Mishpat and sedeqah. These are ancient words, meaning justice and righteousness, respectively. Our world revolves around these poles, where misphat is being "just", and sedeqah is "doing the right thing." For example, the "good Samaritan" showed what God's justice required because he did the right thing for a man who had been beaten and left for dead. Likewise, merchants who keep their thumbs off the scales when they weigh produce are being just, but the growers who let the poor and vulnerable glean their fields are being righteous.
Mishpat and sedeqah. They stand alone. but they are invariably intertwined. For instance, as the prophet, Amos, first said, and the prophet, Martin Luther King, later reiterated: God's kingdom will have come to earth when "justice rolls down like a river and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." These words are placed prominently on the Civil Rights Memorial, and, like many others, I have always associated them with liberation and empowerment. Growing up in the sixties and knowing that God has a special place in his heart for those who need a helping hand, I eagerly associated being a faithful Christian with being a "liberal," as that word is defined in our time. Mishpat and sedeqah led me to support things like affirmative action, equal pay, and expansive welfare. It also led me to champion the cause of just about anyone who felt slighted, and in time, I was persuaded that being "liberal" and being "Christian" were more or less the same thing.
I assumed that the word "conservative" was just a smoke-screen for people who wanted to hold others down, and I was sure that they were erroneously separating mishpat from sedeqah. This was an outrage to me because, without mercy, justice would be hell. I still believe this- without mercy, justice will be hell for those of us who call ourselves Christians- but I have come to see that there are many good people who want to conserve the way things used to be. I still disagree with many (though not all) of their social and theological positions, but I no longer questions their motives. As "W" noted, there are compassionate conservatives, and I know and love many of them. I have a real respect for my conservative friends, and I some of them have been Christian mentors to me. I have gained a broader view of conservatives, but I confess- it is not broad enough to include Tea Party members, whose very presence alone would keep me from signing on. Based on the stereotypes I've formed, Tea Party members are likely to have no education and no teeth. They are apt to support positions that they don't know anything about, and they would probably show up at a rally just for a free beer. Based on the images I have framed in my mind, Tea Party members are just a step away from prison or the cuckoo's nest...
but they SHOULD NOT be singled out by the IRS, or any other government agency, just because they belong to a certain group or believe a certain way.
Such misuse of government power is extremely ominous because someone, someday, in some government agency, may be afraid of moderate Presbyterians. Or tall Lutherans. No, it is not mishpat to push people who are out of power around, even if they are irritating, and it is not sedeqah to do such things secretly,while denying them publicly. Justice and righteousness. They were guiding principles for Moses, and they were central to Christ's teachings. They were dear to our ancestors, and they were on the minds of the men and women who framed this great country.
As I write these words, I am not much interested in blaming someone for Benghazi and I'm not sure that anything really horrible took place between the Justice Department and the Associated Press. But I am concerned about the IRS' political actions. We need an accounting and those responsible need to be disciplined because we're all affected when government overreaches. I am concerned for myself and I am concerned for others-both liberal and conservative.
Mr. President, do whatever you have to do to convince us that this unjust and unrighteous practice has been stopped and, for God's sake, leave them Tea Party Christians alone.
pk
No comments:
Post a Comment