And
the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying
to me from the ground”. Gen 4: 10
Come
now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Behold,
the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud,
cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of
hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure...you have
condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you.
James 5:
1, 4-6
Things go wrong very early in the human story.
Selfishness, jealousy, and murder appear in the first chapters of the first
book of the Bible. But murder is not only in the act of physically taking the
life of someone else. In these passages, murder is more widely interpreted as
anything which contributes to the death of others through economic and social
injustice.
In this country we have all profited from the
suffering of others in this way, through our colonial past and our current
economic policies here and overseas, so these are stark words. What can we do?
First, we need to recognise that this is what has happened, and to learn sorrow
for it. Then, with God’s guidance, we can find ways of doing things better:
perhaps through involvement in co-operatives, or credit unions, or campaigning
with those who seek a fair wage or to have their voice heard. For, to our great
benefit, God does not write us off, but, in Christ, gives us new opportunities
to do better.
Loving
God, Help us to take the needs of the poor seriously, and to stand alongside
them as they cry for justice. Amen
Sue Rowe
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