{"id":4190,"date":"2019-09-16T09:00:22","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T14:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=4190"},"modified":"2019-09-25T09:38:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T14:38:02","slug":"four-powerful-steps-to-fight-injustice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2019\/09\/16\/four-powerful-steps-to-fight-injustice\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Powerful Steps to Fight Injustice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine being a young lady who is kidnapped and then manipulated into a marriage because a young man finds her attractive. This happens almost every day in Kyrgyzstan. Although \u201cbride stealing\u201d is illegal, it\u2019s still considered culturally acceptable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, most young women involved in human trafficking are not kidnapped. Most are convinced by family members to enter into such a life to provide income for their families. The families are often paid by recruiters to convince their daughters, sisters, and nieces to say yes to such a life. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are children in this world who don\u2019t have adequate access to education, food, clothing or even the simplest and modest privileges of children from the western world. This leads to limited cognitive, emotional and behavioral development. Poverty is the cause. Just this week we were told a story of a five-year-old girl who died from malaria in East Africa\u2014even though there are inexpensive medications that can treat malaria.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these situations happen every day and all have one thing in common: The victims are innocent, and their demise is of no fault of their own. They are simply born in the wrong place and into unfortunate circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They have no access to justice.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s heart has always been to defend those who are less fortunate. In Isaiah 1, the Lord calls for Judah to repent. In verse 16 He instructs them to cleanse themselves and to \u201ccease to do evil.\u201d Then God gives them a mandate in verse 17: \u201cLearn to do good; seek justice, rebuke\u00a0the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow\u201d (NKJV).<\/p>\n

Allow me to contextualize this according to the time we live in. It is not enough that we are born-again and have insured ourselves eternity with Jesus. It\u2019s also not enough that we have stopped living in a destructive and sinful way, or that we are regular worshipers in our houses of worship. We must also value what God values.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What does He value? People. Specifically, God cares about people in need. He cares for those who are discriminated against, persecuted and forgotten. Ken Wytsma, founder of The Justice Conference, made this statement that deeply impacted my understanding of justice: \u201cDoing justice is promoting what ought to be, and fighting injustice is fighting what should not be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus stood for \u201cwhat should be\u201d and fought against \u201cwhat should not be.\u201d His mission is now the responsibility of the church. As His followers, we are to preach the gospel, bring healing physically and emotionally, and liberate those who are being held captive. Jesus made His purpose clear while reading Isaiah 61. He said in Luke 4:18: \u201cThe\u00a0Spirit of the\u00a0Lord\u00a0is\u00a0upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to\u00a0the\u00a0poor; He has sent Me\u00a0to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to\u00a0the\u00a0captives and recovery of sight to\u00a0the\u00a0blind, to\u00a0set at liberty those who are\u00a0oppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although we believe Jesus is the answer and we are to advance His kingdom as the solutions to life\u2019s problems, it\u2019s not always that simple. The reality is there is a difference between \u201cjustice\u201d\u2014what should be according to the heart of God\u2014and \u201ctruth\u201d\u2014what is actually happening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Homelessness, poverty, genocide, human trafficking, war, refugees and persecution are the norm in so many places. The truth is not all people have the same opportunities in life and many find solutions to their problems through dysfunctional and destructive means.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It might seem impossible to change the truth we see around the world. However, we as His representatives can make a difference. How can we be voices for justice in this dark world? Here are three simple steps:<\/p>\n

1. Choose to see what God sees.<\/b><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to look far to find people in need. We also don\u2019t need an audible voice from God to help those in need. The Word is clear about the role the church should take in this world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Luke 10 there is a story about a man who was attacked, robbed and left for dead. In this parable, a priest and a Levite walked by this man and did nothing to help. However, a Samaritan not only saw the man, but he stopped to help him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If we are ever going to stand for justice, we must stop ignoring the problem and become the answer. The priest and Levite chose to ignore the problem. The Samaritan saw what God saw.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have to see what God sees. It\u2019s easy to get caught up in our own challenges. Unfortunately, leaders will often only engage when it benefits their dreams or passion. When we see what God sees, we then realize it\u2019s not about our kingdom; it\u2019s all about His.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Don\u2019t get overwhelmed.<\/b><\/p>\n

Some people look at the injustice in the world and say, \u201cI can\u2019t make a dent in these problems!\u201d The reality is God has not called you to right every wrong in the world. However, He has called you to do something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When my wife, Gretchen, and I were youth pastors in a small community in North Florida, there was a high dropout rate for high school students. We decided to start a GED sponsorship program. We picked young people up from their homes, took them to the GED program at the school, met with their teachers and provided lunch for them. This was a simple, yet effective contribution to solving a problem. Start by choosing one problem and make a difference!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Use what you have.<\/b><\/p>\n

Recently a missionary family that had spent 33 years serving in multiple African countries visited us. Their assignment was to train leaders and see new churches planted. The wife of the family was heartbroken from the poverty and malnourishment of the children.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This couple didn\u2019t have the resources to feed everyone. However, the wife said, \u201cI have three rocks and a pot.\u201d They built a fire, set the pot on the rocks and made porridge. This small act of faith eventually led to a major ministry that is feeding more than 1,500 children every day.<\/p>\n

We can all look at what we don\u2019t have. But what do you have that can make a difference? Begin with what you have and realize that God uses small beginnings to make a big impact!<\/p>\n

4. Networking is powerful.<\/b><\/p>\n

My wife works regularly with victims of human trafficking in Belgium. This has led others from our church to get involved. We didn\u2019t start this ministry. In fact, we were not equipped or trained to do so, but we met an organization that works with women of all ages in the city of Antwerp.<\/p>\n

Over the years women who were involved in prostitution have been saved. Many of them found new jobs so they could leave this demoralizing life. It\u2019s been a great partnership for our church. The other ministry provides training, we provide manpower and resources, and God gets the glory! It\u2019s amazing what can happen when you don\u2019t care who gets the credit. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Begin to look at the needs in your community and beyond. Find organizations that are credible and partner with them. Support missionaries who are passionately working to be an answer to someone\u2019s problem. Send short-term teams to be a support to these efforts. The power of networking is unlimited and can make a huge difference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have learned this powerful truth over the years. Small steps of faith eventually lead to big steps. When you partner with God\u2019s heart to change the world, the world will never be the same! \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Originally published in Encourage<\/a> magazine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":4187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[305,1,610],"tags":[832,149,58,572],"class_list":{"0":"post-4190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-encourage-magazine","8":"category-general","9":"category-justice","10":"tag-bill-schwartz","11":"tag-encourage-magazine","12":"tag-iphc","13":"tag-justice","14":"entry"},"title_es":"Cuatro pasos poderosos para combatir la injusticia","content_es":"","author_name":"Bill Schwartz","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/09\/Bill.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-15A","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}