12 years a slave....? Still a slave...? Or born free... this is for you ‘Slaves, obey your masters on earth in everything. Don’t just obey like people pleasers when they are watching, instead, obey with the single motivation of fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people you know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ. But evil doers will receive their reward for their evil actions. There is no discrimination. Masters, be just and fair to your slaves, knowing that you yourselves have a master in heaven. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the father through him.’ ‘Every Christian is a minister (called to serve) and our labour is our worship to God ( Ed Silvoso)’ As I thought about these words above, I am reminded once again that worship is not something that we do at a church service but a lifestyle and that church should not end on a Sunday but should begin from Monday. We are not called to be onlookers, standing by the sidelines burying our heads in the written text hoping and praying to one day leave the world behind and go to heaven singing and dancing. We are to engage and to participate, to assist in transformation in whatever sphere of society we find ourselves in. Even though the words above were written to Christian slaves and masters in those days, I feel those words still apply even more in the times we live in. I remember while watching ’12 years a slave’ there was a scene where after Solomon Northup was accused falsely by his master , his master tried to whip him and there was a scuffle which ended with Solomon taking the whip and giving his master a thorough whooping instead. To be honest I was quite pleased with his actions after seeing the unfair treatment he had to endure. ‘Revenge is sweet’ as they say however it doesn’t resolve anything except eat away at the person. So while I understand why he had to react the way he did. I do know now that two wrongs can never make a right and he did have to pay for his actions in the end. Since working within the prison and criminal justice systems I have become more familiar with words such as ‘Justice’, revenge and punishment. Having watched the London riots of August 2011 and the recent verdict of the Mark Duggan inquest which had sparked the riots in the first place at times, I am torn between my allegiance to those who offend and those who are called to enforce the law and uphold it. I have come to realise there is a need to address wrong conduct correct bad behaviour in a way that is just which remains a challenge within the criminal justice system which I understand however I’ve come to know all too well now that there is a whole lot of injustice that needs to be weeded out within the criminal justice system because there can be no reconciliation without true justice and true justice can only be administered effectively where there exists truth and mercy. The best way to correct a wrong system is not to fight it but instead find a way to create an alternative system that is better. As the word says ‘You have heard that is was said , you must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who harass you so that you will be acting as children of your father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and unrighteous.’ Almost every day there is news of wars, troubles and fighting in the world around us ; Syria, Egypt, Nigeria, Ukraine to name a few; cries of oppression and for justice everywhere, and like Solomon Northup they want to live and not just survive. So as we raise our voices in praise to our God on Sunday. Lets not forget what our true service to Him should be. As for me my work with caring for offenders and ex-offenders and the battle to influence and improve the criminal justice system continues; ‘ Evil men don’t understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand everything ( Prov 28:5). So what will you be doing on Monday? SELAH. God bless.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 00:39:16 +0000
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