How do we fight for justice in an age of outrage?
by Robert Krumrey
We are more aware of societal injustice than perhaps any other time in our history. All of our institutions are under intense scrutiny regarding whether are not they meet the standard of fairness for all. Of course, none of them do, and this shouldn’t surprise us. Ecclesiastes utters this very sentiment:
“ If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. ”
This is one of many startling statements in Ecclesiastes The writer has mentioned injustice and unrighteousness before, but here adds that one shouldn’t be surprised when they see it. Not only this, but also mentions that injustice occurs even though high officials are watched over by those who are higher still. This seems to be a reference to what one might call “systemic injustice”. That there is more than one bad apple, but instead a whole system that is maintaining injustice and unrighteousness against the poor. Why shouldn’t this surprise us?
I just read a chapter in The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby that chronicles (among many other examples) the mistreatment of black people in America who owned homes during the Great Depression. They, like many others, were missing payments on their mortgages due to the economic crash of the 1930’s. The federal government created the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation to offer low interest loans to protect people from foreclosure. These loans were supposed to be for everyone, but those managing the funds deemed certain neighborhoods too much of a risk to be bailed out. They even drew a red line around these neighborhoods on their maps which indicated that all houses inside the red line were disqualified from receiving their loans. This became known as “red lining”. It just so happened that these neighborhoods were primarily black neighborhoods. Without this much needed financial assistance, many middle class black people lost their homes and found themselves in the lower class while white home owners maintained ownership of their property and continued to build wealth for their families.
When we read this kind of thing, we can’t help but be “surprised”. How could people do this sort of thing? Even more, how could a whole system of people do this sort of thing? Ecclesiastes says it shouldn’t surprise us at all and the reason is that we live in a world that is corrupted by sin. Human society is the sum total of 7 billion sinners carving out the way things are done. Certainly some behave better than others, but “none is righteous, no not one” (see Romans 3:10). Based on that reality, it is not surprising that human history and our current day, is riddled with oppression.
So what should we do about it? The temptation is to use the doctrine of universal human sin to merely shrug our shoulders and just go about our lives. Honestly, this is what some bible believing Christians have done for a long time. This is certainly not what Ecclesiastes and the rest of the Bible is teaching us to do. You may remember these earlier verses from Ecclesiastes on this topic:
“Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them.”
The writer “sees” the oppressions, and not only that, he “sees” the tears of the oppressed and that there is none to comfort them. The Preacher in Ecclesiastes is not blind to oppression nor is he coldly dismissing it, but is instead recognizing and grieving it. This is something that many in the evangelical church (including myself) are learning to do better. There is a tremendous amount of power in the recognition of injustice and its pain among those who have lived under its tyranny. Ignoring that it ever happened or diminishing the hurt that it caused creates obstacles to true healing, reconciliation, and a more just world.
This “grieved but not surprised” attitude is a uniquely biblical approach to the scourge of oppression. On one hand it honestly acknowledges the pain of what has happened and its seriousness. On the other hand, it doesn’t give in to a self-righteous outrage over the imperfections of our world and the humans that have made up its history. This is rampant in our current cultural conversation about injustice and it seems to be doing very little toward actually creating a more just and righteous society. What’s needed are those who are grieved but not surprised and who faithfully keep pressing on toward a just world that brings glory to God and good to the 7 billion sinners who reside there.