There there, little woke Christian. I know. It’s getting rough out there. Come on in, grab a pew, and take a few moments to catch your breath. Here’s a juice box and some string cheese to fortify yourself before heading back out into the big bad world.
There. Feeling better?
Good.
I know…it’s hard to be perpetually offended by what the world wants you to be offended by and still project an image of being a faithful Christ-follower. I get it. The pressure to agree with whatever the world sends down the pike is immense, so much so that it’s much easier to compromise the truth of the Gospel rather than risk being labeled a racist, or a homophobe, or anti-love, or even, God forbid, a ‘Karen’.
I know. It’s a tough act to juggle, but rest assured, I’m here fo…what? What’s that, you say? Jesus was a social justice warrior too?
Really?
Now, I’m sure you’ve heard well-meaning friends say so, maybe even a minister or two, but are you sure about that? Have you studied the scriptures out to make certain that’s true and not just taken their words at face value? Because, you see, anyone can pull scriptures out to justify what they want to justify. To know what Jesus stood for you need to take a look at the whole thing, the entire Gospel, not just a few well-chosen verses that appear to prop up a worldly viewpoint that has no roots in the Gospel of Christ.
No. Jesus wasn’t a social justice warrior.
Jesus stood for justice, not social justice. There is a difference between the two. Ah, I see you’re having trouble with this, but hey, no worries, we can compare the two…
Justice is the pursuit of what is right according to an absolute, impartial standard. It’s guided by what’s morally acceptable, unbiased, and concerns itself with matters that will impact anyone and everyone. Basically, justice hangs on what God says is right, period.
Social justice, however, is directly opposite. Its focus is on what is perceived as lacking for some when compared to what someone else has. It’s biased, driven by what’s socially acceptable, and only involves itself in matters that are believed to affect specific groups. Basically, social justice hangs on what the people say is right.
So what does this mean?
Well, it means that yes, a Christian can, and should, involve themselves in helping the poor, the oppressed, and fighting against the evil of the world, but do you honestly believe that Jesus would stand next to someone hurling a brick through a window in the name of ‘social justice’ and cheer them on? Do you think that Jesus would call some of His children racists simply because of the color of their skin? Do you really believe that Jesus would condemn an entire group of people because some people who lived hundreds of years ago committed sin? Do you truly believe that Jesus would be that shallow, that selfish, that worldly to support an organization whose leader recently said that if they don’t get what they want they’ll burn the system down?
The Jews of His time period wanted a social justice warrior, someone who would free them from their oppressors, but not once did Jesus give in to their expectations. Instead, he told them to ‘render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar’s (Matt. 22:21)’. Not once did Jesus pick up a sign, or hurl bottles at the soldiers, or spit in people’s faces, or curse or loot a store or take entire city blocks hostage until His demands were met.
No. He didn’t. Because that wasn’t the justice He came for. His purpose, His mission, was this…
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
Everything Jesus did had one goal in mind, to bring sinners to repentance so they could find eternal salvation from sin and freedom from the injustices of the world. His message was one of peace, not rioting. As a Christ-follower, shouldn’t that be our goal too?
There is a right way to fight for justice, and a wrong way. There is either God’s way, or the world’s way, you can’t do both.