ArticleBlog | Working for justice in the UK and the world
Working for justice in the UK and the world
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 10.03.20
It is said that if you tear out the pages of the Bible which refer to justice, then your Bible will fall apart. Stories of the people of God working with God to seek justice weave throughout the biblical text. From Moses seeking the release of God’s people in Egypt, to Esther’s voice of truth to power, to Jesus’ quiet writing in the sand in defence of the voiceless, the Bible is full of people challenging injustice.
Throughout these stories and many more, the discord of worldly injustice is heard ringing against the hope of God’s Kingdom painted through promises and parables. God’s call repeatedly seems to draw hearers to notice the injustice in the world around them, root themselves in God’s promises, seek change and step towards the Kingdom.
If you take the Bible seriously, you will be concerned about where this discord rings – what is just and unjust. If you take Jesus seriously, you will follow his way of speaking truth to power and be involved in justice issues. Doing justice belongs at the centre of our faith.
Perspectives
You probably have strong ideas of what is unjust in the world. I know I do. We feel the pain of injustice for ourselves and those close to us. But our positions and experiences mean we do not always spot injustices done to others. As a white person, I know I need my eyes opening to the ongoing legacy of slavery, for example. Or we blame others for their position if it differs from ours, perhaps calling those receiving welfare support ‘skivers’ or ‘scroungers’, without seeing the structural injustices at the heart of their situation. Sometimes we differ over justice simply because we prioritise different values – care for others, freedom, loyalty – and therefore end up disagreeing over what is just and fair.
In looking at some of the injustices facing people in the UK and the wider world, I should acknowledge therefore that this overview is partial and some may disagree with it, prioritising other issues. Yet as we do so, we recognise our shared vision of God’s Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Injustice worldwide
So what does injustice look like in our world today? My children would tell me that the biggest injustice facing the world is the climate crisis. It is disturbing that the impacts of ecological degradation are to be felt most violently by the world’s poorest. The developed world has prospered due to energy from fossil fuels, treating the environment as limitless. The 20 wealthiest countries are responsible for 78% of emissions. Yet the impacts of climate change are now being felt, not by those who have profited, but by those who have gained least.
Rain and ruin
To smallholders in West Africa, reliant on rain-fed agriculture, the kinds of unreliable rains linked to climate change can destroy their livelihoods and even lead to death if their crops fail. Increased desertification, crop failures, delayed or reduced rainfall are not a threat for the future – they are already happening. A creation which was offered by God as a place of abundant life is being damaged beyond repair. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified that limiting global warming to 1.5°C, compared with 2°C, could reduce the number of people both exposed to climate-related risks and susceptible to poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050, yet carbon emissions continue to rise. This imbalance of power tips the scales of justice, with collective welfare sacrificed for the gains of few.
Planet versus profit
Whilst we can and should urgently reorder our lives to reduce our own carbon footprints, individual action alone will not be enough. To seek a society which works for the welfare of all creation, we need huge systemic changes in the way our societies are run. One of the biggest challenges we face is the addiction to limitless growth which underpins many of our social structures, and indeed our economic assumptions. On a planet of finite resources, an attitude of infinite economic growth always leaves someone paying the cost, often the most vulnerable.
Development has led to welcome improvements in tackling poverty, with increased access to sanitation and education worldwide. Even so, many at the sharp end of global inequality have found that access to vital services and opportunities to benefit from the global economy are not working for them. Instead, what would the world look like if our economies prioritised people and planet instead of growth and consumption? What if we chose to base our systems on values of wellbeing to safeguard God’s creation? To seek a society where the flourishing of all is prioritised, the fundamental values which underpin our economic assumptions and treatment of creation must shift.
UK poverty
These concerns are not limited to the developing world. In the UK, child poverty is growing. In 2017/18 a third of children were trapped in poverty in the UK – that’s 4.6 million children who were held back in terms of health, education, income and even life expectancy. Today’s poverty is not experienced only by those families who are unemployed: 70% of children in poverty are in families where someone is in work, whilst most of the rest are in families where a parent is unable to work because of ill health or caring responsibilities. Low wages, insecure jobs and a welfare system which often penalises a family rather than providing the necessary safety net mean that the circumstances into which a child is born remain the greatest indicator of their future prosperity and opportunities. In following Jesus, who deliberately stepped into the margins of society, seeking inclusion, healing and justice for the poor, poverty is an injustice that cannot be dismissed.
