Social Justice...

I watched a video about two guys that started a company where they empower women and kids in Guatemala and Sudan by giving them jobs crocheting apparel for their trendy small apparel company.  They made $2.3million in revenue this year and directly effected the lives of over 200 families to lift them out of poverty. 

When asked by the interviewer: "What do you say when people say global poverty is just too big of a problem, you really cant solve that can you?"

They responded: "Well then do we do nothing?"

That answer has been ringing in my heart and hitting on a place of deep agony within in me.  I struggle with the idea of injustice.  From a young age I got into fist fights with kids on the playground when they would pick on someone.  In high school I would befriend the kid deemed "not cool" by the "in crowd."  In college I would verbally stick up for someone I didn't know in a bar if they were being treated poorly, and periodically those too would end up in fist fights.  I have always had this knee jerk reaction to fight for those who are being treated poorly.

I have not always done it in a Godly way and most often times I probably reacted out of pride.  But I know that deep down this distain for injustice comes from the Fathers heart.  It is becoming very popular to take up a cause and social justice is almost as hipster cool as skinny jeans now a days.  Admittedly I don't do much in way of social justice and am not really fighting for some big cause.  Sure I support a Compassion child monthly,  and give money generously to those in my community that have needs, I even work for a non-profit humanitarian relief organization.  But I think I have believed the lie that the reporter asked these men. 

"Isn't the problem just too big to solve?  So then why try?"

Yuck how convicting. The truth is I dream of adopting children one day, I even cruise the Illinois adoption website reading kids bios now and then (in a non creepy way).  I am brought to tears almost every time, because I think to myself "wow that kid sounds precious, I would totally adopt him/her and bring them into my family and give them a loving home!" only to slink back and think "yeah but that wont even make a dent in the orphan problem."  I agree with the "Well then do nothing" argument that is obviously straight from the devil. 

So moving forward I want to recalibrate my heart and actions to follow that which God has called me to.  God is so compassionate, that's why He repeatedly commanded the Israelites to care for the widows, orphans and foreigners.  In fact He even commanded them to leave the outer rows of their vineyards and crop fields unpicked, so that the less fortunate among them would have plenty to eat. Deuteronomy 24:20.  He also says in James 1:27 that 'Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress.'

Sure the problem is too big for me to solve, but not for God.  <-- Even that saying has somehow lost its power and is chalked up as a Christian cliché.  Lets think big, by acting small.  I think today I will take one small step towards eradicating an injustice and watch God take a giant leap on behalf of the ones He loves.  I think that's it, He wants to eradicate ALL injustice, He has just chosen to do it through us.  Small steps BIG God. 

-Cheers

Divorce rates, Political Conservativsm, Bible Belt and how they cooralate....

I read an article about a study done by Brown University on which cities and states have the highest divorce rates.  Because I have been raised to believe that the left wing liberal agenda of the democrats run against the sanctity of marriage and are proponents of gay marriage I was ready to see a map of blue states leading the charge in the rise of divorce rates. 

I was wrong.  And so I did a bunch of research and pulled together some interesting maps that might be a little un-nerving to the Evangelical Conservative Right Wingers.

Lets start with this.

Okay so if you note the scale at the bottom 'divorce rate per 1000 people', lighter means less, darker color means more.  I was astonished when California, New York and Michigan who are considered some of the most liberal states politically/socially had the lowest average.  There map seems to be a large dark area through the mid south and deep south of the country.  I started to wonder, wait isn't that the so called "Bible Belt"?  Then found this (below).... the red denotes the "Bible Belt". 

 

 

Interesting.

 

So that got me thinking about Evangelical Conservatives and how they hold "sanctity of marriage" as one of their political foundations they stand on when voting.  So I cross referenced these two maps with the map of Red and Blue states in the 2012 election. 

 

Hmmmmm.  Oh boy I was again hit with this conundrum.  It seams that the very people "voting" for candidates based on their definition of marriage and stand for "conservative" values don't seem to be living out those values in their own marriages.  In fact many of the blue states are actually lower in divorce rate than that of the red states!  As statistics can lie sometimes, I figured I would then cross reference this political map and bible belt map with a map showing the Religious Affiliation across the US.  This is where it gets extremely messy and if the Evangelical Conservatives are honest with themselves it gets somewhat hypocritical. 

So according to this map the states that we are seeing the highest average of divorces is definitely through the bible belt, but also where Evangelical churches are the predominant religious affiliation. 

Listen I consider myself a political conservative and an Evangelical so this research makes me sad.  I am also a visual learner so this puts it in context that I can easily see.  My conclusion is this, that social/political/religious conservatives don't seem to be holding their own marriages to the biblical standard they are holding others to, or saying they want our country to hold to.



 

Brennan Manning said it best when he said.
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle."

As Christians lets make our actions (marriages) speak louder than our blind support of political candidates.  Lets renew our commitment to OUR marriages and families, then the world will want we have.  Jesus. 

Blessings.

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