I have been catching up on my podcast backlog lately, and have very much enjoyed the series the HTB lads did on the Psalms.   Yes, last August…  Hmmm…  Anyway, I’ve been reading and re-reading and re-reading Psalm 82 lately.  I’ve even moved a bookmark there – which means business!  I thought I'd share some thoughts...

Today I was reading the results of a recent survey of New Zealanders on how they define Social Justice…

'The participants’ responses revealed that social justice was conceptualised in 11 forms. In order of frequency these forms were: Equal Distribution, Tolerance, Equal Treatment, Criminal Justice, Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, Legislative, Responsibility, Democratic, Collectivism and Individualism.'

That is so interesting!  Ask any Alpha small group leader what I mean by that…  I can’t decide how to react – it is just so depressing.  And frustrating.  And disappointing.  I thought that in a world full of so many secular aid and justice agencies, maybe there would be a more level playing field...

Firstly, Equality (whichever one) – it strikes me that equality has very little to do with social justice, unless social justice has first been attained.  While equal distribution sounds idealistic, how can anyone living in our times think it is worthy of being a goal?  Isn’t that what the experiment of the USSR attempted?  When I visit rural Indian communities and the crops have failed and everyone suffers equally, I don’t think they find their equality a blessing.  I can’t imagine how having equal rights is comforting to those who don’t have the right to express how it makes them feel. 

Then Tolerance: my favourite word to hate – the most overused and misunderstood term of our time, I am sure.  Surely to tolerate in the context of social justice would nullify need.  If I tolerate what happens in the world around me, what would drive me to make it a better place?  Does that mean I think it is good enough that people live in poverty, in slavery, without rights?  I don’t know a lot about Hinduism, but I understand one of the key goals is to make peace with your lot in life – that is, if you are born into a lower caste, your religion dictates that you should accept your position, in order to hopefully be born into a higher caste next time around.  Think for just one minute how evil that is!  How does tolerance help these people, if it kills their ambition and passion to strive in life?

Do people really think about the meaning of the words they use?  Do they really limit possibility so much?  Are we unable to discern when concerned-looking faces feed us words that don’t make sense, or do we not bother?  I am certainly no expert in this, but as I read the terms people relate with social justice, I can’t help but feeling that something is slightly off…

Unfortunately it gets worse.  The article pointed out that ‘In general, the people in the sample were fairly well educated. Over half of the participants were currently attending university and just under half (49 percent) had a bachelor’s degree or a higher university degree.’…  going on to say, ‘Due to these unique demographics, this sample can not be considered a representative cross-section of the New Zealand population.’  Oh dear.  So depressing.  And frustrating.  And disappointing. 

Or is it?  Maybe we should look at it as exciting - another way in which we can differentiate ourselves from the world: standing apart, instead of blandly disappearing into the crowd of do-gooders...  Psalm 82:

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless:  maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
Now that is fighting talk!  Those are the verbs I understand and can get excited about!  We have something to teach the world about social justice.  While they muck around with politically correct terms and mediocre ideals, we know where the benchmark has been set.  The only way we can show the world what those standards are, is by continuing in the footsteps of some remarkable Christians (Wilborforce is an obvious example, but there are so many others) who have gone before us and changed the face of the society they lived in – the impact they have made on the world is unmistakable.  

If you think the job is too big, look at verse two.  It jumps out and challenges me every time I read it – how long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?  The size of the job isn’t our concern – we are called to make a stand against those who stand in the way of social justice, for everyone, everywhere.  We need to throw off the shackles of indifference and debilitating hopelessness and step into the arena knowing God's values, standards and commands.

Yes, I've been deliberately provocative, but it’s just so hard to tolerate what I see on the streets here every day…  (is that emotional blackmail?!)  If you haven’t read it already, can I please encourage you to read ‘The Good News About Injustice’ by Gary A. Haugen, the founder of the International Justice Mission - it is inspirational and great for starting to understand God's purpose for his people in the area of social justice.  

[Stepping off the soap box.  And breathing]