“What’s really going on here?” That’s the first question to ask when we fnd people in need. The answers should guide us to respond in ways that can make a lasting difference.
Seek Social Justice: Transforming Lives in Need is a free small-group curriculum from The Heritage Foundation. The text and video materials can be ordered or downloaded from the Seek Social Justice website.
In Lesson One, you’ll hear from members of one university community working to transform lives in need. As you watch the video, begin thinking about the idea of social justice:
How should we understand this concept?
What problems does it refer to?
Who is responsible for addressing them, and how?
What is the vision of social justice that motivates those in the video to serve others?
Read and Discuss
An important goal of this first lesson is to develop a solid understanding of social justice. The following lessons will build on the relational approach to the concept proposed in this lesson.
Rethinking Social Justice To seek social justice effectively, we need to understand the nature of the problems and the goal we seek to achieve.
Just as doctors must understand the basics of good health in order to diagnose illnesses, we need to understand what makes up a just society in order to understand the nature of social breakdown. In either case, failing to understand both the problem and the goal can lead to further harm.
1. In the video, Marvin Olasky observes that social justice is often understood to mean the equal distribution of income. According to that approach, what is the presumed problem, and what is the presumed goal?
2. The commentators in the video propose a different, more holistic way of thinking about social justice. As they point out, true justice is about more than simply economics or government. Dr. Amy Sherman suggests that justice is about right relationships. According to this relational approach, what is the nature of the problems, and what is the goal of social justice?
Relationships: Where It All Begins Independence is a cherished ideal in American culture, and has been since 1776. But since then, a more troubling vision of independence has emerged: a kind of go-it-alone individualism that disregards relationships and communities, which are vital to a strong society.
Christian teaching, on the other hand, emphasizes that human nature is relational by defnition. You are not an isolated individual but a son or daughter, a neighbor, a student or an employee, a citizen, and a child of God. From the moment you’re born, you’re embedded in networks of relationships that make life possible and shape your identity. Thriving people and communities, the true objectives of social justice, depend in large part on the health of some basic relationships.
3. What are the different kinds of relationships that Amy Sherman says make up this kind of justice?
4. Amy Sherman suggests that this view of multi-faceted relationships a central to human fourishing resonates with biblical teaching. Choose one of the following Scripture passages and identify what kinds of relationships (spiritual, familial, communal, material, internal) are mentioned: The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:2-4); The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21); The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
The Real Root of the Problem: Broken Relationships It’s common to approach poverty as a narrow issue of physical or material hardship and to calculate it solely in terms of dollars and cents. But poverty is much more than fnancial need or inequality. It has to do with a lack of both the tangible and intangible resources that people need to thrive. Amy Sherman says that, from a biblical perspective, poverty has a lot to do with brokenness in the foundational relationships of life.
5. Jason, who teaches boys at Son Farm, says that seeking social justice with someone is different from imposing it on someone. Talk about an example of each of these approaches around us today. Why does Jason think it’s important that efforts to help people be face-to-face?
6. Robin, the nurse who provides volunteer health counseling at the apartment complex, says that helping residents build relationships of trust with people like health care providers is one way to assist them in moving out of poverty. Why do you think that is the case?
Some needs arise because of natural disasters or the harmful actions of others—dramatic external forces that can turn life upside-down. Some needs come from the conditions—in the family, community, school district, etc.—in which people are born and raised. And some needs stem from a person’s own bad habits, poor choices, and irresponsible actions. These can have far-reaching effects in a person’s life. Drug and alcohol addictions, for instance, prevent many people from being able to hold down a job, save money, form a healthy marriage, and stay on the right side of the law. All of these causes can strain or rupture the basic relationships that people need to fourish. This brokenness can have signifcant consequences on the health of not only an individual but an entire society. Where we see social breakdown, we’re likely to find that foundational relationships are missing or dysfunctional.
7. What do the following verses say about the various causes of economic poverty? Proverbs 10:4, 13:18, 19:15, 21:5.
8. Marvin Olasky says that social justice is the sum of millions of acts of relational justice. What do you think he means by acts of relational justice?
Our understanding of the nature and causes of poverty shapes how we respond. A failure to recognize fundamental needs will lead to inadequate approaches. That’s why it’s important to understand the real nature of poverty in America. While situations of serious material need do exist in America, the typical household described as “poor” according to government statistics has more living space than the average European household, as well as amenities considered luxuries just a couple generations ago—cars, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and televisions. It’s true that even in these conditions, the situation of the poor might be far from thriving. But in these circumstances the nature of poverty is usually deeper and more complex than a lack of money or material possessions. As a result, strategies that focus solely on giving handouts to the poor only treat one dimension of need and don’t reach down to the root of the problem. They ignore the multiple broken relationships that often lead to material need in the first place. 9. “If a woman’s here for just two hours, they need to know, at least, that we said to them one time that ‘you have value’ and ‘you have worth,’” explains Theresa Boyd about the approach of her ministry that works with former female prisoners. Why do you think this approach rather than material support is the priority?
10. Have you or has someone close to you suffered in ways that may not be material in nature, but are every bit as painful and crippling?
Different kinds of assistance shape attitudes and behaviors in different ways. Approaches intended to help people can actually encourage them to make unhealthy choices and reinforce actions that damage relationships and prevent healthy relationships from developing. Regardless of good intentions, assistance that encourages wrong choices is wrong. It doesn’t advance social justice.
11. How can it actually hurt a person in need to provide handouts without certain expectations, accountability, or guidelines?
12. In our efforts to help those in need, how can we incorporate the idea of restoring relationships and give generously in terms of money and material goods?
A Strategy that Works: Consider the Needs of the Whole Person Because people often have many different needs—physical, emotional, social, etc.—effective responses must be multi-dimensional. Some institutions are better than others at tackling the wide range of a person’s needs.
The best approaches heal wounds while also inspiring, challenging, and enabling those in need to pursue a better course by restoring relationships. Seeking social justice should start with efforts to strengthen those spheres of society in which healthy relationships can grow.
13. Which institutions and spheres of society does Amy Sherman suggest have responsibility for seeking social justice?
14. Read 1 Corinthians 13:2-3. How do the people and organizations highlighted in the video embody what these verses say about the way we give of ourselves and our possessions?
Rethink Thriving depends on healthy relationships, so the roots of poverty and social breakdown typically can be found in absent or broken relationships. The problems of poverty and social breakdown are multi-dimensional and usually include material, interpersonal, and moral/spiritual needs. Complex problems usually call for solutions that are relational and tailored to the specifc person in need. Preventing and overcoming social breakdown depends on people and institutions exercising proper responsibility and relating appropriately to each other. We’ll take a closer look at some of the most important relationships and institutions in the following lessons. Social justice doesn’t come about primarily through protests, pickets, and public marches or by imposing new programs from the top down. A relational approach means that social justice is best cultivated from the ground up.
15. How might it change your perspective and involvement with your church or community to see restored relationships as the foundation of social justice?
Behind the Scenes
Who are the students referenced by Amy Sherman who appear in the video? The students attend Trevecca Nazarene University, in Nashville, Tennessee, which houses the J.V. Morsch Center for Social Justice. The Center hosts events that equip young leaders to serve those in need, such as sponsoring teams of students to clean-up a local stream or weed a community garden.
When Chuck Colson and Amy Sherman refer to “shalom,” what do they mean? Shalom is a Hebrew word usually translated as “peace” or “well-being” (see Jeremiah 29:7) which conveys a sense of full or complete harmony of the foundational relationships of life.
Who is Robin and what does she do at the Mercury Courts housing development? Robin Jewett is an instructor in the physician’s assistant program at Trevecca Nazarene University. At Mercury Courts she helps residents live a healthier lifestyle and get established with a primary health provider they trust.
Articles on the BreakPoint website are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Chuck Colson or Prison Fellowship. Outside links are for informational purposes and do not necessarily imply endorsement of their content.
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