Rights and Righteousness…
I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy Easter! Albeit a day late, but the truth and sincerity remain the same :-)
The new job’s going really well for me apparently :-) I almost love it a little too much :-) As always i’m thinking of ways I could make the office more “Steph friendly” and there are a couple of additions that have made it more homely, like flowers and pictures :-)
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about justice, righteousness, peace, and all that seems to involve :-) almost disturbingly so… It amazes me how much the same few topics come up in a short space of time… and how intense they are too. I’ll try and unpack what my brain’s been cycling through recently, I hope it makes some sense! :-)
Firstly, Micah 6:8 has appeared in my head quite a lot recently, courtesy of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. “The walk” quotes it in the tag and it had been going round and round my head for about a week.
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.
Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. Three very simple statements (four if you split “walk humbly with your God), which have huge potential.
To act justly; the Oxford English Dictionary defines “just” as being based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair. Concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour; treating people equally without favouritism or discrimination. So often we judge according to our opinions on what is right and fair, generally based on our own experience (the idea that experience shapes our perception always seems to come up :-P it’s a concept I’m fascinated by… as most of those who talk to me about any sort of theory will be well aware of :-P I hope to get into that sometime soon, but I feel this little collection of thoughts could quite easily become an essay and I think there should be some sort of limit.) What we go through ultimately shapes how we interact with our world and those around us: if we are treated justly or unjustly, we use that experience to choose how we treat others.
To love mercy; defined as compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm. In many ways this goes against the grain of fleshly nature - it’s so much easier to do as has been done to us, and take vengeance when someone has wronged us. To take a step back, look at the situation, assess what’s really lead all parties to the point of wrongdoing, and to be empathetic and compassionate may take courage and strength beyond what we feel capable of.
To walk humbly; humility is the quality of having a modest view of one’s importance - unassuming in the estimation of one’s abilities or achievements. Not thinking so highly of yourself, that you put others in a place of discomfort, impropriety, or lesser standing in the estimation of their peers.
With your God; take this as you will, but for me personally, walking with God is a lifestyle, and one that isn’t necessarily easy. I learn and renew my thinking on a daily basis - the things that are important, the larger subjects staying the same, but my understanding of them, and the smaller aspects change as my knowledge and understanding of God expands. I understand and grow in my faith by 1) what I read in the Bible, 2) by who I understand God to be by my perception of him and listening to what he says to me, and 3) by the understanding of those around me - how they interpret those same three things. There’s a challenge there - my ideas of who God is and who I should be are not what they were ten years ago, and will develop over my lifetime.
Together all three are the makings of righteousness in my mind, and living righteously sows the seeds of peace; there can be no malice, or greed, or varying other forms of selfishness… if all are working for a common purpose, love each other, and treat all as equals, the equation surely would culminate in peace. Maybe for some that’s just a pipe dream, a wish, but the idea in itself is a beautiful thing - I for one should certainly like to see it :-)
I will say that these musings are opinions, and not necessarily the best articulated… with so many words in one’s head, you can’t help but get a little muddled sometimes - interpret them as you will, that side is not up to me. There are a few statements that I can’t explain in brief, and maybe I’ll be able to expand on them at a later date, but understand one thing if you will… I am human, and I don’t have the authority to say that everything I write is as it is, it is merely an interpretation in itself. We are all on a journey - an exploration of this life, and at any stage of life we are still learning… and that is something quite beautiful too.
The other thing that’s been going around my head of late is a lot surrounding the lonely and the broken hearted. In Isaiah 1:17-18 it says this,
17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.18 “Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.
The bit that always seems to stand out to me, and that keeps coming back to me at the moment is the part about defending the cause of orphans and fighting for the rights of widows… those people who may have been left with nothing, those who may feel alone, hurt and broken. My heart always breaks for those who get a rough deal, be it in fiction or non-fiction - I find it difficult to separate myself from their stories… but it’s something that’s come up a lot, and seems to coincide with the Micah 6:8 verse. In history, widows and orphans rarely had rights, and were not often treated well or with dignity; the idea of someone acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly on their behalf would have been a dream. Which to me seems all the more reason to show them love.
These days, the rights and causes of widows and orphans are better fought for; though there are still people who are not looked after, and whose rights are not properly upheld. Does your mind conjure up an image of someone or a group of people whom you would wish to be treated properly, or fought for? The question that is in my mind, is what could I do to help those whom I feel are not properly defended or cared for? One thing that then stems from that, is how far would my willingness to help go? Would I give all I could, or would I give just enough to ease my conscience?
These are tough questions, ones that I wrestle with and will hopefully as a result do something with, rather than just stand and watch… the idea that in my lifetime I have the potential to just sit and do nothing is a sad and scary thing, though on a more positive note, I do also have the potential to do something about it… something that I wholeheartedly intend to work on.
To round off then, I’m going to hark back to that idea of peace. Maybe there’s something to work on… promoting peace and righteousness in our environment - you never know, it could be beautiful :-)
