The Church and Social Justice…

Two quick points before I dive into the next in the posts inspired by Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore:

1. In prepping for this, realized I’d written on a similar topic almost 5 years ago. This dovetails quite nicely.
2. The term ‘social justice’ is one often quietly shunned by Christians…I know I certainly avoid it, in part because it is one that has become a political term, espoused (in general) by those with a certain political bend, and doesn’t always mean what it seems to mean. For the purposed of this post, don’t let that distract you from the point (of the post, of the author, and of Scripture…).

Mr. Moore makes the point that we can, and even should, work together with those of different beliefs to take care of business, so to speak, without compromising our own beliefs. Others may be doing it for different reasons entirely, but that doesn’t change why we do it. Or at least shouldn’t.

We don’t expect everyone to share the same motivations, even when we work together, but we shouldn’t be embarrassed by the word that is shaping us. In our social witness, we are having a two-way conversation. We are speaking to those on the outside, and we are modeling to our own people what it means to be conformed by the gospel to the image of Christ in every aspect of our lives. (emphasis mine)

Note the results of the action: there’s the person receiving the help, there’s you acting out your faith, and then there’s witness to both those outside the faith AND within our own ranks.  So yes, we should engage in helping causes that are consistent with our faith, and yes, we can in most if not all cases, work alongside those who believe differently to get the job done…without affecting our motivations.

But what does that look like? The examples are all around us: feeding the homeless, foster care and adoption, working to end human trafficking…just to name a few.

Two quick points before I dive into the next in the posts inspired by Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel by Russell Moore: 1. In prepping for this, realized I’d written on a similar topic almost 5 years ago. This dovetails quite nicely. 2. The term ‘social justice’ is one often quietly shunned by Christians…I…