Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.
Psalms 82: 3
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
The whole idea of being selfless is being willing to put someone else’s needs above your own, or putting someone else above yourself. It is the opposite of being selfish, meaning our main focus is other people, and we are not worried about what we will get out of something or how it will benefit us. We are looking to benefit someone else and be totally fine with walking away empty handed. I think one of the biggest problems with the world and why there seems to be so much discord and violence and injustice, is that we are so concerned with ourselves. The world is a selfish place, and we live in it, but can we dare to be selfless in a place that is so consumed by self? I know our generation gets told a lot that we are selfish, but let’s combat that and show them what it means to be selfless. I truly believe that our generation is very selfless as we stand up for what we believe in, but also speak up so that others who are oppressed or being beat down are given a voice. We fight against injustice, and oppression and give a voice to the mute. I believe that as people of God we are called to speak up and stand up for His people, not just for ourselves. When our brother and sister is hurt or falling we are there to help them and pick them up.
I bring this up because with so much going on in the world we have no time to be selfish. With people hurting and oppressed, people facing injustice everyday, people being killed for the lifestyle they lead and the choices they make, we have no time to be selfish. If anything we have to be the ones to stand up and say this isn’t right, to come to the defense of our brothers and sisters. We know what’s right and we know what’s wrong, let’s not sit back and let our world fall into a path of unrighteousness. People deserve to live freely, people deserve basic human rights, people deserve a place of refuge. I know some of us are going to say, “It’s not my responsibility”. If it’s not our responsibility then whose is it. The same way Jesus took on the responsibility of saving humanity, and the disciples took on the responsibility of spreading the word of God, the same way the church took on the responsibility of selling all their possessions to take care of one another, we have a similar responsibility to stand up and stand in the gap for God’s people. We are equipped with the Holy Spirit and the word of God. We have a duty to right the wrongs and correct the injustices. If Jesus, The disciple/apostles, paul, and all the many men and women of God in the bible had not stepped up to the plate and taken responsibility then we wouldn’t be here today. So yes, it is our responsibility to help our brothers and sisters in need to stand up for those being oppressed by the justice system, those being denied access to freedom and health, and those being denied basic human rights. It is not our job to evaluate whether or not they are worthy of our help, because Jesus did not do that to us. If He evaluated how worthy we were before coming down from heaven to save us, we would not be saved. We are not here to judge or decide who deserves a helping hand, no we give a helping hand with heart full of love and leave the judgements to God.
Reflection
- Do you believe your responsible to stand up and be there for those who are suffering and oppressed?
Prayer Time
Allow your answer to the above question guide part of your prayer. Talk to God about what it means to be selfless and ask Him to teach you and help you lead a selfless lifestyle. Pray for the people of our nation, pray for those without a voice who have been silenced, pray for those who are oppressed. Pray for the things that have become normalized that continues to plague humanity.
One of the biggest thing I want to pray for today is, rape culture, and the treatment of sexual assault towards both men and women. It is something that has been normalized that continues to plague the world. The attitude towards these issues are too casual and it is a very serious and sensitive situation. People’s lives are ruined and forever scarred due to rape and sexual assault and many times the government and it’s citizens brush it off. I can’t stress enough how important this is, that we talk about it. Pray that the whole idea of rape culture ceases and pray for those who have been affected by it.
I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 176!
No comments:
Post a Comment