When we think about justice and injustice in our lives what exactly do we think about? Do we think about the war in Iraq, genocide in Sudan, children starving in third world countries, and other Oprah-worthy acts of social injustice. How do we or should we define justice and injustice?
A few weeks ago in Wednesday Chapel James Cole, the assistant Chaplain, gave his definitions.
First, he defined power. Though power is often attributed to money or position he defined power as influence.
Injustice: the use of power to oppress others.
Justice: the use of power to liberate others.
He further defined oppression as dehumanizing someone and liberation as humanizing someone. This leads to his complete definition of the terms being:
Injustice : The use of power (influence) to oppress (dehumanize) others.
Justice: The use of poor (influence) to liberate (humanize) others.
James continued to say that injustice is not just something that we see on the news but something that we experience in our everyday lives, mostly in relationships with others.
In our relationships with others, whether it be with parents, friends, significant others, or people we lead, we have the opportunity to use our power (influence) justly or unjustly. There are ways in which we act unjustly (dehumanize) : lying, manipulating, gossiping, etc.
And opportunities to act justly (liberate): telling the truth even when it's painful, being supportive, breaking up when in an unhealthy dating relationship, etc.
We have the chance to free people from chains, perhaps even chains we've put them in. No longer is injustice only seen in poor foreign countries, it's in poor western relationships.
It's time to be liberators and not oppressors.
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Jesus. Luke 4:18-19 (also check out Isaiah 61:1-3)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment