God is reminding me that there are millions upon millions of men, women and children -- people made in His image and precious in His sight -- that fall victim to the brutal hands of oppression every day. He keeps reminding me that the world is full of corrupt governments led by evil abusers. God wants our hearts to be moved by the cries of their victims, our hands to be ready to work for justice, our arms and feet ready to rescue them from their oppressors. I believe God wants us to be filled with righteous anger that would cause us to defend the defenseless. Yet far too many of us spend our lives angry at the traffic.
Oppression exists within our own shores, too. I once worked with a ministry that intervened in the lives of child prostitutes in New York City. It was nauseating to see little girls and boys -- some as young as 12, many of them runaways or “throwaways” -- under the control of pimps and abusers. Yes, it happens in cities around the U.S., right under our stuck-up noses.
We all know there is immense suffering and injustice in our own nation and throughout the world, but we have a tendency to look the other way, ignore the humanity of the victims and see them as characters on a stage we cannot or should not touch. Turn off the news, and the show is over. In seconds, we're back to complaining about the weather.
I’m reading a book as part of my daily devotions that I’m praying will help me figure out exactly what I should do to help alleviate the pain of those who suffer, and to help end the oppression of the wicked. Titled, “Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World” (available at IJM.org), the book reminds me that much is expected of me. God has blessed me with a wonderful family, a free country, and material goods aplenty. And I’ve known the joy that comes with helping those who cannot help themselves. I have the privilege of working at The Heritage Foundation, an organization that works tirelessly to promote policies that toppled the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, and that seeks to empower individuals to control their own lives. Would that I would never be guilty of trying to be so comfortable in my personal life and the “busyness” of work that I forget the faces of those who have no comfort. But I often do.
Perhaps these final days of summer will be a personal time of reflection for you, too. Join me in praying that we will, as Hebrews 13:3 admonishes, "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." May we will always have hearts and hands ready to help.