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A CALL TO ADVOCACY
By Shelley Anne Welch
Throughout history
societies have struggled in the fight for justice. Laws have
been established to secure justice. People have fought and given
their lives to stand for what is right. Yet even as advances
are made, the fight for justice continues. New issues arise
daily as our world becomes more connected and intertwined.
God has much to
say about injustice and how his people should respond to it.
From the prophets in the Old Testament to Jesus’ ministry on
earth, God has commanded believers to respond to injustice and
be advocates
[1]
for those who suffer.
The subject of
justice is addressed throughout the Bible. Justice is close to
God’s heart because of the very nature of his character. God is
a just God who expects his people to enact justice.
Unfortunately, people are fallen beings. The sin within us
causes us to act in unjust ways towards one another. Because of
their unjust actions, God spoke lessons of justice to the people
of Israel in the Old Testament through his prophets.
Old Testament truths regarding social justice
[2] and oppression
[3]
The entire book of
Habakkuk addresses the lack of justice among the people of Judah
and the injustices against the oppressed. Habakkuk was
frustrated and cried out to the Lord asking,
“How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or
cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make
me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and
conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice
never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice
is perverted” (Hab. 1:2-4)
[4].
Habakkuk’s cry
pierced the heart of the just who were trying to live according
to God’s laws. He was searching for an answer on how to live
righteously in the midst of such oppression and injustice. Did
God not hear their cries for help?
Did God not care
about their pain and suffering? Where was the justice for those
who were trying to live according to God’s commands, crushed by
those who were living for themselves? God responded to Habakkuk
saying, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks
of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for
it; it will certainly come and will not delay” (Hab. 2:3). God’s
response foretold of the punishment to come to those who
oppressed their fellow brothers and sisters. Until then, God
told Habakkuk to be patient—to pursue what was just. God is
aware and responds to the unjust acts and oppression taking
place against his people. God acts among all nations, peoples,
and groups. In the end, human violence will be defeated by
divine intervention when God carries out his ultimate justice on
those who are injust.
During the same
time Habakkuk was preaching to Judah, Amos was prophesying in
Israel. Amos also saw the unjust acts of the people of God. God
spoke to Amos about the punishment he was going to bring on
Israel for their behavior. He said, “The time is ripe for my
people Israel; I will spare them no longer… Hear this, you who
trample the needy and do away with the poor of the land…The Lord
has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: ‘I will never forget
anything they have done’” (Amos 8:2b-7). These are the words of
a God who hates injustice. God has been patient. He has given
the people his laws and the ways they are to live with each
other in community. Despite the Lord’s guidance, people continue
to exploit others for their own profit. What they have done has
not been forgotten; God will hold them accountable for their
actions committed against their brothers and sisters.
Unfortunately,
people today still live in defiance of God’s just laws as the
Israelites did in the time of Habakkuk and Amos. Oppression and
social injustice are rampant in the world. What can we do about
it? Are the instructions to the Israelites still applicable to
people today?
Yes, the commands
of God are still applicable today. There are several passages
that give instruction for how people then and now should be
treating the poor and oppressed. Isaiah 1:16b-17 says, “Take
your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do
right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause
of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” According to
this passage, doing right is to seek justice and care for those
who are oppressed.
People of God should be advocates for those whose voices are not
heard.
What is the role of an advocate?
An advocate is a
person of action as well as a voice for those who are silenced
by society. In Job 29:7-17, Job told his friends of the many
acts he performed as an advocate for those who were marginalized
by society. He rescued those in poverty, assisted those without
parents, was a friend to those dying, brought joy to those who
were widowed, was eyes to those who were blind, feet to those
who could not walk, a father to those in need, a friend to those
from a foreign land, and rescued those who were oppressed by the
wicked. He did this by putting on righteousness and wearing
justice as his clothes.
Not only was Job
an advocate, he was an example and witness to all around him. In
the beginning of Job chapter 29, we observe that Job should be
respected and admired by young and old people, as well as the
nobles. Job is an example of how God wanted Israel to live and
how he intends people to live today.
Habbakuk, Amos,
and Job represent God’s concern for the treatment of those who
are in oppressive situations. God clearly loves and cares
for people who are considered less
valuable by the standards of society, and He commands his people
to act on their behalf. Perhaps one of the most familiar calls
to justice is found in Micah 6:8, “He has shown all you people
what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act
justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” The
three key words in Micah 6:8 are justly,
mercy, and humbly. God wants his people to act by bringing forth
justice and in reforming society. Believers are to show mercy,
which comes from the grace of a faithful God, to those who are
imprisoned. He wants his people to humbly depend on his
resources, rather than their own, in order to act for justice
[5].
Jesus, an advocate for the oppressed
Jesus also showed
great concern for those who were discriminated against in
society during his ministry on earth. The New Testament is full
of stories of Jesus’ ministry to those considered less valuable.
One such story is found in Luke 13:10-17, which tells of the
healing of a woman who was crippled on the Sabbath. Jesus was
teaching in one of the synagogues when he noticed a crippled
woman in the audience. He told her to come forward and healed
her from the spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years.
Jesus knew the
oppression that surrounded this woman. He saw the need to
release her from the bondage of illness and give her relief.
This woman had great faith and hope in
the Lord. She continued to come to the synagogue to worship
despite eighteen years of unanswered prayers
[6]. Even though society
viewed her as cursed and worthless, Jesus recognized her as a
person of value and one loved by God. Jesus healed this woman on
the Sabbath, a day when one was not supposed to work. He
overlooked the practices of society to do what was just. He
brought relief to a woman who had lived for so many years under
the double burden of illness and the stigma associated with that
illness.
On another
occasion, as Jesus taught on the parable of the sheep and the
goats (Mt 25:31-46), he outlined the criteria by which he would
judge people’s actions. One of the key determining factors was
based on their treatment of the oppressed. This same priority of
caring for the oppressed is found in Isaiah 58:6-12. Jesus
expected his followers to care for the oppressed in the same way
outlined by the prophets in the Old Testament: they were to feed
the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter
the homeless, care for the sick, and visit those in bondage (Mt
25:31-46; Lu 10:30-37). These expectations were not only for the
people of the Old and New Testament times; they apply to all of
us today as well. The need for God’s people to be agents of
change and advocates for justice are as critical today as they
were 2000 years ago.
Human Trafficking: an example of current injustice and
oppression
Human trafficking
has been in existence for thousands of years. One of the first
written records of human trafficking can be found in Genesis
37:26-36, when Joseph’s brothers sold him to the Midianites, who
then sold him to Potiphar. Joseph became one of Potiphar’s
servants and was held in bondage under the household of Potiphar.
Four thousand
years later, people are still being sold into slavery. After
illegal weapons and drugs, human trafficking is the third
fastest growing business of organized crime in the world,
producing $10 billion in profit
[7]. Due to the nature of the
crime, it is hard to determine accurately the number of people
trafficked each year, but it is estimated that roughly four
million humans are trafficked domestically and internationally
every year. Of that number, women and children make up the
majority
[8].
Since women and
children tend to be the most economically and physically
vulnerable members of society, they are the most likely victims
of human trafficking. Examples of these marginalized members of
society include: those who are widowed, wives and children who
are abandoned, children with no parents, those who are refugees,
and children who live on the streets. They often come from
societies suffering from war, political instability, natural
disasters—and nearly all suffer from gender discrimination
[9].
Most of them come out of an oppressive home life only to be sold
into another one, now controlled by the trafficker. Everything
about human trafficking is unjust and strips humans of their
God-intended purpose.
Consequences of human trafficking
Trafficked women
and children are often conditioned into submission through such
methods as starvation, imprisonment, beatings, torture, rape,
drugs, and threats
[10].
Once they are submissive and comply with their captors, they can
be exploited as domestic labor, child soldiers, forced labor,
and organ donors; or become subject to pornography,
prostitution, slavery, begging, illegal adoption, sexual slavery
by military troops, sex tourism, child marriage, hazardous
labor, and forced marriage
[11]. As
a result of sexual exploitation,
victims are at risk for HIV/AIDS and pregnancy, which in turn
can lead to forced abortion
[12].
Human trafficking
is the epitome of social injustice. The industry thrives on
oppressing those who are the most vulnerable of society to
exploit them for selfish gain. It degrades the humanity of the
people who are trafficked and strips them of their dignity as
people created in the image of God.
Victims of human
trafficking are often caught in a situation where they have no
way to ask for help. They are trapped in a situation where they
are physically vulnerable and dependant on their captors. Many
times people are moved across borders to countries where they
have no family and do not speak the language. God commands us to
be advocates for people in these situations as a voice for those
who are ignored and forgotten.
Conclusion: Call for advocacy
Who will be the
advocates for the millions of victims of human trafficking? Who
will see them and help them as Jesus commanded? Who will be
their voice when they are silenced? Who will stand up against
the societal norms and demand change? Who will work to see them
freed from their bondage? Who will love them and walk beside
them?
The people of God
are the ones that need to be the advocates for the victims of
human trafficking. The Old and New Testaments demonstrate that
God is a God of social justice. He expects his people to fight
social injustice and rescue those who are in oppressive
circumstances; God will hold accountable those who neglect their
responsibility as agents of redemption. Jesus spent a
significant amount of time ministering to those affected by
injustice. He taught his followers to rescue those who were in
bondage and to oppose the societal structures that contribute to
oppression.
I believe we have
an obligation as children of God and followers of Jesus to be
advocates for those who are oppressed and to speak out against
social injustice. I believe God is calling his followers to care
for his hurting children and to help them to recover their
dignity and divine purpose. We have been commissioned to be a
light for those who are feeling hopeless.
Will we accept that call? Will
we be an advocate for those who are
ignored and forgotten?
Notes
1.
Advocacy is the act of arguing in favor of
something, such as a cause, idea, or policy. An advocate then,
is one who argues for a cause or pleads in another’s behalf. The
American Heritage Dictionary: Third Edition (New York: Dell
Publishing, 1994), 13.
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to text]
2.
Social Justice refers to conceptions of
justice applied to an entire society. It is based on the idea of
a just society, which gives individuals and groups fair
treatment and a just share of the benefits of society. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice.
[back to text]
3.
Oppression is to keep down by unjust use
of force or authority. The American Heritage Dictionary: Third
Edition (New York: Dell Publishing, 1994), 585.
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4.
All Bible references are from the Holy
Bible, Today’s New International Version (Colorado Springs:
International Bible Society, 2005).
[back to text]
5.
The Word In Life Study Bible: New King
James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996), 1538.
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6.
Catherine Clark Kroeger and Mary J. Evans,
eds., The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary: An indispensable
resource for all who want to view Scripture through different
eyes (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 577.
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7.
See the article entitled “Sexual
Trafficking: Fighting the New Slave Trade,” All the World (July
1, 2004), http://www1.salvationarmy.org.
[back to text]
8.
Ibid.
[back to text]
9.
Ibid.
[back to text]
10.
Ibid.
[back to text]
11.
Christa Foster Crawford and Mark Crawford,
“Human Trafficking: Children and the Sex Trade,” In Theology
News & Notes: Volume 52, No. 3 (Pasadena: Fuller Theological
Seminary, 2005), 17.
[back to
text]
12.
Ibid, 18.
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