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When Jesus walked this earth he gave most of his energy and time to the poorest of the poor and those who were being neglected and oppressed. Jesus challenged people at all levels of society to help the poor by following his example and putting his words into practice.
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, (Luke 14:12,13)
We should do more than just help the poor with their material needs, we should speak up for them as God commanded (see Isaiah 1:17 & Matt 23:23).
When we speak up for the poor we not only help them, we also come into contact with people in positions of power, laws are changed and society is transformed. Our nation is on a down hill slide because many Christians have focused on reaching out to the middle class and have largely neglected the victims in society.
Are you reaching out to the victims? (see Proverbs 29:7) Is your Churches main focus to help the victims of gambling, alcohol, pornography (see women and the sex industry) and those who are abused in the workplace? Are you speaking up for the victims of child prostitution and those who are discriminated against because of unjust laws here and abroad?
When we reach out to the poor and oppressed we reach all levels of society, including the middle class. They have fathers, mothers, brothers, sons, daughters and cousins who are thankful when people reach out to help their relatives. It is amazing what happens when Christians help the victims of oppression.
Unfortunately, many Christians are governed by what they think they can achieve rather than doing what ought to be done. This is not how Christians should behave; neither should we be trying to maintain the status quo. (If everyone over the last two thousand years held that attitude we'd still be feeding people to the lions.) As Christians we should not be governed by the question "What can be done?" but by "What ought to be done?" Some wrongly believe that if you try and do what ought to be done nothing will get done because you will be trying to achieve the impossible. While it is true that you might not reach your final objective you can take steps toward it. Because of your work someone else might be able to build on what you have done and succeed where you failed. Sadly, the west is in trouble because of the inactivity, short-sightedness and confusion of Christians.
An example of such confusion is when well meaning "Christians" fight for the rights of some adults, but in the process destroy many children's right (or capacity) for a healthy and happy family life. One of the measurements of
the moral progress of any society is what it is doing to its children. How much do our children suffer because of divorce, sexual abuse, alcohol and gambling related problems in our society? As these problems increase so do the number of children who suffer. What are we doing to our children in the name of the rights of adults? Does this not highlight--despite the high regard for ethics in our universities--that our society is a
miserable failure? Whenever we are considering laws regarding gambling, pornography, alcohol, drugs, gay rights etc we must first ask the question, "What effect will this have on the children?" Adults will have to sacrifice some of their rights (individually and collectively) for the good of children, whether we like it or not. One of the reasons the west is in serious trouble is because of the well meaning, but dangerous Samaritans amongst us.
The west is also in trouble because the State is trying to do the job of the Church. Sadly, many Christians have not only let this happen, they have encouraged it. (See Our Future?)
Try and get the big picture otherwise you may be part of the problem and not part of the solution.
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Want to change the world? Here is my advice.
1. Start by finding out what's right with the world. When you know what is right you will be able to see more clearly what is wrong. Then take the first step. Follow the one who makes things right, Jesus. (If you are a Christian who is serious about doing God's Will I highly recommend Decision making and the Will of God)
2. Do what you can to right the wrongs. Become informed and develop a strong case. (Greg Koukl is very good at this. No matter what your views are on abortion you will learn a lot about arguing a case by listening to Greg. The following is the first of 4 lectures regarding abortion in the Summit Lecture Series. If you liked that you will find Tactics in Defending the Faith by Greg very useful.)
3. Work hard so that you will inspire those you work with. Either start a group or join one.
4. Don't try and replace the Church with the Government. (See Separation of Ideology and State. As a side issue, we should also try and safe guard democracy by making it more difficult for extremists to gain the balance of power. See elections.)
Think globally, act locally and serve the Saviour with joy (see Phil 2:14,15).
(For more on the Biblical mandate to speak up for the oppressed watch The Justice Mission DVD)
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