The word 'humanitarian' usually evokes images of charity, generosity, and other things, mainly people helping people. Who would ever have thought that the very people sent to help those in need would be the very ones to perpetrate injustice.
CNN Article
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Thursday, May 1, 2008
God of Justice (pt.1): What is Injustice?
Injustice is most often defined by whiners and complainers.
"That's not fair."
"All my friends do it. Why can't I?"
"I shouldn't be punished for that."
...blah blah blah. Hypothetical this. Hypthetical that.
It's no wonder that fighting for justice is an idea so skewed in our minds that either we fight for the wrong things, or we fight for the wrong reasons, or we just don't fight at all. All of this because we don't know or don't care about what injustice really is.
Preparing for my message for the UCBC lock-in got me thinking more and more as to the BIBLICAL foundation upon which R100F100 rests. In all honesty, this foundation isn't something that existed until the past couple of years, at least for me. Back in February 2004, justice was just a theme in CYF. Starting R100F100 was just another thing to do...another notch in the proverbial gunbelt. I could care less about figuring out what injustice really means.
But as Matthew 7:24-27 so clearly puts it, building is impossible unless there exists a solid foundation. So, if we are to continue fighting injustice, understanding the foundation is a necessary first step.
If we are to believe the Bible, that God is infintely glorious (Psalm 19:1-6, Isaiah 6:1-5), and that all glory belongs to God and God alone (Isaiah 42:8), then injustice is simply when anyone attempts to take glory for himself. In essence, ALL sin is injustice. All sin is an attempt by man to take glory away from God and to make himself like God (ala Genesis 3) or to make others like God (Romans 1:18-23). So, going back to the original issue, 'what is injustice?,' we see that injustice is NOT something as petty as my sister getting 10 jellybeans when I only got 7.
But, this definition of injustice (all sin) is far too broad for the capacity of R100F100 to fight against, not to mention impossible, unless we are God, which we're not. So, in context of R100F100, injustice takes a more specific definition. Injustice against each other.
Genesis 1, man was created in the image of God. So, when someone decides to mistreat others, it's as if they are slapping God in the face. An insult of sorts saying, 'God, I care neither for You nor for the creature that is a reflection of Your glory.' It is this form of injustice that we are struggling to fight against.
I mean 'struggle' in every sense that the word implies. Fighting injustice is hard, and when one person is stopped, a thousand more are ready to fill the void. Doesn't that sort of negate any logical reason to continue fighting? True, as long as there is sin in the world, there will always be injustice, but God loves justice (Psalm 33:5), and more often than not He uses us as the means to bring justice into the world.
We can rest firmly in the fact that, one day, injustice will be crushed, and all that remains will be God's glory. After all, God is a God of justice...
-Matt
-----------
I had been intending, ever since the UCBC lock-in, to start writing about my thoughts as to why R100F100 should exist, from a biblical perspective. But, school happened, and I kept pushing it back. But after coming across this article on CNN.com, I figured that some things are more important than school and sleep.
"That's not fair."
"All my friends do it. Why can't I?"
"I shouldn't be punished for that."
...blah blah blah. Hypothetical this. Hypthetical that.
It's no wonder that fighting for justice is an idea so skewed in our minds that either we fight for the wrong things, or we fight for the wrong reasons, or we just don't fight at all. All of this because we don't know or don't care about what injustice really is.
Preparing for my message for the UCBC lock-in got me thinking more and more as to the BIBLICAL foundation upon which R100F100 rests. In all honesty, this foundation isn't something that existed until the past couple of years, at least for me. Back in February 2004, justice was just a theme in CYF. Starting R100F100 was just another thing to do...another notch in the proverbial gunbelt. I could care less about figuring out what injustice really means.
But as Matthew 7:24-27 so clearly puts it, building is impossible unless there exists a solid foundation. So, if we are to continue fighting injustice, understanding the foundation is a necessary first step.
If we are to believe the Bible, that God is infintely glorious (Psalm 19:1-6, Isaiah 6:1-5), and that all glory belongs to God and God alone (Isaiah 42:8), then injustice is simply when anyone attempts to take glory for himself. In essence, ALL sin is injustice. All sin is an attempt by man to take glory away from God and to make himself like God (ala Genesis 3) or to make others like God (Romans 1:18-23). So, going back to the original issue, 'what is injustice?,' we see that injustice is NOT something as petty as my sister getting 10 jellybeans when I only got 7.
But, this definition of injustice (all sin) is far too broad for the capacity of R100F100 to fight against, not to mention impossible, unless we are God, which we're not. So, in context of R100F100, injustice takes a more specific definition. Injustice against each other.
Genesis 1, man was created in the image of God. So, when someone decides to mistreat others, it's as if they are slapping God in the face. An insult of sorts saying, 'God, I care neither for You nor for the creature that is a reflection of Your glory.' It is this form of injustice that we are struggling to fight against.
I mean 'struggle' in every sense that the word implies. Fighting injustice is hard, and when one person is stopped, a thousand more are ready to fill the void. Doesn't that sort of negate any logical reason to continue fighting? True, as long as there is sin in the world, there will always be injustice, but God loves justice (Psalm 33:5), and more often than not He uses us as the means to bring justice into the world.
We can rest firmly in the fact that, one day, injustice will be crushed, and all that remains will be God's glory. After all, God is a God of justice...
-Matt
-----------
I had been intending, ever since the UCBC lock-in, to start writing about my thoughts as to why R100F100 should exist, from a biblical perspective. But, school happened, and I kept pushing it back. But after coming across this article on CNN.com, I figured that some things are more important than school and sleep.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)