Justice

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King Jr.

If you don't experience injustice on a daily basis for either yourself or someone else, you are an oppressor. Those who sense injustice deeply for others without acting are self occupied and unsatisfied.

Consider the life of Martin Luther King Jr. He grew up labelled a colored or worse. He grew up counted as an oppressed person. He was forced to drink from a different fountain than whites. He was forced to go to different schools. But he did not become self occupied and self pitying. Instead, to borrow a phrase from Teddy Rosevelt, he spent himself in worthy causes. It was in seeking justice for others that Martin Luther King overcame his own personal injustice even in his own lifetime. As a matter of fact in his last speech he said this:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

He did not get there with his people but rather before them. He climbed the mountain by fighting on behalf of others injustices rather than fighting for his own. In that he became of a giant among men. Is this what is meant by Psalms 58:6-8

6 “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free,
and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry,
and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them,
and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
and your wounds will quickly heal.
Your godliness will lead you forward,
and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.


If so then what injustice are you hanging on to? Who will stand to accuse you of being silent when you should have spoken?