When Mary Crickmore, a CRC missionary in Mali, learned of plans by a corrupt government office to kick villagers off of the land they had been farming for decades, she was horrified.
Not only would her friends lose their livelihoods and homes, but the office that was planning to take their land would be receiving development assistance funds for doing it - money that was supposed to help the very people it would hurt.
But this story has a happy ending, and it’s because Mary and many others followed God's call to pursue justice.
Across the world in Oklahoma, Jim, one of Mary's supporters, learned from her of the shady plans to take away the land. So he wrote a letter to his senator. His senator listened. And his senator took the issue to Washington, D.C.
This led to officials from the development assistance fund to check out the situation that had been brought to their attention in person. Sure enough, they quickly learned of the office's deceit.
The office was promptly removed from the project, corrupt officials were jailed for their misdeeds, and Mary was even invited to help renegotiate the proposal for funding.
Now, the people not only remain on their land, but the development assistance money will bring in irrigation, paved roads to the villages, and other improvements that increase quality of life for the villagers in Mali. (Learn more about this exciting story.)
When we talk about social justice, we're talking about these Malian villagers. Because Mary spoke out, because Jim in Oklahoma wrote a letter, because our political leaders listened, because fund officials cared about making a true difference, and because sin was exposed, justice was delivered.
When we pursue social justice, we’re working to restore right relationships, and to rework and redeem the structures and systems that can trap people in poverty, hunger and oppression. So we follow the call to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” to “defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Prov. 31:8-9). We aim to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly” with the God of justice! Walk with us, won’t you?
Resources
Join others to learn more about your faith walk and doing justice with our six-session toolkit, Shalom Seekers: Living the Call to Do Justice
Students can discover how to put their faith into action on campus with our downloadable guide, Just Basics: A handbook for students not too busy to change the world.
Talk about it! Our social network site is the place to connect with others concerned for justice: http://justiceseekers.ning.com
