I discussed in a previous week that the two topics, Christianity and social justice, are themes that have informed the way I view the world. These two topics can of course easily be separated, but in my life, I find that they are often linked. I'd like to share why it has been the case for me that my Christian values and my desire to see social justice thriving in our society are closely linked.

Social Justice as a Christian
Since social justice is often misunderstood and criticized, when first introduced to the subject I asked myself, “Is God really concerned about social in-/justice?” This might not be the first question for everyone and I can understand and respect that, but for me it was something I needed to know. Well surely it is no surprise that I have indeed come to the conclusion that God is concerned about what is referred to as “social justice” - things such as equality, respect, dignity and love for our fellow human beings.

In my search I had discovered that the Judeo-Christian faith is packed with a wealth of examples regarding God's concern for social justice (far too many to mention in just one article). God's compassion and love for the neglected is a popular theme in scripture. I believe that studying the scriptures will clearly show the reader that God cares about and loves every human being and therefore cares about social justice.

For example the psalmist says that God “secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy,” Ps. 140:12, and “listens to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed,” Ps. 10:17-18. The great historian, doctor and Gospel writer Luke wrote that God sent His Son to “preach good news to the poor...proclaim freedom for the prisoners [and] release the oppressed,” Lk. 4:18- 19.

There is no shortage of scriptural examples, and will not bore you with any more. But the simple point here is that social justice is linked to the Christian life because it is something scripture and Christian tradition highlight as important to God. Simply explained God loves us all, and to Him every single human being is an image bearer with purpose and value.

By way of contrast, then, social injustice undermines this train of thought and is an insult to God's plan and purpose and a denial of the Scriptures that believers hold so dearly.

To disregard human beings, to not respect their dignity, to not treat each as equal and to not fight for love is quite simply at odds with a well-informed and researched view of scripture, tradition and human experience.

So where do we go from here? Well, first of all I'd like to make clear that embracing social justice is not exclusively a Christian thing and that all humans should embrace it. I simply find that the lens I often see the subject through is my personal faith, which includes study, service of the community, relationships with others, cultural influence, personal experiences and more.

Therefore I'd like to put forth three attributes of social justice that we can all embrace: a caring heart for all those around us, strong convictions to speak up for those who have not been given a voice and active involvement in any small or big way.
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