The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.: Justice, Non-Violence, and Reconciliation

The third Monday of January is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This isn't a church year holiday, but Martin Luther King Jr. was a reverend and he remains one of my heroes of the faith, so we are going to look at his legacy today. We could focus on many different aspects of Reverend King and his work, but today we will look at three areas: justice, non-violence, and reconciliation.

Justice is central to the late Reverend King, but what is "justice"? It is righteousness and moral rightness. It is acting with just behavior. It is doling out a deserved reward or punishment. When a person is just, they are guided by truth and fairness. Justice is proper and following a true principle. It is what is right and correct. While justice is always in line with God's law, man's laws can be unjust and therefore the Christian is morally obligated to follow God's law instead of man's. We need to note that justice is not revenge, but man's laws often are revenge-centered.

Reverend King preached and practiced non-violence, even when he was beaten, stabbed, and arrested. He wasn't a blinded optimist convinced that non-violence resistance by the oppressed would automatically generate reciprocal non-violence on the part of the oppressors. He realized that to step out in non-violence was to accept the beatings and violence done against you without retaliating. Now for those thinking, "But the left/right has been violent too", the "other side" will have to give an account before God for their actions one day, but we are judged on our obedience to Christ's commands to love our enemy, pray for our persecutors, and turn the other cheek. We need to focus on our own plank before we look to the speck of dust in their eye. It's easy to condemn the violence in our opponents. It's harder to condemn it in ourselves and our allies. Non-violence is not just physical non-violence, but also spiritual. If we don't hit someone, but we allow our hearts to hate them, then we are still violent in our souls. 

Reconciliation is the third aspect of Reverend King's teaching that we will look at. His protests and marches did not invent tension, but brought the undercurrent of tension to the surface. Only once both the oppressor and oppressed acknowledge the division, hate, and injustice can reconciliation occur. And we must be willing to reconcile. Our goal is not permanently punishing or destroying our opponents; we should want to reconcile with them, once confession and repentance of sins occur. Once someone seeks forgiveness and wants to be healed, God steps in with His mercy (not giving them the punishment that they deserve) and grace (giving them a gift they can never earn). The unrepentant do not receive these gifts, but God offers them to all who repent of their sins and turn to Him. 

I challenge us to go beyond the one-snippet sentences shared on social media, especially those used to condemn the other side for their behavior. While Martin Luther King Jr. is a well-loved figure today, we haven't taken the time to understand his message. We take a sentence, out-of-context, and share it to spread warm fuzzies or put our opponent in their place. Reverend King's messages have a plethora of hard truths to swallow. In order to reconcile, we must work through the injustices around us together. We won't reach our capacity for love or growth while we don't bother to study and learn from the parts of his work that make us uncomfortable and uneasy. We, as a society, have been trained to avoid tension, to cover it up rather than face it squarely head on, but Reverend  King knew that only in working through tension will we arrive a true justice and peace.

Action Steps to Take: 

There are so many books that I could recommend that you read. You can read books about Reverend King, or even books by him. While I do encourage you to read books about Reverend King since it does help us to get a big picture of who he was and what his message was, we should also be sure to prioritize reading his writings directly. We have transcripts of his speeches, records of his articles, and copies of his books, so let us read his own words. 

We can also listen to him. If we just search online, we can find many recordings of his sermons. While many of us are worshipping online this year, let us listen with Reverend King's church and learn from his sermons. 

A Baptism of Repentance

On this day in the church year, we remember Jesus' baptism by John, as recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, and Luke 3:21-22. 

The baptism John preached and practiced was a baptism of repentance. At Pentecost (later this year), we'll celebrate the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but for now, we will focus on this baptism that Jesus received. 

Repentance occurs when we experience deep sorrow or regret over our actions. It brings us to a place where we are willing to consider change: changing our attitudes, changing our hearts, changing our actions. 

It seems simple enough, but a crucial part of repentance is acknowledging the past sins and wrongs we have done or not stopped from happening. We can't repent of something that we deny is a problem. 

American culture is very individualistic, yet Jewish culture throughout Scripture is very collectivist. Acknowledging and repenting of personal sins (the bad things we have done and the good things we have neglected to do) is important, but we don't often delve into corporate acknowledgment and repentance of sin. That is corporate as in a collection of individuals in a group such as a church or a religion, not corporate as in a business. 

What is there to repent of corporately in our culture and lives? 

-We repent of dehumanizing people, based on their wealth, ethnicity, religion, or nationality. We have treated people as less valuable because they were poor, a different color, praying to a different god, or from another country. 

-We repent of disobeying clear commands in Scripture: to share the Good News with those we encounter, to visit prisoners, to welcome the stranger, to defend those who are oppressed. 

-We repent of neglecting to learn the ugly stories of American history. We have glossed over and ignored the stories of the rapes, lynchings, torture, and oppression that those in power did to those under their control. We have valued our comfort level more than seeking reconciliation by acknowledging this part of our history.

-We repent of our complicity in the sins of our country and world. We buy products produced through underpaying their workers, which makes us guilty of underpaying these workers as well. 

-We repent of judging and condemning those we view as wrong instead of showing them the love, mercy, and grace God offered to us.

-We repent of failing to take good care of our bodies. We eat cheap junk. We overeat. We suffer from diseases brought on by our poor diets. 

-We repent of wasting the time God has given us with things that don't matter. 

-We repent of seeking to safeguard our rights more than we have sought to defend the oppressed. We have looked to our own interests in explicit disregard to the Bible's commands to look out for others, especially those who are oppressed.

Challenge: Consider what things you have to repent of in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what changes you need to start making in your life. Ask to be shown what amends and reparations you should start to make. Ask to be shown how to reconcile with those you have hurt.

Tis the Season of Epiphany

Today (January 6th) is Epiphany and is the start to the season of Epiphany. After the Advent season (the 4 weeks before Christmas) and the Christmas season (December 25th-January 5th), we enter the season of Epiphany. Now Epiphany is a season of Ordinary Time that runs from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday, where we transition to the season of Lent. On Epiphany, we celebrate the Wise Men reaching Jesus.

Song: As With Gladness Men of Old

Scripture: Matthew 2:1-12

Devotion: 

FINALLY!!! The wise men finally made it to Jesus in the progressive nativity. We close out the Christmas season as we start the season of Epiphany. 

In our Scripture reading, once more, the first 8 verses are provided for context, but we will be focusing on verses 9-12. The Magi reached the child they had been searching for. When they came to His house and saw Mary with the child, they bowed down as they worshiped Him. They gave Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The Magi listened to a warning they got in a dream, so they did not go back to Herod to tell him where to find the king of the Jews. 

Did you know that the Wise Men (or the Magi) weren't at the manger in the Nativity story? They aren't even mentioned in Luke's account at all! Why is this important? Does it really matter if we have the Magi at the manger or at the house? Is it important if Jesus was a baby or a child when they arrived? Since Herod had all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem killed, it is commonly believed that Jesus could have been two when the Magi arrived! It is important to separate out biblical truth from cultural interpretations. We need to be sure that we are believing what the Bible says on a topic and obeying what the Bible commands instead of what our culture believes the Bible says or commands. Every culture around the world attempts to view Scripture through the lens of their culture as they interpret the Bible through what their culture teaches and values, but as Christians, we need to be sure that we are doing the opposite. We need to be interpreting our culture through the lens of Scripture. We need to weigh what our culture teaches and values against what the Bible commands, and then follow the Bible. No one is immune to being influenced by their culture, so this is something we all must do throughout our lives. 

Specifically about the Magi, our culture rushes to Christmas each year and then quickly moves on. The Christmas decorations and displays go up earlier and earlier each year, but on December 26th, stores flip to their Valentine's displays. As Christians, we have waited through the Advent season for Christmas to arrive, so when Christmas does arrive, we celebrate it for the next 12 days, until Epiphany arrives to close the Christmas season. It is counter-cultural to wait to bring the Magi to meet Jesus. 

When we rush to place them in Bethlehem, we bypass the two years Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in Bethlehem. They would have lived in community with other mothers. The children killed by Herod might have been Jesus' playmates while the mothers visited over tea. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus did not stay in Bethlehem for a night before fleeing to Egypt. They lived there for two years in relationship and community with those around them. It is reasonable to presume that they knew the families who were shattered by Herod's soldiers. Did they try to warn their friends to join them in their flight? Did they think if Jesus wasn't there all the other children would be fine? Did they ever encounter those families again? Scripture is silent on these musings and so these questions are left unanswered.

Does it matter thematically if the Magi were at the manger or the house? Maybe not. 

Does it matter if we view the genocide of the male toddlers in Bethlehem through the lens of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus living in that community, in relationship with other families, for two years? I think it does. 

Does it matter if we can recognize ways that our culture changes the stories, commands, and lessons in the Bible? ABSOLUTELY. If we cannot recognize the ways our culture twists Scripture, then we will be at risk of following a false gospel instead of following Jesus Christ. 

Now you may be thinking that I played "For the Beauty of the Earth" just now, but that is incorrect. I played "As With Gladness Men of Old", which just so happens to use the same melody as "For the Beauty of the Earth", but I was most distinctly thinking the lyrics of "As With Gladness Men of Old" while playing. 

Disclaimer: Like "O Holy Night", this song also places the Magi at the manger, but we can just substitute "house" for "manger-bed" and "manger" to make it biblically accurate.

I love the prayers in this song: "may we evermore be led to thee", "may we ever seek the mercy-seat",  "may we...all our costliest treasures bring...to thee", "keep us in the narrow way", and "may we sing Alleluias to our King". These are petitions that we are praying to God as we are singing. 

Challenge: 

Take some time to read through these articles and slideshows that identify "Bible verses that aren't in the Bible" or the cultural values that got painted with the veneer of Christianity, even though they aren't in the Bible. One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. Then sit with the questions below. Grab a journal and slowly answer each question.

Which expressions were you surprised weren't in the Bible? 

Were you already aware that any of these expressions weren't biblical? 

How does Scriptural context impact the meaning of a verse or passage? (i.e. the meaning of Philippians 4:13)

Is it important to be certain that we are believing the things that the Bible teaches instead of believing something our culture tells us is biblical? Why? 

Is it dangerous to unquestioningly accept what our culture tells us is biblical? Why?

What parts of the Bible offend you? What is offensive about those parts? 

What parts of the Bible confuse you? What sources can you use to learn more about these confusing areas? 

Do you typically take a verse (or part of a verse) and apply it to yourself without considering A) the context of the verse in the larger passage or B) the meaning of the writing to the original audience? 

The Magi/Wise Men arrive

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

The twelfth day of Christmas remembers St. John Neumann. He was the first Bishop in the US and is the saint of immigrants. 

Song: O Holy Night

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-16

Devotion: 

We are back in the "faith hall of fame" for today's Scripture. Whereas last time, we focused on the end of this passage, where people suffered for their faith, today, we will be focusing on the beginning of the chapter. 

The first seven verses are really provided for context since we'll mainly focus on the theme of being a stranger in verses 8-16. Abraham left his home and left for a strange land. He lived "like a stranger in a foreign country". He (as well as Isaac and Jacob) lived in tents, even as they looked forward to living in a city built by God. These patriarchs of the faith were still living by faith when they died. Even though they saw (and welcomed) the promise from a distance, they did not receive what they were promised. They admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. They were looking for a country of their own, not the country they left, but a better, heavenly country. God prepared a city for them. 

O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas carols. Once more, I was surprised that a version of this song has different choruses each time. I really like how the message progresses through the choruses as well as the verses. We start with Jesus' birth in a sinful world providing a thrill of hope. Our response to Jesus' birth should be falling to our knees in worship and submission. Verse two describes the wise men finding Jesus (granted, they found Him in a house, not still in that manger) and the second chorus describes how Jesus knows our needs and is not a stranger to our weakness. When we see Him, we should bow before Him. The third and final verse reminds us that Jesus taught us to love one another. Love is His law and Peace is His gospel. This verse proclaims that Jesus will break chains because the slave is our brother and all oppression will cease in Jesus' name. So we will praise Him. The final chorus declares that Christ is the Lord, we should praise Him and proclaim His glory and power.

There are so many good truths in today's Scripture and song that fit with our theme of immigrants. When we become Christians, we are becoming citizens in a heavenly kingdom. The world may not issue us a passport for "citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven" and may insist on using our worldly passport, but we are no longer primarily Americans, Russians, or Greeks first; we are citizens of heaven. That means we are promoting and working for the good of our heavenly kingdom instead of for our earthly nations. As citizens of heaven, we should be working to free the slaves as well as end oppression and injustice, both in our countries of origin and around the world. 

As a Christian who has lived both in the US and in a foreign country, I can see ways the Church in America is trying to serve both God and country, even when their priorities are diametrically opposed. We say in one breath that we are Christians before we are Americans, but then we go off on how America is the greatest country and we need to buy American and support America first. To be a Christian BEFORE we are Americans means to support our brothers and sisters around the world as we prioritize God's work and His kingdom OVER our earthly nation. The Empires of this world never are bothered when Christians support the work of the Empire over the Kingdom of God. The Empires are furious when Christians focus on God's Kingdom over man's Empires. Securing our rights is not a biblical precept. If we don't care about those who are hungry, oppressed, or hurting around the world, we are not embodying the love of Christ (see 1 John 3:17). If we are focused on "America First" and have no compassion for those suffering around the world until no one is struggling in our own country, then we are making it clear which kingdom we are prioritizing, and it isn't God's Kingdom.

Do we prioritize God's kingdom above our earthly nations? Based on how we spend our time, money, and prayers, which are we putting first? 

Which is our primary identity? Are we "American Christians" or "Christians who happen to live in America"? 

What are we doing to further the Kingdom of Heaven in our country of origin and around the world? 

Are we more comfortable with fellow Americans (who may not be Christian) or fellow Christians (who may not be American)? Why is that? 

Are we reaching across cultural and national boundaries to our brothers and sisters in different cultures and countries? 

Do we view ourselves as strangers, foreigners, and sojourners in this world or is our identity firmly in our country of origin? 

How many people do you know, and are friends with, who are not born in the same country as you? What can you do to intentionally cultivate more friendships with immigrants (and refugees) in your community? 

What would it look like to live like an immigrant in your own country?

Challenge: 

Find a local immigrant-run business to support. Eating delicious food from around the world is a small sacrifice to make on our part. :-)

Offer friendship to an immigrant. Host a foreign exchange student or an international student.

Find intercultural events to participate in (when we aren't in a pandemic). Attend with an attitude of learning and a posture of humility. 

Read a book or watch a video about an immigrant's story.

Take time to ponder your answers to the questions above. Consider which ones made you mad and why that was the case. Go beyond your knee-jerk reactions of insisting you prioritize God's kingdom over your country. Look at your actions, your spending, your prayers, and your words. What priority do they show? 

The Eleventh Day of Christmas

The eleventh day of Christmas (January 4th) remembers St. Simon Stylites and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. The former lived on a platform on top of a pillar for 37 years. The latter was the first American saint. We will focus on St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, who is known as the patron saint of those rejected or persecuted for their faith, as well as orphans, widows, and Catholic schools. Since Day 6 (Remember St. Egwin?) focused on the widows and orphans, we will focus on the persecuted today.

Song: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Scripture: Hebrews 11:32-40

Devotion: 

With the exception of the seventh day of Christmas, I have followed the individuals traditionally associated with each day. I was delighted to discover that these patron saints and heroes of the Bible gave me ample opportunity to focus on the persecuted, widows & orphans, and martyrs, which are all subjects near and dear to my heart. Today's saint is no exception. A quick look at Scripture will clearly show God's heart for the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners. It is good for us to align ourselves with God's heart and care for those He cares about. 

Today's song is a traditional carol of Christmas. It has a lot of truth to unpack about Jesus and His attributes, but we will zero in on the end of verse three: "Born that man no more may die / Born to raise the sons of earth, / Born to give them second birth." Jesus came to give new life to those who accept it. Yet there are people who are dying for their faith. The World Watch List publishes a list each year of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith. Take time to look over the list and pray the prayer prompts. Better yet, commit to praying for a country each week for the next year. The new list will come out late January or early February. 

Today's Scripture is at the tail end of Hebrews 11, the "faith hall of fame". For the first three and a half verses, things seem to be awesome. We have a summary of kingdom conquering, justice administering, promise gaining, lions' mouth shutting, sword escaping, army routing, and dead raising people of faith. But verse 35 marks a turning point. Some were tortured and didn't give in so they might gain a "better resurrection". Others were jeered, flogged, chained, and imprisoned. Some were stoned to death, sawed in two, or killed with a sword. They were destitute, persecuted, and mistreated. They were wanderers in deserts and mountains, as they lived in caves and holes. Wow. Who is ready to sign up for Christianity after such an encouraging note? Be a Christian, you could be tortured and flogged! Yet, this persecution is very real around the world. As we remember to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, I encourage you to go beyond just praying for their safety. Pray like the disciples who were threatened and prayed for boldness to keep speaking (see Acts 4:29). React like apostles, who rejoiced after a flogging because they were worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus (see Acts 5:41). Remember that Jesus called those persecuted because of righteousness blessed and commanded them to "rejoice and be glad" when insulted, persecuted, and falsely spoken against because of Jesus (see Matthew 5:10-12). 

Now for the tricky part. My dear brothers and sisters, the Church in the United States has not being following the biblical example of reacting to persecution. We are more concerned with defending our rights than with defending the oppressed. We are more focused on legislating our morality than sharing the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ with a lost and hurting world. If the claims of the persecution of Christians in the US are true, then we should be reacting like the Early Church in Acts. We should be praying for our persecutors and blessing those who curse us.

We are expecting non-Christians to follow God's laws without God's transforming power at work in their lives. Even though we have God's transforming power at work in us and we still have difficulties living up to these standards and obeying God's laws. We are saved, we are sanctified, but until we get to heaven, we will be fighting against our earthly nature as we make the choice daily whether to follow God's will or the world's way to get things done. Every time we make a decision, we are choosing who we will follow. 

Christians weren't commanded in Scripture to gather power so we wouldn't be persecuted; we were commanded to love our enemies, pray for our persecutors, and bless those who curse us. The world is busy shouting "Well, what about those who wrong me?" or "But they are acting poorly too (and probably worse than I am)" and Christians have mirrored the world's complaints instead of following God's commands about our enemies/persecutors. But we are at a crossroads. Will we continue to use the world's ways to sling mud and drag our opponents down, or we will offer a hand to help them up as we show compassion, mercy (not giving someone the punishment they deserve), and grace (giving someone the gift they could never deserve or earn)? Which will you choose? 

Challenge: 

Sit with this post for a while. Prayerfully consider the parts of this that offended you. Read the Scriptures referenced in today's devotional and compare it to the behavior of the Church in the US. Consider how we are told to react to those persecuting us and how we are to treat non-Christians who aren't following God's law. 

The Tenth Day of Christmas

The tenth day of Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. This feast remembers the official naming and circumcision of Jesus according to the Torah's tradition. This may be celebrated on a different date depending on one's denomination.

Song: Once In Royal David's City

Scripture: Luke 2:21

Devotion: 

I'm not sure if I was familiar with today's song before I embarked on this project. But since today focuses on Jesus' names, it is a fitting song. Throughout the song, Jesus is referred to as a baby, Jesus Christ, a little child, God, Lord, and Savior. The line "Christian children all must be/ Mild, obedient, good as He." tickles me. While I agree with the sentiment that we have Jesus as our model and should follow His example, this isn't restricted to children. Adults need to apply this to ourselves too. It's easy to point out ways others need to be better at following Christ, when our main concern should be our obedience and faithfulness to His teachings. (Yes, there is a responsibility to teach and train the children entrusted to us, but we need to be sure that we are "practicing what we preach" and applying the lessons we teach to our children to ourselves as well. I'm not saying that we shouldn't teach children to follow Christ, I'm saying that if we insist on their obedience while holding ourselves to a lower standard, God is not being glorified through our actions). 

Today's Scripture covers the naming and circumcision of Jesus that happened eight days after His birth. It was not His presentation at the temple (that happened 40 days after His birth). From verse 21 to verse 22, 32 days have passed, yet if we aren't careful, we might lump these two events into one since we aren't familiar with Jewish customs. And then we might write a post all about the presentation of Jesus at the temple instead of one reflecting on His name. Not saying that is what happened, but I have a great post coming in February on Jesus' presentation at the temple.

Jesus' name (or Yeshua in Hebrew) means roughly "God will save". This site goes a little deeper into the meaning. What has God saved you from? Have you thanked Him for His salvation?

Challenge: 

Pull out your list of names for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit from yesterday. Focus on Jesus' names and titles. Look through the Gospels and Epistles to discover Jesus' example and commands. How should we be acting as Christ-followers? What is an area that the Spirit convicts you of not following as closely as God wants you to? 

The Ninth Day of Christmas

The ninth day of Christmas (January 2nd) remembers two 4th century Christians: St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen. They lived in the 300s and are known for their work defending the Trinity.

Song: Angels from the Realms of Glory

Scripture: Matthew 28:16-20

Devotion: 

Our song for today covers a lot of ground. We go from the angels proclaiming Jesus' birth, to the shepherds in their fields, to the wise men following the star, to saints and sinners responding. One of my favorite lines is "God with man is now residing" because that is exciting stuff. God is with us. It's also nice to have a call for sinners to repent in a Christmas carol. It's good to celebrate Jesus' birth, but it's better to include an invitation for salvation. One of the bonus verses (there are many different variations of these carols, so not every version has the same verses) perfectly illustrates the Trinity. We have the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all one in glory and on one throne.

Likewise, our Scripture today, is a familiar passage: The Great Commission. Here we have Jesus sending His disciples out to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Ordinarily, we shorten the command to "go and make disciples", but after the baptism, we have a further responsibility to disciple new believers, to teach them what Jesus commanded and to encourage obedience to Jesus' commands. This isn't a command for just missionaries or just pastors, but for all believers. If you are a follower of Jesus, the Great Commission applies to you as well.

Challenge:

Take time to ponder to the names of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit found in Scripture. Divide a paper into thirds and make a list for each. 

Which names are particularly meaningful to you? Why are they meaningful? 

Which names are difficult for you to embrace? Why is that?

What does your denomination say about the Trinity in its manual? 

Pray for missionaries who are spreading the Gospel around the world. 

Pray for "regular" believers to do the same in our local mission fields.

The Eighth Day of Christmas

The eighth day of Christmas remembers Jesus' mother Mary.

Song: What Child Is This?

Scripture: Luke 1:26-56

Devotion:

Today's song is a fairly familiar one, yet this version of What Child Is This? is different from what I remember singing before, because the chorus changes after each verse. I like how it connects the manger and the cross together, the way He came into the world with the reason He came. While the song references Mary, Jesus still is the central person.

In today's Scripture, the angel visits Mary, Mary visits Elizabeth, and we have Mary's Magnificat. We will focus on Mary's song. She starts by glorifying God and rejoicing in her Savior. God remembered her humble state. She will be called blessed because God has done great things for her. He is holy, merciful, and performs mighty deeds. He scatters those who are proud, brings down rulers, and lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry with good things but sends the rich away empty. He helps His people and is merciful to them.

Mary's Magnificat is quite revolutionary. It focuses on God and His power, rather than Mary and her gifts. It acknowledges what God has done to the powerful and the powerless. God's kingdom upsets man's kingdoms. He lifts up the humble, but brings down the proud and the rulers. He gives good things (food, I hope) to the hungry, but sends the rich away empty. 

Our human tendency is to identify with the heroes in the stories we read. We "kindly" let our enemies or those we dislike take the place of the villains in the stories. So when we read that God lifts up the humble, we apply that to us, but when we read that God brings down the proud, that obviously applies to those with whom we disagree. We read about God's care for the poor and apply that to ourselves, but when we read about the condemnation of the rich, we apply that to those wealthier than us. The challenge is to consider the ways we have been proud or rich, and apply this passage to ourselves accordingly.

Unfortunately, the Church in the United States has a skewed perspective when it comes to wealth, power, and blessings. We look at those with more money and bigger houses and say we are poor, when in reality, if you can afford all of your needs and a few wants, you are wealthy. Christians seek power to protect OUR interests in our country and world, instead of seeking to protect the poor and the vulnerable. We act like we believe that to be blessed means we won't suffer or be in need, when persecution and suffering have been faithful companions of Christians through the ages. 

Christians should be less concerned with defending our rights and more concerned about protecting the oppressed. We should be quick to speak out against injustices aimed at those on the margins of society (the poor, the homeless, the stranger, and minorities) and we should be quick to overlook insults and slights directed at us.

 

Challenge: 

Consider what injustices have been highlighted this year: excessive force used by the police against minorities, higher rates of health problems in poor communities, and higher rates of the virus (and death from it) in minority communities. Intercede for those facing oppression. Pray that God brings healthy, wholesome food to the hungry. Pray for communities suffering from the virus. Pray for reforms in our police and justice system, so they can live up to their ideals towards every person. Research justice organizations working towards these reforms and see how you can partner with them.