The politics of social justice

October 8, 11:25 AMChristian Living ExaminerJoanne Brokaw

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Listening to Glenn Beck this morning, I was struck by something he and his listeners keep discussing: the politics of social justice.

I've used the term social justice myself many times and I've never done it in any way that even hints at socialism or Marxism or communism. To me, social justice means doing the work that Jesus asks of his followers: feeding the poor, clothing the naked, giving water to the thirsty, acting justly.

But more and more I'm hearing the term "social justice" applied to political agendas that would be contrary to my own beliefs.

Doing some searching online, I found that social justice is defined as everything from human rights advocacy to redistribution wealth so that all people in a society have equal means. For the most part, social justice seems to imply a governmental coordination of resources to make sure that no one person has too much or too little, thereby meeting the needs of the people.

Since I'm a socialist but I am a definite advocate for human rights, I thought it was important to look at what Jesus might say about social justice. The Bible is full of commands to care for people, to sacrifice and tithe and give to the needy.

In fact, the Bible tells us in Micah 6:8:

And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

That's pretty clear: justice, mercy, love.

And Jesus said that when we feed the hungry and care for strangers we're doing that to him as well. We're to act justly to care for others, to be concerned about human dignity, to act on behalf of those less fortunate.

But Jesus never advocated that the government to care for people. He commanded his followers to care for the widows and orphans, to feed the hungry and care for the needy. He told his followers to render to Caesar his due (ie: pay their taxes) but he never suggested that those taxes were to come back to them in terms of support for their work.

If anyone is to pool money and resources to give aid to those in need, it's Christians - not the government. And there are myriad organizations out there doing just that, like Compassion International, World Vision, International Justice Mission, Blood:Water Mission.

But the notion that a society needs to give control of resources over to the government to then meet the needs of the population seems, at least to me, quite contrary to the teachings of Jesus.

And so rather than use the term "social justice" anymore, I'll just use justice. It seems to be a little broader and doesn't have the negative political connotations I'm hearing in the media.

But whatever the term, it's important to remember that Jesus wasn't silent about justice, or about the Christian's responsibility to act on behalf of those who have no voice or who aren't able to help themselves. But we do it with the help of God, not government.

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