Engaging the World Through Advocacy: Justice

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? ~ Micah 6:8
Africa makes a fool out of our idea of justice; it makes a farce out of our ideas of equality. It mocks our pieties. It doubts our concern, and it questions our commitment. Six and a half thousand Africans are still dying every day of preventable, treatable disease, for lack of drugs we can buy at a drug store. This is not about charity. This is about Justice and equality. ~ Bono (U2)
Justice: just behaviour or treatment. A concern for justice, peace, and genuine respect for people. ~ definition of "justice," Oxford Dictionary.

Doing justice is different than judging.

 And when you pair it with kindness and humility, you are getting the Oxford definition above, and not the idea of sending criminals away for crimes they commit.

 You are getting a justice that means in our humility we must realize that we are no better than anyone else.

 No deserving of special treatment or privileges than anyone else.

 And out of that humility, and with love and kindness (let's call that mercy!), we do what we can to make sure that those who aren't being treated equally or fairly get their chance.

 Whether that means drugs that will heal diseases like Malaria or HIV or TB in the continent of Africa.

 Or whether that means the right to walk down a street or drive a car without being stopped because you are black.

 Or getting a fair shake at asylum or being a refugee even if you are from a country we don't trust.

 Or receiving medical care when you need it.

 Or having clean water to drink and clean air to breathe.

 It's hard to wrap our minds around this so much of the time because we live in a culture that has been conditioned for individual rights.

 But our God is a God of relationship. A God of the many. A God of community. 

 Not just my God. But our God. 

 A God who is concerned of the welfare of God's people. Not just the individual. 

 Over and over again God said: You will be my people and I will be your God.

 And it is through justice, kindness, and humility that we get to see fully how wonderful that is.
Prayer: Open my eyes to the needs of your people, Lord, that I may do justice in their name. Amen.


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