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Understand Faith and Justice
Understand Faith and Justice
There is a reason why there are more than 2,000 references to the poor and oppressed in Scripture. God is asking us to sit up and pay attention. God loves justices (Isa. 61:8), and we, as His followers through Christ, are called to love what He loves. Our faith calls us to respond to issues of injustice and to advocate for the poor and needy in the world.Read on to learn about an example of the intersection of faith and justice in Scripture and to hear about ways the faith and justice interact in Acting on AIDS.
An Example From Scripture
Isa. 58:1-9: “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.This passage is a classic example that God is not impressed with mere religious exercise or individual response. He is much more concerned with the quality of our hearts and the way our hearts pour out to Him and the world around us. We must remember that there are TWO great commandments: To love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds AND to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39). This is core to our lives and action.
While far from a thorough analysis of this passage, following are a few things to note as you read and process through what God is teaching you about faith and justice:
- God is not impressed with, nor fooled by, our outward religious actions when our hearts and interactions contradict.
- We cannot compartmentalize faith. Our belief in God, if it is real, MUST have an impact on the way we interact with the world.
- When we treat others unjustly through our direct action or neglect, it hinders our communion with God. We cannot expect God to respond to our prayers when we are disobedient in our lives.
- While ours is not a salvation earned by works, our actions certainly do have an impact on our lives. We are empowered by God to respond to oppression, injustice, poverty, and hunger. God chooses to use US to meet the needs of others, and it is our responsibility to choose to respond. The book of James states it well: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17.
- God calls us to respond to injustice on a variety of levels—from societal to familial. We are accountable for our response to the issues of injustice God brings to our attention.
There are thousands of references to poverty, oppression and injustice in the Bible. Some of Jesus’ harshest criticism of the Pharisees referred to their neglect of “justice and the love of God.” (Lk. 11:42) God is unimpressed with mere religious ritual when there is a heart-level neglect of love for God and response to injustice. We should grapple with these issues and ask God how He would have us respond.
Faith and Justice in Acting on AIDS
Acting on AIDS’ foundation is Christ’s heart for the poor. One of our theme verses is James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”Acting on AIDS is present on both public and private university campuses, from faith-based to non-faith-based institutions. While the expression of Acting on AIDS may vary, the heart of Acting on AIDS remains constant: to demonstrate Christ’s heart for the poor through activism, advocacy, community involvement and personal transformation. Without allowing Christ to transform our hearts and worldview, our actions become empty and our focus too centralized upon the issue rather than the hope we have in Christ. We hope that the fruit of this transformation will result in social, political, economic and spiritual action. Acting on AIDS strives to foster community and provide resources that guide college students in this journey to become lifelong activists and advocates because of their faith in Jesus Christ.