God: A Deliverer for All Ages

I read a lot of political dissident literature. And one thing I notice, is whether it's Black Nationalist, White Supremacist, Indian secessionist, Communist, Fascist, or any other dissident group/movement, under all the violent rhetoric, they usually have some legitimate grievance that should needs to be addressed. True, the occasional Black Panther may come on T.V. and express a desire to kill all white babies, but underlying that, they're really upset about their tax dollars being taken and not used to support their problems, or the problems their communities are faced with, that their voice is always drowned out in a democratic landscape in which they are a minority, about the fact that they make up 13% of the population of the nation, but 50% of the prison population, get stiffed on economic opportunities, educational advancement... etc...

The White Nationalists have similar grievances. They don't like, rightly, being forced to comply with affirmative action, losing educational seats or job opportunities to lower qualified minorities to meet some quotas, and most simply want a homeland where their culture is not demonized by the media and educational system, a place where their families will be protected from attack by those who hate them.

We could continue to list the underlying grievances behind all such movements. But the point is that we are all made in God's image. Something within us all detests cruelty, use, and abuse of the weak and defenseless. Most of these groups at least have in common a healthy dislike of wickedness, even if they only are focused on the wickedness being perpetrated against themselves or the group members they most readily identify with. This may not be the purest form of universal love, but it is a love that transcends self at least. Even though the evil may not be committed against themselves they dislike it, and dislike it so much that they are willing to act on it to eradicate it.

But like everything good, Satan distorts and twists this desire to correct abuse. He convinces these groups that by attacking the perpetrators they can stop the evil from being committed. "Fight Fire with Fire", so the saying goes. But that's the problem. You don't fight forest fires with flame throwers, and with good reason. You only create more fires! So with the sectarian violence, the Black Panthers kill a few of Whitey, and Whitey retaliates by killing more of them. Or more abuses continue because they destroyed any sympathy for their cause. It's a spiraling cycle in which no one ever wins.

But this righteous indignation could be channeled more effectively. Some of these people want the injustice to stop so much that they are willing to give their lives for the cause. Literally! If their hatred of injustice and misery, lies, manipulation is that strong, I think they aren't far from being Saints! Jesus hated wickedness just as much, but more. He also was willing, and did, give His Life to liberate His people! One of the very Apostles was Simon, also called the "Zealot", which was a guerrilla revolutionary group desiring to start a revolution to liberate their people from the Romans! They would attack Roman troops and supply lines, and did, later on, end up starting two massive wars (which ended disastrously for the Jews). But the desire to change was there. They hated the injustice being inflicted upon their people by the Romans. They weren't paid troops but were willing to sacrifice their lives for justice, and righteousness.

God is just waiting to right the wrongs in the world. It's how He shows His Glory in this dark world. But not how we want or think we can fix them. He proved it once. If you have a particular cause, and are willing to give your life for it, ask God to help you, and be willing to listen to how He wants to go about it and obey what He says. If your desire for Justice is stronger than your desire for money, women, wealth, or any other personal benefits, and are willing to pursue it no matter the cost, He may just be looking for someone like you to bring about change in the world.

If you are willing to put in everything you've got, blood, sweat, tears, and energy/effort, He may not put in everything He's got, but He'll definitely match you energy for energy, in the form of Grace, and then some!

If you have a legitimate grievance... ask for His mercy, put your Faith in His Aid, and get to work. It's what being a Christian is all about, being a soldier for Christ, a co-worker, restoring a fallen world to its intended state of a world of Justice and Righteousness!

Chris Hall