Mouthpiece for justice
God intended humans being to work, and all workers are created in His image. Thus, there are good reasons for Jesus-followers to celebrate the International Workers’ Day or Labour Day on this first day of May.
The Bible contains many requests for helping the poor and needy. One is found in Psalm 82, 3-4 that reads, “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
According to World Bank statistics, more than half of the world’s population lives on less than US$7 per day. 648 million people live in extreme poverty and must make a living on less than US$2 per day. It is estimated that 27 million are trapped in work slavery world-wide. Children constitute a high share. All this should concern everyone who follows Jesus and engage us in fight for justice.
Several years ago, London Institute of Contemporary Christianity (LICC) developed the 6M model, how to bring faith to work. With their permission, this model also forms the basis for some sessions in Tent’s GO Equipped course. One of the M’s stands for “Mouthpiece for truth and justice.” As Christians, we are called to be ambassadors for God’s kingdom and speak out against things that are against his will.
In the beginning of the Bible, we can read how God created work and how he called us humans to use our skills to cultivate the earth (Gen 2:8 and 15). In line with the way God made us, creating and producing things of value can give us a feeling of fulfillment and dignity. Much of the modern work world does however represent a distortion of God’s intention with work. God is against forced labor, greed, dishonesty, harsh working conditions, and slavery. As Christians, we are called to speak out against this evil. We are also called to fight for restoring work as God created it and reinstating the dignity of all workers.
May God help us as we fight against injustice, poverty and underpayment on this International Workers’ Day and the remaining days of the year.
Let us Pray! Father, we pray for justice in the global work market. We pray especially that those who are enslaved under harsh working conditions, forced labor or slavery, will be set free. We also pray that those who are underpaid will get a decent salary. Show us what each one of us can do to fight injustice in the global work market.
