justice is charity.

tzedek. a simple hebrew word. it has been translated over the years to mean justice, yet the western capitalist version of justice conjures up all sorts of idealism about fairness and equality and the punishment of criminals. while the first two ideas are noble at an anthropological level, i shall remark only this about the third. "by the same measure with which you judge, so too, you shall be judged."

yet, however noble the ideas of fairness and equality may be, they are not true representations of the word justice in its hebrew origin. for indeed, the word 'tzedek' is more accurately translated as charity and not a social system of order. the prophet micah, speaking for the Lord, states that the first quality God seeks is the pursuit of justice, the pursuit of tzedek, not of social order, but of charity. man is to actively seek out charity in all things, in all situations he is to be just only as it means he is charitable to his fellow man.

in our society, charity is often viewed as a crutch for the lazy and apathetic homeless man, whom we call a 'bum' on the streets, begging for money. and though 'social justice' has become a cultural buzz word most often associated with helping children in africa, the dominant mindset in our capitalist society is that homeless people deserve, in all fairness, their poverty because they did not work hard enough to earn their own living. this thinking is in complete contradiction with the command to pursue tzedek in micah. a command echoed by the fulfillment of jewish law and prophecy, Jesus, when He describes His sheep in matthew 25:34-36.

"then the King will say to those on His right, 'come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 'for I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

in a society of competition, the american dream, and such excessive materialism, it is easy to see why justice is defined with fairness and equality, that criminals are so punished and that homeless people are seen as blemished people, lower-class degenerates. yet, this is not a new development of human selfishness or greed, for indeed throughout history this illusion of 'equal liberties' has been propagated by those up high in their social positions of comfort. just as the american who proclaims the individual rights of all man as being created equal under God, does so from the air-conditioned comfort his wealth has afforded him.

we preach social justice, the great charity of man in helping fellow man, but we are deceived by our own lies. we hope for a better world, but continue to keep it separate, segregated, and inequal. by our own false definition of justice we are the unjust. we are the criminals who deserve punishment in stealing that which is not ours. we are the goats who call themselves sheep. true justice is in charity, not of man's noble aid to another, but of God's philanthropy. His great love of mankind which overturns the man-made system of legalism and morality which severs man from God and claims to hold the power of reuniting the two. true justice does not come from man but from God, in His charity.

to bear Witness to this truth of His word is to subvert the systematic inequality of western capitalism with unfair kindness that is not deserved nor earned, but given by he who has to he who has not. not to give out of selfish ambition or institutional agenda, but out of love. love which first recognizes the poverty of one's self and then seeks to serve in alleviating the poverty of another, however temporary or permanent. the commandment in matthew 25 is always available to be fulfilled. for even Jesus himself declared that the poor will always be with us, the inequality shall always exist, yet we do what we can in spite of the inevitability of this disparity. we love those who society rejects and exhibit true justice in charity given them out of the absurd hope that when we fight poverty in even a single moment we are defeating it then, even though the same battle waits to be fought again the very next day.

true justice is not given to him who deserves what he is given, but in turning over the tables and giving to him who does not deserve being given what he does not himself have. true justice exhibits the charity of such a subversive love which bears Witness to the Word of God.

matthew 28:20

"I will be with you always, even unto the end of the age."

how incredible! how amazing it is that God should take the name Immanuel, He is with us. that He who is in heaven should come down to the earth He created and involve Himself in the lives of those very people who, throughout history, have rejected Him. for indeed, all of us have at some point, regardless of what religious beliefs we hold, or what position we occupy in society. ironically, many of us reject God in preferring a system of worship over the true object of worship Himself. yet, there are two thoughts which strike me whenever these words of Jesus ring in my ears.

first, that this promise states that God is with us, that He is uniting with mankind and not the other way around. contrary to all religious systems, man cannot reach God of his own volition. every sort of theology which starts with man looking at God and then reaches conclusions within their relevant context of culture fails and becomes only a prideful idol of man's own intelligence and reason. instead, true theological work begins with God and then seeks to understand how God sees man. in the beginning there was not man, but God, and all that follows comes from God. God did not remain in heavenly isolation but involved Himself in the everyday lives of His people. their story is recorded in the tanakh. yet, God transcends this collection of tales and events in that He continues His involvement in His creation daily. God chose to become a human being and walked the earth not as a 'king' by man's standards, but as the true King He truly is. teaching, healing, speaking the truth, serving, dying and rising from death, these are the events of His life which bear Witness to the truth of who He is, yet it does not end with that story. He leaves His kingdom in the hands of those sheep who are His. God believes in man, and shows His love for us; not the result of our religious practice and elegant doctrines, but instead, even in spite of ourselves. who is able to run far enough that they are beyond God's grace and love? the work of God does not begin when we realise it or choose to accept it, for even before we were born, He is. For He is gathering His sheep to Him, and not one of those which are His shall be lost.

secondly, this promise from Jesus does not state that life will become easier to live. in a western culture, such as the united states of america, it is easy to eventually think that we do not need God, for truly we have more than enough and wallow around in our luxury like the pigs do in mud. all of the comforts we can dream of are easily within our grasp, yet as the basic biological questions of survival and reproduction lose their urgency, there arise ideological problems which confuse, frustrate and drive many to the point of suicide. that an epidemic such as 'depression' should emerge within the wealthiest nation of man's world, echoes the comparison of the rich man entering heaven to the camel going through the eye of a needle. in other nations, where wealth does not abound, dictators and despots rule, death waits around every corner and the struggle of the day is finding even the smallest bite of food with which to try and fill one's stomach. history likes to recall the progress of mankind as testament to his abilities to improve himself and make better his world, yet only the context has changed, for indeed the same problems persist. and while many have come proclaiming the truth of man's word about God, only one came preaching God's word about man. yet, despite the difficulties of everyday life, God is with us, not to make things easier or to grant us more comfort and prosperity, but to carry us through the so-called 'deserts' of life. in our ignorance we try to escape and avoid all painful situations, yet not all sadness is an evil, nor is grief unrighteous. God Himself, while walking the earth exhibits traits of anger, sadness and frustration, yet, however misunderstood these traits are to mankind, they are not to be avoided as evil. He is with us. in times of war, in the current scandal, in extreme poverty, in sickness, in joyful times, in wealth, in our despair, in our health, in our uncertainty, He is with us. that is His promise, that is His gospel. His love never fails.

how to change the world 101

a delicate balance of hope and absurdity are the only ideological requirements for truly changing the world. for when these two fuel the fires of action taken by the individual, change cannot be stopped. yet, if this is the case then why does the world remain such a mess? most believe that it's far too great a problem for the individual to solve on their own, and this is where they are not only wrong, but inspire continued apathy.

initiatives, programmes, movements, organisations, these are noble things and it is good to unite, but all that is needed to shake the earth is the individual, passionately afire with justice at the forefront of their heart and mind. this is not to say that these groups and organisations are worthless or irrelevant, on the contrary they are often made up of united individuals who are absurdly hopeful in their resolution to change the way things are. what i am arguing here is that these institutions are not necessary and sometimes their existence causes the individual 'outside' to give up or remain in complacency. so often the frustration seems to be that since one is not a part of a programme or movement that they cannot do what it is that movement proclaims in action, yet this is not the case.

the truth is that history is marked by individual men and women who stood alone, and boldly so, in opposition to the problems and issues they faced. that others soon rallied around them comes after the fact. some recent members of this historical activist hall of fame include the likes of martin luther king, jr., mother theresa and gandhi. they became figureheads of the movements they inspired not because they needed others for their programme to work, but because they, themselves, had a dream, or saw the need for action at a personal level.

ironically it is only after this individual proclamation of principles that others joined in agreement. they found the speeches of dr. king inspiring but also, his words seemed to articulate what they had been feeling all along. the irony of individual importance is that the one who acts in defiance of the inevitable soon finds himself in similar company by those who witnessed his bravery.

in the gospels, jesus sets out on his own and then calls disciples to him, but each of those disciples were faced with a personal challenge. this was not a broad call for all to become a part of his group, but instead to set out with him on a journey that would first change them individually and then turn outward and set the world afire with hope.

in our own day, programmes and initiatives fast become trend and pop-culture groups of association. to see a t-shirt advertising this group is now all too common, and while there is nothing wrong with advertising a noble initiative, when the hype is centered around 'the who' of an organisation instead of 'the issue' a great distraction is created and as a result, apathy abounds. the same is true of religion in america and abroad.

social justice is not the saving of the earth, but rather the ideological fuel that burns a fire of perspective of charity (justice) in the heart and mind of each individual affected by it. there is no situation which exists where the opportunity to make the world a better or brighter place does not also exist. it is not a question of whether change is possible, but to what degree an individual wants to change the world versus the degree to which they are able.

there is no limitation on the potential for global shifts, yet the everyday man and woman are in a place where they may feel infinitely small in comparison to such a large world which rather huge issues and problems. this perspective is tiring and renders one the feeling of futility in doing anything at all. yet the opposite is true. the individual is infinitely large in comparison to the problems of the world, and since they can only change what they can, there is no limit to individual potential on a global scale.

a child who sells lemonade on the corner understands that she may not sell to the entire world, but to those that she can sell to on a hot summer day, she will have affected them and made their world a better place. the elderly man who may not travel to africa to distribute food to orphans and aid victims understands that he may donate money to buy food for the homeless and the orphans in his own neighbourhood. the pastor of a small church may not have a megaphone to shout his message of hope and love worldwide, but he can show love to those around him and exhibit the hope within. a school-teacher may not be able to donate a large sum of money to providing clean water worldwide, but in the teaching and care of those students in her classroom she can inspire such hope that sets those students afire with compassion and generosity.


the simple truth is this:

you cannot change the world, but you can change your world.


it is sad to think, not of what you cannot do, but of what you can do but do not. the opportunities for world-change exist all around you, if have eyes to see them. that is how to change the world.