HealthBridge Global Blog

Justice for the poor and needy. That’s become perhaps the biggest catchphrase in modern non-profit work, both domestically and internationally.  I even had a good friend tell me recently that if you’re not using words like “Justice” on your website and in your promotional materials, then foundations and corporations will barely pay attention to you when it comes to supporting your efforts.  He’s right in many ways.  But, I wish he was wrong.

Doing good acts and letting your light so shine before men that they might glorify our Father in heaven should never be reduced to ever-evolving trends.  But, like all things in life, I guess even humanitarian work (and dare I say the gospel as well) is susceptible to fads and style changes right along with every other industry.

Years ago the buzz was AIDS; if you weren’t involved in AIDS relief (mostly in Africa or in the innercity of the US), you were nobody.  If you wanted funding – you had to be doing something related to AIDS.  That had not entirely ceased to be true in some instances.  At one time, it was the homeless; if you weren’t helping the homeless (even if you were doing other good and necessary works) you got no attention.  It just happens to be the train of “justice” that everyone wants to ride right now.

Permit me to point out the obvious….the word justice is quite nebulous.  It can mean 100 different things to 100 different people.  It’s a very difficult word to pin down.  Ironically, this works to our advantage, because the more philosophical the concept is, the harder it is to measure the results of the work being undertaken that is supposed to create “justice”.  I’m being facetious of course.  I know many good organizations are able to narrow down their scope of work and define what they do in very measurable and effective ways.  But the very concept of justice itself can be quite subjective.

I don’t intend to dog this word or this type of language entirely.  Just this morning I read Psalm 140 and in that chapter David prays “…that the Lord would secure justice for the poor, and uphold the cause of the needy.” Great stuff!  Really great stuff!  It’s in the Bible.  Let’s jump all over it.  Let’s redesign the websites, let’s re-word all our brochures! Slow down.  Here’s two qualifiers, for lack of a better term.

Qualifier #1 – We cannot reduce these concepts to a marketing tool.  Once we reduce it to a key-word search tool, we’ve practically prostituted ourselves to funders.  Telling people what they want to hear is acceptable sometimes in life.  But not when you want financial help from them.  Telling a bank what they want to hear in order to get a loan is considered fraudulent, while telling donors what they want to hear to get a donation is often considered prudent?  I see no different between the two.  They are both below board and should be abandoned.  It’s the first step in mission-drift.  Of course our communication should be thoughtful, wise, considered, planned, effective, and strategic.  But, it should be honest and transparent, not coercive.  We should leave pop-psychology at the door when sharing our visions, when sharing our hearts.

Qualifier #2 – We MUST recognize that human efforts alone cannot bring justice to anyone, least of which the poor.  Only God can ultimately do so.  We are not superman.  And let’s be honest, most of us who are a part of the non-profit world are partially responsible (usually indirectly) for some of the injustice that occurs around the world.  To be so haughty as to think that we have the one perfect plan or program to resolve the issue is the pinnacle of self-deception.  Let us acknowledge what it true and will always be true.  It is the Lord and the Lord alone who can secure justice for the needy…we are simply partners with Him.

One final comment about justice.  I don’t want justice for myself.  I want mercy.  What about you?