When Our Inaction Enables Oppression

While we are stalled by fear, poverty increases. When we hesitate, the screws of oppression have more time to persistently tighten.

Fighting for the liberation of those who are oppressed is as important a responsibility of our faith as developing sound personal piety.

^{Obery M. Hendricks, Jr., The Politics of Jesus}

I did not always believe the quote above. Liberation sounded too liberal for a conservative evangelical. I was quite convinced that liberation was part of the Social Gospel, which conservative churches like mine fully rejected. Worse yet, some leaders in my tradition argued that working on behalf of those captive to injustice would tarnish us with the unorthodoxies of Liberation Theology. The Social Gospel did sometimes marginalize key aspects of Christian truth. And Liberation Theology did sometimes replace Jesus with Marx.

But in both of these belief systems there was also a desperate cry, one appropriate for followers of Jesus. The instinct of Liberation Theology and the Social Gospel expresses an unassailable motivation: love for the oppressed. These movements reminded Christians with narrow, reductionist viewpoints that the goal of Christ-centered Christianity is not merely personal piety. Neither is it solely concerned with being saved so we can one day go to heaven.

There are at least two major streams of Christian spirituality: 1) personal repentance and salvation, and 2) seeking the welfare of our communities. Both of these streams have headwaters in the biblical term righteousness. To be righteous is to have true inner goodness of heart and to seek the good of others. That’s why justice is implied in the word righteousness.  

In his classic book, Streams of Living Water, Richard Foster presents a timeline which demonstrates that the justice tradition has been consistently expressed in the Church since the time of the Jesus, the apostles, the first deacons, and up to modern times, as seen in icons such as Mother Teresa and Bryan Stevenson.

At the center of this Christian tradition is the model of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said: 

Follow my example: Even the Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.

Mark 10:45 ERV

The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends.

John 15:13 TLB

My Journey

I was converted to Jesus as a teenager. It has been a long process to let his life flow through me for the sake of those living under oppression from racial injustice or various forms of poverty. 

My evolution toward justice-seeking is not rooted in deconstructing my faith, leaving only some vague sense of justice. Rather it is nurtured by finding in the Way of Jesus an accurate and livable moral compass regarding issues of justice. We don’t have to put down classic elements of Christian faith to pick up justice.  

Sin still separates everyone from God (Isaiah 59:2): Black, White, rich or poor. Faith in Jesus is still the way to salvation (Acts 4:12). Heaven (John 14:3) and hell (Matthew 10:28) are real, but eternal destination is not the whole story. The story is not complete until my personal salvation in Jesus becomes bodily deliverance for the oppressed. The poor and oppressed are created in the image of God. God loves them so much that he sent his son, Jesus, to die for them. Through Jesus, he raises up similar-hearted people to serve them.

I want to be a part of that people. I want to have the mind of Christ. I want to have his heart for others. I want to be effective in liberating others. I hope you do too. 

That being the case, why is it so hard to make justice-seeking a core part of our lives?

In his book, Strength to Love, Martin Luther King, Jr. points to one tall obstacle that existed in the 1960s:

“Men are afraid to stand alone for their convictions. There are those who have high and noble ideals, but they never reveal them because they are afraid of being non-conformist. I have seen many White people who sincerely oppose segregation and discrimination, but they never took a real stand against it because of fear of standing alone.”

In 2023, we might have similar excuses for our inaction. We may be anxious about cancel culture, of being ostracized at work or school. We see harsh division in family and friends, along with dehumanizing debates online and in the media. Who wants to step into that?

Seeing others’ reality is an important motivator to overcome our various reservations. People struggling against poverty, illness, imprisonment, racial injustice and different forms of oppression are presently suffering greatly. While we are stalled by fear, their poverty increases. When we hesitate, the screws of oppression have more time to persistently tighten. 

The Transforming Love of God

I have discovered that the only fruitful way to confront my inaction is to do so in relationship with God who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4), and who is, as Joel proclaims, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Numbers 14:18). As I have challenged my false thinking and confronted dark elements of my soul, God has been near with forgiveness and new beginnings. I know by experience the trustworthiness of this saying: 

My [child], do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the [child] he delights in.

Proverbs 3:11,12

May your journey as a justice-seeker be filled with God’s love. May you feel this warm love everywhere within you because God has given you the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with his love (Romans 5:5, TLB). May his perfect love drive out any fear you discover (1 John 4:18). Be sure that no stumble you make, nothing you do or leave undone, separates you from God’s love (Romans 8:39). 

With God companioning us along the way, we will begin to be liberated from the various ways we are hampered by fear or indifference. We will begin to be transformed into justice seekers in the way of Jesus.