Is it everyone's calling?

[ChicanaRose]

How would you respond to someone who says,

"Social justice is not my calling"?

 

[Jonaitis]

deleted

 

[Carl Emerson]

How would you respond to someone who says,

"Social justice is not my calling"?

Depends what you mean...

Do we see this calling in Pauls life ??

Do we see this priority in Jesus life?

On the other hand we are all called to widows and orphans in their distress...

Maybe expand what you mean...

 

[Aussie Pete]

How would you respond to someone who says,

"Social justice is not my calling"?

Lord Jesus told us to preach the Kingdom of God. To have true social justice, people need to change. Real change only comes about when a person is born again. It's too easy to get involved in "issues", at the expense of preaching the Kingdom and making disciples.

 

[Francis Drake]

"Social justice" as we see it now is just another left wing religion masquerading as righteousness.

 

[Paidiske]

We can't all do everything. I think it's fair enough to be clear about what we're not called to.

I'd probably ask where they do believe they're called to participate in the mission of God, and be prepared to engage in a discussion of how social justice is one aspect of the mission of God.

 

[ChicanaRose]

Depends what you mean...

Do we see this calling in Pauls life ??

Do we see this priority in Jesus life?

On the other hand we are all called to widows and orphans in their distress...

Maybe expand what you mean...

Thank you. What I mean is actually getting involved in a social justice cause or ministry as opposed to living justly in general (Micah 6:8).

 

[Carl Emerson]

So back to your original question...

What do you say to someone who says...

'getting involved in a social justice cause is not my calling'

I think if they are personally complying with James 1 quoted below then no problem...

27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and
Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

This could involve supporting a suitable cause.

However I must say that if there was a chance to personally get involved 'on the ground' even short term I would do it.

I had the privilege is assisting villagers during the Lebanon war and have never forgotten the feeling of being where the rubber hits the road.

Finally, the cause would need to allow free expression of one's faith, many don't.

 

[charsan]

"Social justice" as we see it now is just another left wing religion masquerading as righteousness.

Exactly

 

[Paidiske]

If I may point out this part of the Statement of Purpose for this forum:

"This forum is not the place to challenge or debate the validity of efforts at welfare or philanthropy, social justice as an aspiration, or the desire for change in society."

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

i'd respond by saying:

"that's fine, but it is my calling. so I would appreciate it if you stopped lying on the scriptures by telling me that it is sinful or apposed to the gospel."

 

[actionsub]

"Social justice" as we see it now is just another left wing religion masquerading as righteousness.

Perhaps in practice, but not necessarily in theory. My intern and I are pursuing this idea of doing social justice work, but within a right-center/evangelical point of view. I believe it can be done without going full lefty. Such an approach, for instance, would seek to find constructive ways to move people out of poverty rather than simply enabling bad habits, for instance.

 

[Eftsoon]

We're all called to promote justice in all our interpersonal relationships. If all Christendom were to do this, the world would be wholly transformed. We can make small decisions individually too. Choose not to wear Nike or Adidas knowing that they have been shown to exploit their workers. Buy fair trade. Try and support local businesses over mega - corporations. Making decisions like these and encouraging others to follow suit makes a difference down the line.

 

[EpicScore]

God is concerned about justice and mercy (Matthew 23:23), so as followers of Christ, we ought to be concerned with those social issues as well; however, we need to rely on God's wisdom on how much time, effort and resource we are suposed to allocate into those pursuits. God also calls Christians to be generous and "freely giving", but there's a time and place for everything. We are limited beings, so whenever we decide to dedicate our goods or service to a particular cause, we will miss out on the opportunity to give it to another.

Also, this verse seems relevant: "In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”" (Acts 6:1-4)

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Perhaps in practice, but not necessarily in theory. My intern and I are pursuing this idea of doing social justice work, but within a right-center/evangelical point of view. I believe it can be done without going full lefty. Such an approach, for instance, would seek to find constructive ways to move people out of poverty rather than simply enabling bad habits, for instance.

You must be very careful not to make suggestions that will in any way be critical of those you wish to help.

 

[actionsub]

You must be very careful not to make suggestions that will in any way be critical of those you wish to help.

And THAT is the hard part!

 

[OldWiseGuy]

And THAT is the hard part!

Runaway trains are hard to stop...but we try.
That's what love is.

 

[Aabbie James]

How would you respond to someone who says,

"Social justice is not my calling"?

Unfortunately, many young people, even Christians, didn’t learn how to understand justice (judgement and righteousness) from Scripture. So in college, they learned how to understand justice from academia or the worldly culture around them.

That’s why we're seeing a growing number of professing Christians who are more committed to Black Lives Matter than to Biblical theology.

I know that's the short answer and barely scratches the surface, but hope that helps...

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Unfortunately, many young people, even Christians, didn’t learn how to understand justice (judgement and righteousness) from Scripture. So in college, they learned how to understand justice from academia or the worldly culture around them.

That’s why we're seeing a growing number of professing Christians who are more committed to Black Lives Matter than to Biblical theology.

I know that's the short answer and barely scratches the surface, but hope that helps...

Many seek social justice causes to support in order to address some personal need or grievance. It has been said that people who take up causes "have lost their own".

 

[actionsub]

In the case of social justice ministry, when I went off to seminary, it was with the aim of becoming a parish pastor. As it turned out, I never finished seminary (long story) but wound up running the social justice ministry where I was an intern. I didn't choose the ministry; the ministry chose me.

That said, I've spent quite some time in the Bible trying to find Biblical support for the work rather than just jumping in. Passages like James 5 and "as you have done this to the least of these" tend to inform my view rather than the latest "woke" cause.