Some may wonder way I am interested in addressing what I consider the an improper understanding of social justice. It's not because I do not care for the oppressed. I do. But as much or more, I love the Kingdom of God. I find that in their pursuit of social justice, many have misunderstood and/'or misrepresented and/or have minimized in some way the Kingdom of God. And, as DeYoung notes, "have too much of the 'already' and not enough of the 'not yet' in their eschatology." God is going to restore His Kingdom and when the disciples asked Jesus if it was going to be now, He told them to focus on being His witness (Acts 1.6-8).
Some years ago, Mike Perschon wrote:
Want to be a radical counter cultural Christian in North America? Take a stand against consumer culture, however the Lord leads you. Instead of raising awareness of the evils of some fictional book, why not work towards raising literacy in your community’s schools? Instead of forming groups to oppose gay marriage, why not work with an AIDS clinic or involve yourself in seeking justice for this oppressed group. Get yourself a child through World Vision or Compassion International. If you already have one, get another. Sell your old Playstation (or better yet, the new PS2) and give the money to the poor. Then go, and help your students do likewise.
Raising literacy - excellent. Helping those afflicted with aids - excellent. Seeking justice for the oppressed - even more excellent. Etcetera.
But DeYoung rightly asks, why are these things "kingdom work but opposing gay marriage is not?" Or identifying and exposing those promoting falsehoods or setting themselves up against God through their writings - is that not also kingdom work? Well personally I'm not sure any of it is but that aside, the point is that picking the current popular social justice work done by human means - especially at the cost of compromising truth and holiness - is certainly not the trump card.
To judge the Church negatively because as an organization it isn't making priority of the pop social need is sin. To judge the Church negatively because it takes a Biblical stand against those that oppose God and are subsequently put off because we do so is sin.
Personally I am becoming increasingly frustrated and embarrassed by those frustrated and embarrassed by the Church. I wish they would focus more on asking forgiveness for themselves than they seem to be doing for the Church and for history. But that's me ...
Technorati Tags: ecclesiology, service
1 comment:
If we invest the majority of our time into fighting the culture wars, we will lose this generation of souls. But if we win this generation of souls to Christ, we win the culture war, too.
It seems like such a no-brainer.
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