God's Politics

I'm not one for politics, but this has been a very intersting book by Jim Wallis. Here are a couple of quotes from the book that I've been meaning to share.

In reference to the passage in Matthew 25:31-46 about the sheep and the goats Jim says this:

What's always been most striking to me is that the people gathered in front of the throne of Christ in this story all really believe they are among his followers. And they must be completely stunned to learn that they will be separated and judged by how they have treated the poor--the poor! This judgment is not about right doctrine or good theology, not about personal piety or sexual ethics, not about church leadership or about success in ministry. It's about how we treated the most vulnerable people in our society, whom Jesus calls "the least of these." Jesus is, in effect, saying, I'll know how much you love me by how you treat them.

Jim quotes Bono:

So you've been doing God's work, but what's God working on now? What's God working on this year? Two and a half million Africans are going to die of AIDS. What's God working on now? I meet the people who tell me it's going to take an act of God to stop this plague. Well, I don't believe that. I think God is waiting for us to act. In fact, I think that God is on His knees to us, the Church. God is on His knees to us, waiting for us to turn around this supertanker of indifference, our own indifference a lot of the time. That God Almighty is on His knees to us--I don't know what that means. Waiting for us to recognize that distance can no longer decide who is our neighbor. We can't choose our neighbors anymore. We can't choose the benefits of globalization withou some of the responsibilities, and we should remind ourselves that "love thy neighbor" is not advice: it is a command.

Jim says:

A modern American prophet, like Micah, once said, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is a nation approaching a spiritual death." He was Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., and he also made th econnection between war and poverty.

I'm not sure I agree with Jim's ideas that government and politics can change all that is broken, but I do know that a social movement of Church with non-violent resistance can make a difference. The question is, are we really willing to live counter culturally and make significant choices that will challenge broken ways in which our culture conducts its business? If we stop supporting the very systems that repress their workers and citizens(both here and abroad) then maybe we could begin to see some change...but until then we will continue to see people being taken advantage of and abused. As long as we have all the latest fashions at our disposal, plenty of gas at the station, and our morning cup of joe we won't really care.

What a day

Where are the Dr. Martin Luther Kings of today?

What a man of God...leading a non-violent revolution based on the love of Christ...

The injustice in the world now is largely based on your location...if there aren't any "resources" located where the injustice is taking place then we don't care much about it...

30,000 children die every day from hunger related causes...what are we doing?...3 billion people in the world live on less than $2 a day...
Does that bother anyone?...

Will the people that say they follow Jesus begin to rise up like they did during the Civil Rights movement and begin a movement for world hunger to be addressed and eradicated? What is our role in this...just individual responsibility...or do we need to unite for this cause??? Personal responsibility doesn't seem to be doing much for it...

Jesus response to those who don't take care of the physical needs of his children is: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you have me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."

We talked the other night about the desire to get together with other believers and lift our voices in praise and worship with song. We also talked about making it a priority to use it as an opportunity to point to the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world and the suffering they are enduring. I don't know exactly what is going to happen with all of that but I look forward to bringing more attention to the epidemic of hunger on this planet.

We also have a trip scheduled in two weeks to go up to Toledo and visit a couple of "transition houses" where people are being invited to transition from jail to society again. I am looking forward to finding ways we can help and provide for these young men in need.
I'm tired of sitting here in suburbia and pretending that I'm ok and you're ok...