Do Something

Injustice spans every continent and affects every community. We can look out into the world, with its uncountable injustices, and easily become overwhelmed. Staring into the suffering, the inequality, the unfairness, the evil of this world can feel like facing a goliath, a colossal sized problem we feel inadequate to face at times, let alone fight. What can one person do? And even when we want to do something, where do we begin?

But as we continue to follow Jesus, we must also follow him into the spaces of these struggles because when we said “yes” to Jesus, we said “yes” to his redemption plan—and our role in that plan. God is the source of all that good, God will restore all things someday when his perfect plan comes to full fruition. God’s plan is not dependent on you or me, on our limited resources or our good intentions. We can be confident knowing that despite our fears or our lack of understanding, our apathy or our limited resources, God is still always in control and God is still always good.

But between today and someday, injustice currently exists, and we are called to live lives as revealed by Scripture, lives marked with righteousness, justice, peace, and love. And because we don’t always understand the why, we pursue these things with rooted faith in God.

So where can one begin?

First, we have to be willing to approach injustice.

This means we don’t ignore it, turning a blind eye. We notice it, name it, and call out the truth of it. It also means we must approach injustice with the hope of who our God is and what he is doing in this world. We must approach suffering and injustice with prayer and with Scripture grounding us. And we must approach injustice with informed listening. Before we can really begin to see with understanding eyes and a compassionate heart, we must be willing to listen to people’s stories, struggles, and experiences.

We follow a God who hears his people. And so, we must be followers who listen to hear and understand if we are to bear the image of Christ well.

“Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them” (Psalm 10:17-18).

“You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh” (Psalm 38:9).

Here again, as we listen and take in heart-breaking stories, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. There is so much pain; how can we hold space for it all? In our finite humanity, we are not made to hold it all. But we are equipped, through the Holy Spirit, and our God-given abilities and personalities, to enter into the suffering in some way.

As you approach injustice, what you may find helpful is to pay attention to the voices that tug at your heart the most. What injustice in this world makes you cry more, or angers you more than other things?

Perhaps you’ve heard of the “five giants of injustice”: spiritual emptiness, oppression, illiteracy, disease, and poverty. These giants are the source of essentially every form of injustice, in one way or another.

Which one stirs you the most? Why? As you begin to approach injustice, take some time to listen and learn. Find out if there are organizations in your own community that address one of these giants in some way. Learn more about them. Pray and invite the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to places he might be leading you to.

Do you have a job or position, skill, relationship, experience, or interest that might make you a natural part of the solution for any of these giants? How?

Does any particular issue of injustice make you particularly sad, frustrated, or motivated? Do you have a clear means of addressing that issue in your everyday life?

Take some time to ponder these questions and spend some time listening. See where God leads.

Action Step

Name one area of injustice you feel empowered to move further into today. Choose one concrete action step and complete it before moving on. Is it volunteering somewhere? Sponsoring a child? Listening and learning? Making a donation? Signing a petition or writing a congress person?

If you are already doing something, could God be asking you to take another step?

Daily Scripture

Read each day’s Scripture passage and journal your responses.

1 John 1 | 1 John 2 | 1 John 3 | 1 John 4 | 1 John 5

What to do when you meet
with your group:

Begin with a short prayer.

Ask God to open your eyes to his perspective on things. Take turns each week.

Questions.

Begin by discussing how you are loving others.

What opportunities has God given you to love other people through serving, speaking truth in love, or pointing them towards Christ since we last met? How did you respond?

Talk about what God has been stirring in you through your time in the Word.

Share about one of your quiet times in the Bible.

Practice mutual confession.

Questions about section 2.

On a scale of 1-5, how do you think you have been at listening when others share their experiences?

Talk about your thoughts from the Action Step.

End your time by praying for each other.

Pray that you would see the world the way Jesus does and seek biblical justice in the ways that God is leading you into. Pray that you would boldly live into God’s kingdom purposes.