One of my favorite songs of the last 10 years is 'Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?' by Delirious. The chorus calls for 'dancers who dance upon injustice.' There are four factors in this 'dance' that stands out to me.
Community. There are few things in life that are meant to be done alone. God is community and we were created for community. Therefore, in our work for justice, we must live in community. Children's HopeChest offer holistic and long-term solutions to the needs of orphaned children. I truly believe that for our work to be long-term it must be done in community. Individuals change and individual circumstances change, but God's community is growing and giving life. Live in community.
Creativity. The challenges that poor and orphaned children face are immense. Disease, civil war, domestic violence, addiction, poverty. These almost seem like living, breathing entities. So we cannot afford to be static and unimaginative in our work for justice. We must prayerfully and courageously arrive at solutions that combat and overcome these very real enemies. Be creative.
Joy. It is one of my strongest convictions that I not tell only sad stories about what's going on with orphaned children around the world. This would be easy to do. The stories and statistics are enough to drop any of us to our knees. But there's more. There's God's Spirit already at work - hovering and covering the void and speaking life and light. And there's a lot of fun to be had. I've had some great times playing soccer with orphans in Russia and juvenile criminals in Honduras, and dancing and drumming with poor children in Ghana. There is joy in compassion. And dancing is a joyful activity. Let's take joy in our work for justice. Be joyful.
Movement. To live for justice cannot be a passive and reactive effort. This involves movement. The Enemy is on the move, claiming victims in our neighborhoods and on God's planet every day. We must be on the move. Not running from need, but running toward it with a movement of compassion and care. Join the dance.
As we dance upon injustice, remember that we must be in community, we must be creative and joyful, and we must be on the move.
hi, thanks for your post. if you're interested, i put together a video about dancing upon injustice. check it out if you have a moment.
http://www.youtube.com/v/_skzW823XIM&hl
Posted by: jenn | April 02, 2008 at 01:53 PM