Josh Hatcher's Blog
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Shining Bright Part 3 – Justice
Christmas time brings out the best in people. People often call it the “Christmas Spirit”. We should really try to emulate those qualities we see at Christmas time all year round. It’s not really a Christmas Spirit, but a Christ-like Spirit.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Justice –
“That’s not fair!” says any given child on any given day to any given parent.
“Life is not fait!” retorts any given parent to any given child on any given day.
Justice is our response to the fact that “Life is not fair.”
Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, 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.
What God requires of us to be lovers of mercy, and doers of justice.
Justice does not mean that we go and don vigilante masks, making sure crime is punished,.
Justice means that to those who have been dealt an “unfair” hand, we offer to balance the scales.
International Justice Mission is an organization that fights for justice all over the world. Here is there mission statement.
“IJM exists to protect people from violent forms of injustice by securing rescue and restoration for victims and accountability for perpetrators, ensuring that public justice systems work for the poor.”
They work to free women and children that have been sold into sex slavery. They work to prosecute the heads of child pornography rings. And much more.
But the heart of what they do is mean, not to bring punishment to the offender, but to bring recompense to the victim.
That is what justice is. It’s built on the foundation of compassion and mercy.
It does involve punishment, but the point is to bring wholeness to the broken.
Life is not fair. The leading cause of death in our world is a lack fo clean drinking water.
My brother came back from Bangladesh last week, and he says that the whole country is covered in dirty water, and people drink it, despite the fact that they empty their chamber pots into it, and bathe in it, and clean their cattle in it. They drink it despite the fact that it contains arsenic.
And they drink it to their death.
Andy Anderson and Randy Morvant of the Baobob Foundation told me that 90 percent of the children in Guinea die stillborn, because their mothers do not have clean drinking water.
In Darfur in Sudan, people are starving to death, and being murdered by raiders that are stealing the little bit of food they get dropped in by airplane.
In Uganda, young boys are being forced to fight in a brutal war.
Boy soldiers are still reported to be conscripted in Sierra Leone.
Girls in Thailand are China are being sold as sex slaves to people all over the world, including in our own country.
This should propel us to action. Justice is not just knowing that life is not fait, but doing something about it.
When we see a wrong, we should try to right it.
There is a celebrity campaign that says that if we all give a little, we could literally end world poverty.
I’ve also heard it said that if every church going American gave their tithe, and if every church gave a minimum of two percent of their income, that funding word missions would never be an issue.
How beautiful would it be if we all were hell-bent on defeating the forces of hell that wreak havoc on this earth! What if we worked to try to right the wrongs we see around us? It would change the world.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Justice –
“That’s not fair!” says any given child on any given day to any given parent.
“Life is not fait!” retorts any given parent to any given child on any given day.
Justice is our response to the fact that “Life is not fair.”
Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, 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.
What God requires of us to be lovers of mercy, and doers of justice.
Justice does not mean that we go and don vigilante masks, making sure crime is punished,.
Justice means that to those who have been dealt an “unfair” hand, we offer to balance the scales.
International Justice Mission is an organization that fights for justice all over the world. Here is there mission statement.
“IJM exists to protect people from violent forms of injustice by securing rescue and restoration for victims and accountability for perpetrators, ensuring that public justice systems work for the poor.”
They work to free women and children that have been sold into sex slavery. They work to prosecute the heads of child pornography rings. And much more.
But the heart of what they do is mean, not to bring punishment to the offender, but to bring recompense to the victim.
That is what justice is. It’s built on the foundation of compassion and mercy.
It does involve punishment, but the point is to bring wholeness to the broken.
Life is not fair. The leading cause of death in our world is a lack fo clean drinking water.
My brother came back from Bangladesh last week, and he says that the whole country is covered in dirty water, and people drink it, despite the fact that they empty their chamber pots into it, and bathe in it, and clean their cattle in it. They drink it despite the fact that it contains arsenic.
And they drink it to their death.
Andy Anderson and Randy Morvant of the Baobob Foundation told me that 90 percent of the children in Guinea die stillborn, because their mothers do not have clean drinking water.
In Darfur in Sudan, people are starving to death, and being murdered by raiders that are stealing the little bit of food they get dropped in by airplane.
In Uganda, young boys are being forced to fight in a brutal war.
Boy soldiers are still reported to be conscripted in Sierra Leone.
Girls in Thailand are China are being sold as sex slaves to people all over the world, including in our own country.
This should propel us to action. Justice is not just knowing that life is not fait, but doing something about it.
When we see a wrong, we should try to right it.
There is a celebrity campaign that says that if we all give a little, we could literally end world poverty.
I’ve also heard it said that if every church going American gave their tithe, and if every church gave a minimum of two percent of their income, that funding word missions would never be an issue.
How beautiful would it be if we all were hell-bent on defeating the forces of hell that wreak havoc on this earth! What if we worked to try to right the wrongs we see around us? It would change the world.
Shining Bright Part 2 – Integrity
Christmas time brings out the best in people. People often call it the “Christmas Spirit”. We should really try to emulate those qualities we see at Christmas time all year round. It’s not really a Christmas Spirit, but a Christ-like Spirit.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Integrity
We’ve heard it a million times. “I will never go to church. Christians are all just hypocrites!”
Because there is a measure of truth in the statement, it is a stinging indictment on the lack of integrity that is present in the lives of people that call themselves Christians.
There are forces in the world that love to ignore Christians until they make a mistake, and then throw stones at them. A look at the cable news on any given day will have it’s share of sex abuse and embezzlement cases with a Christian leader at the center.
But I think that those high profile cases sometimes blind us to our own lack of integrity.
What if the people we come into contact with saw something different in us. What if they saw that we had integrity? What if we were always honest, and if we worked hard, and if we were the same person in the lunch room or on the work floor as we are at home and at church, without any false faces?
They would see that we are people of integrity. And that integrity would shine like a beacon. We would be known as trustworthy, as honest, as dependable.
INTEGRITY comes from the root word INTEGER, which is a mathematical word referring to a whole number.
The word integrity carries a connotation of wholeness, or complete-ness.
We should try to be whole. Try to be complete.
And that complete person should be the same all the time, constant, never changing.
Is there a side of us that we do not want people to know? Are there things about us that we would rather keep hidden? Do the people we come in contact with see the real us, or the front that we’ve become so good at putting up?
If we walk in integrity, than we are something fresh and vibrant in our world. We will stand out. We will attract attention, and we should be sure to direct that attention to the source of the joy in us: Christ Himself.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Integrity
We’ve heard it a million times. “I will never go to church. Christians are all just hypocrites!”
Because there is a measure of truth in the statement, it is a stinging indictment on the lack of integrity that is present in the lives of people that call themselves Christians.
There are forces in the world that love to ignore Christians until they make a mistake, and then throw stones at them. A look at the cable news on any given day will have it’s share of sex abuse and embezzlement cases with a Christian leader at the center.
But I think that those high profile cases sometimes blind us to our own lack of integrity.
What if the people we come into contact with saw something different in us. What if they saw that we had integrity? What if we were always honest, and if we worked hard, and if we were the same person in the lunch room or on the work floor as we are at home and at church, without any false faces?
They would see that we are people of integrity. And that integrity would shine like a beacon. We would be known as trustworthy, as honest, as dependable.
INTEGRITY comes from the root word INTEGER, which is a mathematical word referring to a whole number.
The word integrity carries a connotation of wholeness, or complete-ness.
We should try to be whole. Try to be complete.
And that complete person should be the same all the time, constant, never changing.
Is there a side of us that we do not want people to know? Are there things about us that we would rather keep hidden? Do the people we come in contact with see the real us, or the front that we’ve become so good at putting up?
If we walk in integrity, than we are something fresh and vibrant in our world. We will stand out. We will attract attention, and we should be sure to direct that attention to the source of the joy in us: Christ Himself.
Shining Bright Part 1 – Kindness
Christmas time brings out the best in people. People often call it the “Christmas Spirit”. We should really try to emulate those qualities we see at Christmas time all year round. It’s not really a Christmas Spirit, but a Christ-like Spirit.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Kindness
I went to the store today, and as the Christmas music played on the loudspeaker, I found myself singing along. I found myself smiling at sour faced people, and wanting to talk to them all.
It’s unusual for me; I would much rather get my shopping done and get out. But sometimes I get overwhelmed with compassion and kindness. Sometimes I can see the hurt on their faces, and I just want to make it all better for them.
But most of the time, I’m in my own little world, worried about my own problems, and feeling my own pains, dealing with my own screwed up reality.
When I went to check out, the cashier was obviously distracted by some of the worries in her life. She was not happy. And she looked up and said, “This Christmas music has GOT to GO!”
I smiled and said, “I was just thinking about how great it made me feel!”
Had it been another day, this story could have been reversed.
It reminded me that I should let those little things like Christmas music, or the sad look on someone’s face propel me to kindness.
Matthew 9:36
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was no stranger to this feeling. The compassion he had for the people in the crowd moved Him to do simple miracles, like feeding fish sandwiches to the crowd, making some choice wine, or even touching people that no one else wanted to touch.
That same compassion actually compelled Him to give up everything to pay their debt with his own flesh.
Kindness comes in many forms. Sometimes it can be extreme, and involve sacrifice. Sometimes it’s simple, and involves only a smile and a couple minutes of conversation.
But kindness should be something we practice everyday.
And when we do, we bring illumination to the situations we are in. People notice kindness. It helps light their way, and it is contagious.
Throughout the month of December, Open Arms will be looking at what it means to “be a light”. Join Josh Hatcher on his blogging journey through the virtues behind illuminating the world around us.
Kindness
I went to the store today, and as the Christmas music played on the loudspeaker, I found myself singing along. I found myself smiling at sour faced people, and wanting to talk to them all.
It’s unusual for me; I would much rather get my shopping done and get out. But sometimes I get overwhelmed with compassion and kindness. Sometimes I can see the hurt on their faces, and I just want to make it all better for them.
But most of the time, I’m in my own little world, worried about my own problems, and feeling my own pains, dealing with my own screwed up reality.
When I went to check out, the cashier was obviously distracted by some of the worries in her life. She was not happy. And she looked up and said, “This Christmas music has GOT to GO!”
I smiled and said, “I was just thinking about how great it made me feel!”
Had it been another day, this story could have been reversed.
It reminded me that I should let those little things like Christmas music, or the sad look on someone’s face propel me to kindness.
Matthew 9:36
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was no stranger to this feeling. The compassion he had for the people in the crowd moved Him to do simple miracles, like feeding fish sandwiches to the crowd, making some choice wine, or even touching people that no one else wanted to touch.
That same compassion actually compelled Him to give up everything to pay their debt with his own flesh.
Kindness comes in many forms. Sometimes it can be extreme, and involve sacrifice. Sometimes it’s simple, and involves only a smile and a couple minutes of conversation.
But kindness should be something we practice everyday.
And when we do, we bring illumination to the situations we are in. People notice kindness. It helps light their way, and it is contagious.
