Justice for the Poor and Oppressed!

There is an old Chinese story about a scorpion who needs a lift across a river.  He asks a frog to take him, but the frog refuses saying, “No, you will sting me and I will die.”  The scorpion persuades the frog saying, “If I sting you we will drown and I will die!  I will not sting you.”  The frog agrees to take the scorpion across the river, but halfway across the scorpion, true to its nature, stings the frog and they both die.”  It cannot help acting according to its nature!

This makes me think of the government, big business and the wealthy.  Both the current coalition government and the previous New Labour government have tried to justify tax breaks for big business and the wealthy by suggesting that in the end this will benefit the poor and needy in our society because the wealth generated will benefit all.  Thus tax breaks and other financial benefits are accorded to the wealthy whilst the poor and disadvantaged have their benefits savagely cut, because in the end all will benefit.

In fact this will not be the case.  The wealthy, with maybe a few exceptions, will continue to increase their wealth and hoard their riches whilst those on and below the poverty line continue to suffer deprivation and injustice; because big business and the wealthy are acting according to their nature.

Part of me despairs that there will ever be justice for the poor and needy and an equitable distribution of the world’s resources because none of the political parties in our country seem to really care about a truly just society.

Part of me hopes because I believe in a God who is the friend of those in need.  As he said through the prophet Amos: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent.  They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.  They trample on the heads of the poor and on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed.” (Amos 2:6-7)

Please join me in praying to God for relief for the poor in our nation and world and in doing all we personally can to bring justice and practical for those in need .