At a recent cell group meeting the subject of societal sin came up (I can’t remember the exact title it was given but that will do). Basically it’s the idea that there are things which are wrong with the world that are no longer within the control of a particular individual but are actually now inherently wrong with system as a whole. Things like the arms trade, world poverty, the sex industry, trade justice, etc all fit into this category.
It was suggested that for a complete view of the Gospel to be considered then we must be actively, as interested (for want of a better term), in helping to solve such problems as we are in our own personal relationships with God; our own personal holiness if you will.
Now, I realize I’m running the risk of being labeled a conservative here but I think I disagreed. I even suggested that it is possible that, for all of the good that Christian involvement in such things can and does bring, this whole area is something of a diversionary tactic used by Satan that we need to be aware of.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that these things are bad. If you are a regular reader here then you will know by now that this is not my feeling but I cannot agree that they deserve equal weighting in our priorities list as our personal walk with God. Let me try and explain why.
While I do not believe the two to be mutual exclusive it is not guaranteed that with one you automatically get the other. For example, and healthy relationship with God will lead you to seek to helps others (I’m trying to break this into its simplest form). As James puts it “faith without deeds is dead”. If you have a true, living, vibrate relationship with Jesus Christ, then you will have the deeds to match (what shape that takes will be dependant on the individual of course). However, it does not follow the other way around. If you have lots of good deeds then faith does not follow.
This is my fear with the kind of statement that prompted this discussion. If you say that personal holiness and social holiness are actually in a 50/50 partnership then in reality you must start with one of them. I guess in an ideal world you would be able to do both at once, focusing equal attention on both but in reality this is not going to happen. If you start with the personal holiness option and develop your relationship then the deeds will naturally follow. If you start with the deeds then you end up doing a lot great things, and help a lot of people but you will not find God.
This is where the deception comes in. Social justice etc is a growing “fashion trend”. It’s cool to be active. But if we focus all our attention on such things then God need not have a part. Satan is happy if with perform lots of good deeds because in the end we may never find the reason why.
Good deeds follow a vibrant faith. A vibrant faith does not follow good deeds. All those involved in such things, keep up the great work. But do not fall into the trap of forgetting the reason why. Your personal relationship with God needs to be the number one focus in your life. From that, everything else will follow.
3:45 pm
“Faith without works is dead” and other Kingdom living verses would seem to suggest that you can indeed develop “both simultaneously”, as you put it. Although, I would suggest that you’re taking a dualistic approach in viewing “social justice” as secular…good but secular, and “personal spiritual growth” as sacred and therefore seperate and on a higher plane than good works. I agree with you that there is a danger that we could start focusing too much on helping others and take the Gospel out of the equation but I would posit that the Gospel is not the Gospel without loving others and loving others without the Gospel is not the Gospel. So perhaps the key is not to put one “first” but rather to keep the focus on neither, but on God and obedience to His Spirit.