Three Keys to Social Activism

HOPE. Hope is undoubtedly where it all begins. It is most certainly our motivator. Hope recognizes the truth in a worthy cause, eats away at the human heart, and forces those bold enough to hope to do something about it. Thus, hope is out starting point in social activism. If we have nothing to strive towards, nothing to gain, if we see nothing in need of change or reconciliation we simply will remain idol enablers of injustice ignorant of a suffering world before us.

            False Hope. While hope is the heartbeat to activism, and perhaps even life as a whole, there exists an even greater enemy to mankind than a hopeless heart and that would be false hope. I have come to find in life that there are two kinds of people: the hopeful and the despairing. Of those who hope I have further noticed their hope comes from one of three things: hope in man, hope in self, or hope in God. Hope in man gives power over to humans we often deem more capable than ourselves to do what we believe as right. Sometimes this can work. However, we are often left disappointed because no one can live up to our idolized expectations. Furthermore, hope in others diminishes both our cause and our self as it neglects to join with others revealing both our laziness and lack of passion. Secondly, hope in self states that if I work hard enough I can achieve anything. This method is dangerous as it both leaves much of the cause up to chance and endangers the self of becoming burnt out and beaten down. In addition, it also tempts man, when success is granted, into becoming prideful in the victories of what he sees as his own doing and leads him to despair when his efforts are being stifled. Ultimately, both types of hope can often lead a once hopeful man into becoming a man of despair.

            Hope in God. It is, then, that the only hope surpassing all others, the only true hope for a despairing humanity is hope in God. This idea is articulated by the great theologian Jürgen Moltmann: “Without faith’s knowledge of Christ, hope becomes a utopia and remains hanging in the air... it is that hope in Christ gives hope its assurance.” This Christian hope is often seen as irrelevant to our modern world. However, it is that this hope in Christ is actually the only hope that both determines and unites all moral and just causes. It determines them because it is this God who himself is the very definition of justice and righteousness. It unites because he is a God present and active in all things good in this world, therefore, they all relate back to him. This Christian hope is all surpassing because, first and foremost, it recognizes the victory is already won. Christ on the cross conquered the demanded payment for the sins of all humanity and saved the world from a devastating life separated from God. Secondly, this victory relates to today's issues not only because humanity continues to need the payment of Jesus’ blood, but also because it reveals to a despairing humanity that God is still present and active in the world. The kingdom of God is forcefully advancing-- the second component of Christian hope. That an all powerful, all loving, all merciful, just and omnipotent God is still involved in a world of pain, despair, murder, oppression, immorality and injustice is certainly reason for hope. This hope is based on followers of Christ joining with God in the mission of reconciling the world to himself in order to reestablish his intended order on earth. However, because he is loving he has never forced man into relationship with himself, but rather has granted man the liberty to choose. This means man is able to choose evil, and unfortunately, to inflict that evil upon others. Here is where the third and equally powerful aspect of hope comes in: the hope of future glory. This future glory means that one day Christ will reappear to mankind on earth and “wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Everything will be restored, all justice will be established and enforced, and God will forever by fully present with his people. This future glory will be so great that Paul boldly declares, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:8). It is that great, impenetrable hope that endures through all things and all circumstance. And so it is that we can summarize by saying not only is the centrality of social activism hope, but center to hope is Christ.

            RELATIONSHIP. DAILY LIFE. With hope now defined we move on to the means by which we establish justice and peace in our world. Contrary to what many may think it is not necessarily done by protests, rallies or fancy speeches to the masses, though those certainly have their effect. The single most effective way in which we change the world is by changing the world around us.  This is done through our often mundane daily lives and already established relationships to other people. As is wisely stated by Thich Nhat Hanh, “Our daily lives have the most to do with the situation of the world. If we can change our daily lives, we can change our governments, and we can change the world.” This is because our daily lives are what “win the respect of outsiders” (1 Thes. 4:12). This exaltation of the daily life does not diminish the power in the great works, but rather reckons upon the even more powerful effects of a mundane life lived out nobly. Allowing love to seep through our relationships to those unworthy of it, our willingness to consistently work hard under any circumstance or any person, our desire to serve others asking nothing in return all speak louder than any words can and eliminate the possibility of accusations of hypocrisy when we finally open our mouths to speak. The truth is, with true hope and a worthy cause on our hearts, we should be compelled to speak. However, we should speak first by the consistencies of our daily lives, letting the words come later to prove us true, our hope pure and our cause noble.

            RECONCILIATION. The third and final component of social justice is reconciliation. It is, essentially, what hope seeks in the grander sense and what relationships should strive for. My community partner this term has been Colossae Church in Tigard, OR. This church seeks to be active in the community often by providing for basic needs in the schools throughout the district, primarily the high school. The mission statement, the hope behind this church’s movement is “to see the church join in God’s mission of reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus.” Not only does there exist a desire to see man reconciled to God, but from that stems a desire to also see man reconciled to man and man reconciled to truth. Reconciliation does not discriminate. It strives to see men reckon upon truth, even the oppressor. It seeks to see man reconcile to man even when forgiveness seems impossible. Reconciliation recognizes all humanity as purely, wholly, equally human, strips man of individual pride, need for revenge, and removes personal vendetta or vanity. The desire for reconciliation as a goal in social activism removes self form the equation and declares the cause worthy in and of itself. It doesn’t seek to see others brought to their deserved justice, but rather saves them from it altogether as they join the side of truth.

~Michaela Loewer