Many of us can easily be convicted to be compassionate in these ways; to give food, money, clothing and even our time. We know that we are doing what God calls us to. But is this all that God is calling us to in our response to the poor and vulnerable? 
Posting about poverty and justice from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.
http://inallthings.org/seek-justice-encourage-the-oppressed

Foreman, Abby M

English

Dordt College

Digital Collections @ DordtFaculty Work: Comprehensive List10-21-2014Seek Justice, Encourage the OppressedAbby M. ForemanDordt College, abby.foreman@dordt.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_workPart of the Christianity Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, and the SocialWork CommonsThis Blog Post is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Collections @ Dordt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Work:Comprehensive List by an authorized administrator of Digital Collections @ Dordt. For more information, please contact ingrid.mulder@dordt.edu.Recommended CitationForeman, Abby M., "Seek Justice, Encourage the Oppressed" (2014). Faculty Work: Comprehensive List. Paper 62.http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/62Seek Justice, Encourage the OppressedAbstract"Many of us can easily be convicted to be compassionate in these ways; to give food, money, clothing and evenour time. We know that we are doing what God calls us to. But is this all that God is calling us to in ourresponse to the poor and vulnerable?"Posting about poverty and justice from In All Things - an online hub committed to the claim that the life,death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ has implications for the entire world.http://inallthings.org/seek-justice-encourage-the-oppressed/KeywordsIn All Things, justice, poor, poverty, social problems, Christianity and justiceDisciplinesChristianity | Civic and Community Engagement | Social WorkCommentsIn All Things is a publication of the Andreas Center for Reformed Scholarship and Service at Dordt College.This blog post is available at Digital Collections @ Dordt: http://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/62Seek Justice, Encourage the Oppressedinallthings.org /seek-justice-encourage-the-oppressed/Abby ForemanWhen I was growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was not spent scouting for sales but rather was a day when mycousins and I helped my grandma sort the food that had been collected during the Thanksgiving food drive. Wewould sort through the cans of soups and build precarious towers of Jell-O boxes in helping to organize the foodpantry. All of this food—given by good, compassionate Christian folks—would go to feed hungry people and I wasexcited to take part in the mission. This experience, and others, opened my eyes to the needs of God’s peoplenearby and around the world, and also exposed me to one of the ways we attempt to meet needs of “the least ofthese” as identified in the often-quoted Matthew 25. God’s word is full of commands to love one another and to carefor what Wolterstorff calls the “quartet of the downtrodden”: the widows, orphans, aliens and the poor.1 Many of uscan easily be convicted to be compassionate in these ways; to give food, money, clothing and even our time. Weknow that we are doing what God calls us to. But is this all that God is calling us to in our response to the poor andvulnerable?In the Old Testament God gives various commands about how to live in community with one another. These are notcommands to be acted upon haphazardly when we are convicted or feel passion, but rather it outlines the plans for ajust and merciful community where all may flourish. In the Israelite community, it was understood that care andprotections be given towards those on the margins of their society. These Old Testament commands include insightsinto equality of opportunity (the year of Jubilee) and opportunities for the poor to provide for themselves (gleaning).Both justice and mercy (or charity in this case) are biblical concepts. As the prophet Micah proclaims: “He has shownall you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walkhumble with your God.” (Micah 6:8). Part of our walk with the Lord is our dedication to “stop doing wrong and learn todo what is right,” which Isaiah says is to “Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless,plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). This involves a recognition that we live in a world that is home tonumerous, complex levels of organizational, societal and political relationships that have been developed over time.In Reformed circles we talk of this as creational development and we also recognize that these developments caninclude elements of both justice and injustice—wholeness and brokenness. We live in a world where signs of God’sreconciliation and redemption coexist alongside signs of brokenness and evil.When we begin to talk about these things, many of us become overwhelmed, or we get turned off by the partisanpolitics that too often make any discussion about structural change divisive and nasty. As a result, we are tempted toyearn for the good old days of the Garden of Eden. A simple garden, where all relationships flourished and man andwoman cheerfully took care of the creation. But as Bierma notes in his book Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, thebook of Revelation speaks not of a return to the garden but of the New Jerusalem.2 A city—which we might infersignifies creational development, and a place likely full of complex and interwoven organizational, economic, politicaland social relationships. When we think of relationships in community we often think almost exclusively ofinterpersonal relationships. And here is where we may not be fully grasping the extent to which we can make adifference for those in need. We can advocate for changes in law or policy that benefit the poor like the EarnedIncome Tax Credit, we can run businesses that provide adequate salaries and benefits for workers, we can mentorand coach young families to be successful as healthy and safe parents. We can also commit to helping strategicallyand according to our gifts and expertise.What I mean here is that if you are a web designer, a graphic designer or bookkeeper that you think seriously aboutcontributing your expertise to help a local nonprofit that works with the poor in your area. If you walk in to offer theseservices to a nonprofit, do not be surprised if someone hugs you immediately. The behind the scenes activities arejust as important, and sometimes more important, than the face to face need-meeting that takes place. Behind eachPhoto by Judy Baxter. CC BY NC SA 2.0sack pack that is given to a food insecure child in Sioux Center’s schools, there are multiple volunteers, all part of anonprofit organization that has been created to meet needs of food insecure children in Sioux Center, Iowa. Suchorganizations are just one part of a massive multi-level system of nutrition assistance programs and organizations inthe United States-some government, some state and others community-based.The young-me did not grasp the extensiveness andcomplexity of such a system, but I was certain at that timethat I was doing a good, Christian thing in helping to providefood for the hungry. I still think these activities are good,Christian things to do. But it is also a good thing to recognizemy response should not stop there–I am also called to seekjustice. To ask broader, systemic questions about whypeople are increasingly turning to food pantries to feed theirfamilies. To consider different solutions, to advocate forsolutions that work to promote a flourishing communitywhere no one needs to use a food pantry, where people areengaged in meaningful, honoring work which allows them toprovide for their families. Our work in both justice and charitycan bring about redemptive glimpses, or in-breakings, ofwhat will be when Christ returns.Get new articles like this one each morning after they're publishedFootnotes1. Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Justice, not charity: social work through the eyes of faith. Social Work and Christianity:33 (2006) 2. ↩2. Bierma, Nathan L.K. Bringing Heaven Down to Earth: Connecting this Life to the Next (P & R Publishing:Phillipsburg, NJ, 2005). ↩TwitterFacebookGoogle+LinkedIn

Seek Justice, Encourage the Oppressed

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Seek Justice, Encourage the Oppressed

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