Why I Write About Justice

Spoiler: Because Very Few Christians Do

As you’ve probably noticed by now, this Substack is called, ‘Jesus, Justice & Joash’.

Of all the things I enjoy thinking and writing about, I try to keep my reflections here heavily focused on justice.

But why?

Of all the wonderful things I could be writing about, why do I dedicate this space to just reflecting on justice - specifically the overlap of justice & the Christian faith?

Is it because I work for a prominent organization that is motivated by its Christian faith to strengthen justice systems to protect vulnerable communities from violence? Is it because I get to mobilize church leaders & government leaders to seek justice with us?

Sure, this factors in by giving me more space to think and reflect on justice. But that’s only partially why I have an exclusive focus on justice.

Here’s the long and short of why I spend so much time thinking, writing and teaching on justice: Because very few Christians do.

How many Christian books can you think of on the topic of Marriage? How many Christian books can you think of on Prayer? How about Christian books can you think of on the Trinity?

Now name all the Christian books you can think of that focus exclusively on Justice.

Exactly.

And I find this deeply concerning.

Do I find this deeply concerning because it’s a missed opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s Kingdom to a culture & generation that is longing for justice? Sure.

But I also find this deeply concerning because our lack of focus on justice says a lot about where the western church’s priorities have historically been.

Hint: It hasn’t been in the direction of justice. Because if we’re being real, it’s actually been in the opposite direction of justice.

If you don’t believe me - just ask our Black brothers & sisters whose ancestors were taught by their slaveholder masters that their oppression was a part of God’s desired order for society. Or whose ancestors were taught that they were under a biblical generational curse dating back to Noah (this ridiculous claim is called ‘The Curse of Ham’).

In fact, there are still western evangelical church leaders (like Doug Wilson who is regularly platformed by mainstream evangelicals like John Piper) who to this day defend American slavery as a good thing and argue that “social justice is a distraction from the Gospel” (like John MacArthur). Oh and yes, if you trace their theological ancestry back to their heroes - you’ll find them to be the theological & political descendants of slavemaster theologians (like Jonathan Edwards), confederate theologians (like James P. Boyce) and white supremacist segregationists (like several Southern Baptist, Presbyterian & Methodist leaders in the 1950’s & 1960’s).

If you still don’t believe me - just ask our First Nations / indigenous brothers & sisters whose ancestors were forcibly removed from their land, kidnapped by the state as children, thrown into Catholic + Protestant residential schools & systemically erased of their beautiful cultural identities.

Think of all of today’s public justice systems globally that were set up by colonial powers to protect colonial interests and oppress marginalized people in poverty. And think of all the western church denominations that propped up and provided legitimacy to these oppressive colonial powers.

Over the past few decades, North American churches have led the way in funding local & global mercy ministries to feed the hungry, build shelters for the unhoused and provide education for communities living in poverty. I’m incredibly thankful for these efforts.

That being said, because of our western individualism, much of these efforts tend to be individual mercy focused instead of systemic justice focused but that’s a Substack post for another week.

Still, are our churches today prioritizing justice to the extent to which we prioritized injustice just a few generations ago? I don’t think so.

Yes we’re generously giving millions to much needed relief & development work but how many billions more do we collectively raise & spend on things like facilities, evangelism efforts, merchandise, marketing, tech, etc.? Way, way more.

Jesus once said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What do our church budget line items say about how much we truly care about the work of justice?

Now, I have a feeling that for some of you, your western theological guardrails are up. And you’re inclined to push back with questions like, “But Joash, isn’t evangelism more important than justice? Shouldn’t saving souls take precedence over meeting physical needs and securing justice for oppressed peoples?”

Here’s how I’d respond to these concerns: Show me one place in the Bible where Jesus said that saving souls is more important than meeting physical needs and seeking the human flourishing of our neighbours. On the contrary, Jesus actually lived a life that was devoted to seeking human flourishing - especially for those on the margins of society.

In fact, here’s what Jesus did say in giving us The Greatest Commandment: Love God and Love Neighbour.

And here’s what he said in giving us The Great Commission:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Yes, that includes loving your neighbour by seeking their human flourishing - the way Jesus did.

If Jesus cared about both our physical & spiritual needs, shouldn’t we do the same as the Church? And shouldn’t we go the extra mile (like Zacchaeus) in caring for our neighbours’ physical needs when we’ve historically done the exact opposite by perpetuating great injustices against them?

A Canadian Pastor I enjoy partnering with recently told me this:

People in our communities don’t care about the number of missionaries our church sends. They do however care about what kind of net impact our church has on the common good. This is why we have local & global justice partnerships.

Even the best missionaries will tell you that the most effective way to share Christ and see church growth is by our loving witness in the public square - specifically by seeking the human flourishing of our neighbours.

It worked for the early church. It’s working for the Church in the majority world.

Maybe, just maybe, it could also work for us.

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