All of my being centers on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus came to save us from ourselves by setting an example as the ultimate revelation of God. As this ultimate revelation of God, he set an example of love and non-violence which I carry in my very being. Commandments such as “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “Love your enemies” define who I am and how I treat others. From this, I find no grounds for war, capital punishment, torture, abortion, poverty, or oppression of any kind. How is killing our enemies answering our call to love them? How is aborting unborn children caring for them? How is killing our brothers and sisters an answer to “Love your neighbors as yourself”? I choose to ascribe to a consistent ethic of non-violence and pacifism not because I am a “commie-liberal,” as my father so fondly calls me, but because non-violence and pacifism are the ethics to which the Gospel calls us.
As I am writing this, there is one particular song that keeps playing in my head – “Rich Young Ruler” by Derek Webb. The song says, “Poverty is so hard to see when it’s only on your TV or twenty miles across town. When we’re all living so good that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood where he’s hungry and not feeling so good from going through our trash. He says, more than just your cash and coin I want your time, I want your voice. I want the things you just can’t give me... ‘Because what you do to the least of these my brother’s, you have done it to me.’”1 Why is it that we overlook these people? Why is it that we overlook Christ? And why is it that we ascribe to a Gospel of personal gain and success rather than to the true Gospel and look to the true Christ as our life model? Derek Webb sings of a counter-cultural ideology which should fit perfectly with the Gospel because the Gospel is in its very nature counter- cultural, but it is our consumeristic American brand of Christianity that has transformed it into a Gospel of personal gain and material success. All we focus on is ourselves when all of our focus should be on Christ and others.
Service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence can all be found in the Gospel and therefore also can be found in my ethics. I think it goes without saying that I am called to serve, and I think that it also goes without saying that all Christians are called to serve their brothers and sisters without any discrimination as to race, sex, religion, social class, age, or sexual orientation. “Love your neighbor… [and] your enemies” leaves none by the wayside. In my service of others, I should seek out injustice and give voice to those who are speechless from oppression and fear.
The reason that I can love my neighbors and enemies and seek to bring them justice is that I recognize the worth and dignity of every human being that God so lovingly created. Was it not Jesus who ate in communion with the tax collectors, the lepers, the downtrodden, the thieves, the salesmen, the prostitutes, and the otherwise socially unacceptable? Every created thing has dignity and worth, and it is the fault of humanity for not noticing. In his life, Jesus is an example for all of humanity to follow; the message of the Gospel is not getting out of hell. The message is to love each other as God so obviously loves us. As I seek to give voice to the oppressed, I must come to know them as a brother or sister building a caring relationship which will benefit the both of us; if I come to love the individuals or the people group, I will have a stronger drive to bring them out of oppression, poverty, and injustice. Jesus did not choose the Pharisees to follow him, to become his disciples. Jesus chose the uneducated fishermen and even a tax collector to be his disciples – to become like him, to follow in his footsteps, and to further his kingdom. Jesus chose to make relationships with the least of these, and he told us that what we do to the least of these, we do also to him.
I believe, given my previous words, that my integrity goes without question. In my quest for justice, I feel that the only way I can bring about change is to adhere to the strict moral and ethical code for which I am so diligently (and peacefully) fighting. And in order to bring about change, I want to be completely prepared, knowing every detail before I enter into a situation. That is precisely why I believe that education is of great import. Competence in your field is not a needless detail, but it is quite necessary for getting the job done and bringing about change and justice. Competence benefits the cause, while seeking justice, it is better to be well educated and informed so that the job can been completed effectively and efficiently. Jesus, for example, was well educated in Jewish law and scripture, so he could speak to the Jews, and the Jews could relate to him and understand him as he would quote scripture in the Sermon on the Mount and his many parables. The disciples though uneducated when they were called by Jesus hung onto his every word and soaked up his every lesson. They lovingly and respectfully called him “Rabbi” – teacher.
My heart is called to ministry, and I feel that I answer that call best when I am in humble service of others – and in humble service of Christ. My heart bleeds when I see the impoverished, abused, and oppressed. I do not work for social justice solely because the Gospel commands it; I do it because God has put others’ suffering in my heart. I have the gift of empathy and mercy, and that manifests itself best in relational service and loving kindness. And in writing this, I have the highest hopes that it will reach just one heart and cause it to stir for the Gospel. I hope that more Christians come to the realization that Jesus was not about getting out of hell but that he was about love, peace, mercy, and justice.
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