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Cross Catholic Outreach
- March 3, 2011
Reacting to Injustice
The recent conflicts in countries throughout the Middle East offer a glimpse of what can happen when people feel they’ve been treated unjustly. The result of perceived injustice can range from peaceful protests that bring about change to dangerous riots or clashes between citizens and the government.
As it does on so many topics, the Bible has a lot to say about injustice and
how we’re to react when we see it. Proverbs 31:8-9 says, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
Amos 5:24 reads, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.” Perhaps Micah 6:8 spells it out most clearly: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Help us bring justice to innocent people in the name of Christ!
But injustice sometimes seems so ingrained in our lives that it might feel like we can’t do anything about it. Ever heard the saying “Nice guys finish last” or “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer”? Or that “Life isn’t fair”? We seem to think we never quite get what we deserve for our efforts, that life itself is inherently unjust.
Maybe it’s true that life doesn’t always go our way. But it’s always going God’s way, and that’s what matters. We can’t do much when we think we’re experiencing injustice, say, if we don’t get a promotion or if we get turned down for a job—many times things in life just aren’t in our control. All we can do is try to help others experience justice in their lives and pray that God will help us find the same.
One way we can bring justice to others is by helping those who’ve experienced loss that they did nothing to deserve. For example, it’s not fair that a child in Africa lost her parents to AIDS and now has to live life as an orphan—but we can bring justice to her life by helping her get an education. It’s not fair that a man who was working hard to raise his family in Haiti lost his home and all his possessions—but we can bring justice to his life through a housing program.
Cross International Catholic Outreach is working to bring justice to people’s lives every day by supporting ministries in the developing world. You can help us! Click here to learn about the many ways we’re helping to bring justice in the name of Christ to those who need it most.
