Social Justice: A Threat to Christianity?
by Jennifer Way
“I’m good (just ask me).” Perhaps the title of this online blog post is indicative of a systemic problem in today’s culture: the false belief that that being a “good person” involved in “good works” is “good enough.” This is quite possibly one of the greatest enemies of the faith in recent times.
It is certainly not a new idea; concern for overemphasizing good works can be seen as far back (and further) as when the canon struggled over whether to include the book of James in the New Testament. However, conversations, observations and experiences I have had over the past few years as a Christian, a student at a state university, and church staff member, lead me to believe that the church is in a position now, more so than in years past, that necessitates recognizing and countering the “good works = good people = good enough” mentality. Allow me to expound by offering a few examples from popular culture.
• Oprah Winfrey is doing a phenomenal job of getting the American public involved in responding to humanitarian needs. According to journalist Marcia Nelson in a recent interview on NPR, “...she (Oprah) has translated into general, mainstream language, the kinds of values that religions ordinarily or traditionally have taught us --virtues and practices like generosity, gratitude, forgiveness, self-examination, response to suffering...those are the kinds of messages that people have gotten from religions traditionally. And yet because these days there are not as many people in their houses of worship and a lot of them are in front of their TVs, Oprah can deliver a comparable kind of message and get to people; this message resonates.”
• The ONE campaign, perhaps most famous for its connection with Bono and other celebrities, is an ever-growing movement of 2 million people and over 70 NGOs. Their mantra: “help make poverty history.” Their goal: “...help Americans raise their voice as ONE against the emergency of AIDS and extreme poverty, so that decision makers will do more to save millions of lives in the poorest countries.” This organization is making significant strides toward eliminating poverty/AIDS in Africa and around the world.
• A recent Harvard Study asserts, “The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well; half of all 18 to 24 year olds are actively involved in community service and even more are interested in finding ways to get involved.”
Pop culture is proclaiming this message loud and clear: “Doing good is cool.” Only a few steps behind, the Evangelical church is also re-recognizing its mandate and call to respond to social justice issues. We are seeing a resurgence of compassion in the evangelical world; many churches are placing great emphasis on putting faith into action (to cite a couple of leading examples: Bill Hybels/Willow Creek, Rick Warren/Saddleback etc.).
I welcome, fully support and strongly advocate for continued emphasis on the fact that biblical faith necessarily leads to action on behalf of the poor and the oppressed. We must preach this in our churches. I am not questioning this as a fundamental component of saving faith. I am, however, suggesting that in a time when social justice is quite vogue, if the church is not careful, we will do nothing more than perpetuate the false belief that good works can save you.
Conversely, society’s humanitarian focus presents a unique opportunity to engage individuals in a dialogue of what true faith is all about. To do this, we must address the “why” of our response to social injustice. We cannot afford to ignore the question of motivation: What is our motivation for serving the poor? Why do we bother to care? As we raise these questions, we must be prepared to offer answers. Allow me to offer a couple of suggestions.
1. Our response to injustice should be motivated by a desire to reflect the heart of God.
We believe that God is a God who is for the oppressed and the marginalized, a God who is close to the brokenhearted. This belief motivates us to be a voice for the voiceless and inspires us to reflect the love and compassion of Christ in our own lives. Further, we believe people are made in the image of God and therefore, people are valuable. In the book In His Image, Dr. Paul Brand asserts, “[God] is asking us to be the chief bearers of His likeness in the world. As spirit, He remains invisible on this planet. He relies on us to give flesh to that spirit, to bear the image of God.”
2. Our response to injustice should be motivated by a natural overflow of our own experience with Christ.
We must recognize that, as Jerry Bridges so eloquently puts it, “On our best days we are never beyond the need of God’s grace, and on our worst days we are never beyond the reach of God’s grace.” The grace, redemption, and restoration that Christ brings in our own lives allow us to empathize with others in need of this encounter.
As people who bear the image of Christ in a broken world, let us affirm good whenever and wherever we see it, let us walk with humility, and let us embrace opportunities to engage social injustice. But in doing this, let us also remember that Christ was all about dealing with the heart. The “good person” paradigm extends back to the Sadducees and Pharisees of Jesus’ day – “whitewashed tombs” Jesus called them, because they looked great on the outside, but neglected the root problem of the heart, which is “deceitful above all things.” Two thousand years later, not much has changed: as a church, we still have a profound responsibility to address the heart behind our actions.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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