian' softball leagues.

Then there are the Glenn Becks who recently ruined my respect for Fox News. In a recent broadcast he makes a statement saying 'if your church has on their website the words "social justice", you need to run as fast as you can! ' Beck continued by saying, "Am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!"

As a church planter trying to be faithful in a culture that is more anti-church all the time, I really question Beck's motives in all of this. His reasoning was because Nazism and Communism both waved the banner of social justice. Yeah their answer to the poor was to take from the rich and give it to the government so the people become slaves to the government. Come to think of it, this sort of sounds like what is going on in this country now. Down through history, socialism always had a way of doing away with the middle class. Either you are wealthy as a dictator, or big government or you were among the poor.

Contrary to the talking head that feels he has the authority to tell you to leave your church, Jesus spoke about social justice many times. He gave honor to the poor, he showed respect to the broken and hurting. He fed them and gave them clothes and taught his disciples by example to do the same. It was the religious, legalistic, Pharisaical crowd that Jesus had the hardest time with. He always felt comfortable around the poor because he lived the life of a homeless man for several years of his adult life.

Perhaps Mr. Beck needs to go on a mission trip, take a break from the concrete jungle and get some dirt on those shiny shoes. Walking and working among the poor will change your life. I highly recommend it while we still have time to make a difference.