Most people view social justice as the government redistributing wealth and not individuals or churches dealing with the deeper issues of poverty.
The Heritage Foundation’s Richard and Helen DeVos Center is piloting a program to help young American churchgoers and seekers see that social justice is more than government intervention. It is ineffective at treating the spiritual and personal ills often associated with poverty.
“A lot of people today, especially in the rising generation, are interested in social justice,”Ryan Messmore was the DeVos Center fellow and lead writer of the project. “But there isn’t a clear understanding of what exactly it means. That’s problematic because a lot of actions championed in the name of social justice end up hurting the very people they are trying to help. Many young adults today lack a framework for thinking about social justice and engaging the personal needs of the less fortunate.”
Seek Social Justice is the new Heritage program. It includes a DVD presentation and accompanying study guide. It covers topics such as: “Relational Justice,” “The Power of Family and Friends,” “Working Toward Justice” “Justice as a Way of Life.”
“The DeVos Center is doing remarkable work. They are brilliantly sharing the concept of social justice and taking that message to a whole new generation of young Americans,”Focus on the Family’s vice president for external relations, Tim Goeglein, said the following:
Videos can be ordered at no charge www.seeksocialjustice.comThe goal is to show people who are poor as real human beings and not just as a sociological group on a government chart. The discussion guide can be downloaded at no cost from the same website.
“We need to put the human person front and center in the discussion and not talk about abstract categories such as ‘the poor.’ That betrays an impersonal perspective that more often than not leads to ineffective solutions,”Messmore stated.
