"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
James 1:22-27
These days, social justice has become a political term. But read through the Bible at all and you discover that it was a central part of God's heart and Jesus' teaching long before the republicans and democrats ever existed. In fact, it is so central, that James says true religion in the sight of God is to visit orphans and widows in their distress.
Isaiah 58 says that God despises religious rituals without a changed heart. Fasting while at the same time oppressing people is worthless. All throughout the old testament God instructs His people to care for the people groups who were most oppressed in that day; the aliens, orphans, and widows.
Luke 4:17-19 shows Jesus at the start of His ministry fulfilling the scripture that says "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Over and over again in the gospels, Jesus had compassion on people in distress and healed them, not only spiritually, but also physically.
Social justice is not just a political term, it is spiritual. It is a Biblical mandate to all believers, regardless of political persuasion. My greatest prayer is to have a heart that follows after Jesus and if that is to be true I simply cannot ignore His passion for the poor, the exploited, and the downtrodden. We need a revival of this teaching in our churches. True religion is not merely passive receiving or hearing, it is action. Let us be doers of the word and not just hearers who delude themselves. So find where your passion is and DO something! Take a step. Start small and ask God to open opportunities to you. Yes, it is overwhelming, there is so much hurt in this world. How can my small actions ever begin to do any good? I like this quote from Beth Moore: "What seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death."
Let's be faithful and obedient and put those drops in the bucket, and God will take care of the rest.
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