social justice or social gospel

I have been thinking through the church's responsibility to "the poor." As I reflect on various liberation theologies and some themes within the emergent church, I am working through some of my own thoughts on the matter.

I was in my small group the other day and was discussing what the U.S. should do for the poor, both locally and globally. One guy in my small group was really upset with corporate America and our lack of advocacy for the poor as Americans. Here was my response to him: "If we make an economically poor person into a middle-class person, we will simply be exchanging one poverty for another."

Here is where I was going with that thought. Our generation is bombarded with all kinds of messages. Two of those messages are as follows: 1) we need to help those who are materially poor in order that they can live the American dream, a.k.a. become middle-class or better 2) Middle-class America is rife with drug addictions, sexual abuse, depression and an overall melancholy and cynical attitude about life.

Holding these two truths in tandem we come to an interesting paradox. It seems that both the socio-economically poor and the socio-economically middle-class are struggling with poverty. It just that one kind of poverty is more obvious than the other.

So when we say we should “advocate for the poor” who are “the poor?” It seems to me that poverties of all kinds are all around us. And if we limit our definition of “poverty” to those who are lacking in material wealth and in educational and job opportunities, then aren’t we being “materialistic.” Meaning, aren’t we simply carrying with us a very shallow understanding of poverty.

My fear is that our desire for social justice will just become another failed social gospel. I am not convinced its enough to “be Jesus” to people without also introducing them to Him. To do so would be to fall into the first of Jesus' three temptations in the desert.

Jesus was tempted to turn stone into bread. He was tempted to become the great provider for the physical needs of Israel. And many expected as much from the long awaited Messiah. But Jesus refused this temptation, and so should we.

In the gospel of John, we do see Jesus feeding the multitudes. And yet, its as if those feedings were supposed to point to something deeper. In John 6 we see that it was not enough just to feed the people. Jesus wanted the people to understand that He was the Bread of Life. He was the manna from heaven. Their hunger, Jesus knew, was well beyond the physical. They had a deeper hunger which only Jesus could fill.

We should not be satisfied with ourselves if we as the church become masters at helping the economically poor become the miserable middle-class. Again, we are only exchanging one poverty for another. It is not enough to replace depression with materialism or desperation with greed. In our attempts at providing for physical needs, we must point people to something beyond mere physical bread. We must point them to the Bread which will truly give them Life.