The social justice movement says that the process of accepting one’s privilege is arduous, emotional work. Why not put that work toward what God calls us to do? God commands Christians to care for the individuals He brings into our lives. We are to do the work of an evangelist and share the Gospel with these people. Giving up time and resources to care for an individual who needs your help requires more of you than reading books on anti-racism, going on a journey to accept your privilege, or joining an organization that vaguely claims they will dismantle systemic injustices. The Christian faith and the progressive social justice movement both require sacrifice, action, and vulnerability. So, evangelical Christian, it seems like you are willing to put in the work. Do you want to put the work toward what Jesus has explicitly commanded us to do or toward what is currently trendy?

The Christian faith is much more freeing than it gets credit for. Christianity does not require you to accept your privilege, and it does not hierarchically categorize you based on your sex, income, or skin color. Instead, we are all equally sinful. So, Christianity doesn’t care how much melanin you have in your skin or how many figures you make. The social justice movement cares about that; we don’t. We care that you know exactly where you stand with God in that you don’t deserve His love. Yet, despite you doing nothing, He did everything by sacrificing His own Son so that you could live a life free of sin and in perfect harmony with God. Not only that, but God claims that He will deal with all the injustices of our sinful world in His timing. He doesn’t ask us to dismantle the evil world in which we live to build a utopia. He asks us to care for the people he puts into our lives that need our help and that need the Gospel.

This post is part of larger blog series, “Tenets of Progressive Culture.” Read the intro post to learn who this blog series is for and what to expect. Previous posts in this series – Social Justice: Defined & Social Justice: True and False