I really love to read. This wasn't always the case. For many years, I really despised reading. I think part of my past disdain for reading was because of my low ability to comprehend and retain what I read. The other reason is because I equated reading with sitting still and not interacting with people. For those of you who know me well, you know that I don't do well sitting still and being alone. My feelings toward reading changed most markedly when I was in Chicago living with five other teammates - many of whom would get lost in books. As they were working their way through their book, they would share their thoughts about their current reading selection, which would inevitably lead to thought provoking conversation. And then I was hooked: the passing of interesting information and stimulus for thought provoking conversation. That was over six years ago, and now I find myself treasuring a day where I can carve out an hour or two to read. And finishing a book? FUHGEDABOWDIT! There are few activities that bring more satisfaction that finishing a book and then adding it to the library.
Recently I finished a GREAT book! "Which book did you finish?" you may ask.
GENEROUS JUSTICE by Tim Keller
Because of my job, people will frequently ask me how justice is pertinent in Winston-Salem or in America or even in our world. It's hard for many people to put their finger of what justice or injustice looks like in their world. Consequently even if they sense a call to pursue justice, they are unsure of the practical ways to pursue it. Tim Keller helps to answer some of these questions.
Keller has such a gift for conveying profound Biblical truth in simple, easy-to-digest ways. In Keller fashion he starts the book with a very concise definition of "justice." He uses Micah 6:8 to unpack the meaning of justice, "And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Here what Keller says:
“The text says to 'do justice and love mercy,' which seem at first glance to be two different things, but they are not. The term 'mercy' is the Hebrew word chesedh, God's unconditional grace and compassion. The word for 'justice' is the Hebrew term mishpat. In Micah 6:8 mishpat puts the emphasis on the action, chesedh puts it on the attitude [or motive] behind the action. To walk with God, then, we must do justice, out of merciful love.
The word mishpat in its various forms occurs more than two hundred times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Its most basic meaning is to treat people equitably."
Keller goes on to summarize justice as "the punishment of wrongdoing as well as giving people their rights." Because sin has caused goods and power to be inequitably distributed and used to promote some and oppress others, the poor typically feel the brunt of the inequitable distribution and the misuse of resources and power. God, therefore, speaks frequently in scripture of the cause the poor and His defense for the oppressed.
"He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, He lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves those who live justly. The LORD watches over the immigrant and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked." Psalm 146: 7 - 9
If Christians desire to reflect the character of God, we will have an awareness of the reality of the poor and will pursue justice on behalf of the oppressed. This was true for Israel and was seen in the way that God set up the social and ceremonial law. It was also seen in the character of Christ as well as in the teaching of the apostles.
One of the most memorable points Keller makes is when he addresses the motivation behind justice. In answering the question, "why should we do justice?" Keller says that we have two basic Biblical motivations: "joyful awe before the goodness of God's creation and the experience of God's grace in redemption."
God's Goodness in Creation:
Genesis 1:27 is one of my favorite verses in scripture. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Three times in one verse we read that man was CREATED by God. This creation event is further clarified by the twice stated fact that we were created in God's image. These two facts together should lead us to the humble recognition of our worth in bearing the image of Creator God and our responsibility to bear the image of Creator God. Keller says, "The Bible teaches that the sacredness of God has in some way been imparted to humanity, so that every human life is sacred and every human being has dignity. When God puts His image upon us, we became beings of infinite, inestimable value...The image of God carries with it the right to not be mistreated or harmed."
God as Creator of all things should lead us to recognize His ownership and our subsequent stewardship. If we believe that the resources we have are a gift from God (James 1:17), then we will not take pride in our belongings or our position or power. We will consider them assets to be used for God's purposes in this world; resources to represent His Kingdom. Quoting Bruce Waltke, Keller writes "the righteous are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves." Keller concludes that "a lack of generosity refuses to acknowledge that your assets are not really yours, but God's. If you have been assigned the goods of this world by God and you don't share them with others, it isn't just stinginess, it is injustice."
God's Grace in Redemption:
From the Old Testament picture of redemption found in God rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt and delivering them to the Promised Land, we hear God telling His people to remember their redemption and in remembering, be people who lived redemptively. "Circumcise your hearts, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10: 16 - 19) For Israel, they literally were aliens, outcasts in Egypt. They knew what is felt like to feel the effects of injustice. As a result, God commanded them to treat those affected by injustice with compassion. As Americans, especially white, middle to upper class Americans, it's hard to personalize injustice, because we often times are not on the receiving end of injustice. This, coupled with the American dream mentality of being able to pull yourselves up from your bootstraps and work hard to accomplish your dreams sometimes makes it hard for us to empathize with the oppressed. But spiritually speaking we are without excuse. No Christians, regardless of their socioeconomic standing, can deny their spiritual poverty and oppression before God. Keller says it this way,
"'Jesus said, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3), and most scholars over the centuries have understood that God's blessing and salvation come to those who 'acknowledge spiritual bankruptcy.' It means to see that you are deeply in debt before God, and you have no ability to even begin to redeem yourself. God's free generosity to you, at infinite cost to Him, was the only thing that saved you. What if, however, you aren't poor in spirit...We can say that you are "middle-class in spirit." You feel that you've earned a certain standing with God through your hard work. You also may believe that the success and the resources you have are primarily due to your own industry and energy...To the degree that the gospel shapes your self-image, you will identify with those in need. You will see their tattered clothes and think: "All my righteousness is a filthy rag, but in Christ we can be clothes in his robes of righteousness." When you come upon those who are economically poor, you cannot say to them, "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!" because certainly did not do that spiritually. Jesus intervened for you. And you cannot say, "I won't help you because you got yourself into this mess," since God came to earth, moved into your spiritually poor neighborhood, as it were, and helped you even though your spiritual problems were your own fault. In other words, when Christians who understand the gospel see a poor person, they realize they are looking into a mirror. Their hearts must go out to him or her without an ounce of superiority or indifference."
Keller goes on to share some ways in which to implement justice. I won't detail his thoughts on implementing justice, but I will give some of his concluding thoughts. God created the world to function rightly under God's reign and according to His order. This right functioning is called "shalom" in the Bible and if often translated as peace. At its root, it means "complete reconciliation, a state of the fullest flourishing in every dimension - physical, emotional, social, and spiritual - because all relationships are right, perfect, and filled with joy." Because of sin, we do not experience full shalom. But to do justice is to "live in a way that generates a strong community where human beings can flourish...to go to places where the fabric of shalom has broken down, where the weaker members of societies are falling through the fabric and repair it...Reweaving shalom means to sacrificially thread, lace, and press your time, goods, power, and resources into the lives and needs of others." Ultimately when we see God as beautiful and we delight in Him, we delight to honor Him. We recognize our own spiritual poverty and God's tenderness towards the poor and oppressed (namely ourselves), so we joyfully and sacrificially spend ourselves on behalf of the poor that God's character might be manifested to all.
Generous Justice is a great book. It's a quick read, but contains profound truth. I would encourage you to read it.
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