Andie.ink

This past week my stories about religion verses relationship and how that ties into people leaving the church and politics received the most DMS I have ever received about a story. So.
Let’s go to church today:

This morning while browsing the interwebs, I saw a quote by a pastor stating that problems the church addresses and the problems addressed in politics should be different because we are supposed to live in this world, but not of it. Should the problems the church is addressing be different than political issues? (We will address the “in this world, but not of it” part at a later service. I present to you James 1:27 for consideration. “Visit/take care (depending on translation) the widows and the orphans in their distress.” Why did he specifically refer to the widows and the orphans? Because historically and contextually, the widows and the orphans were the most oppressed by religion, societies, culturally, and politically. They had no rights, no helps, and were expendable as for as human worth.

How does this translate into our world today?It means we as the church need to be visiting/taking care of the most distressed and oppressed in our society. How can we care for them? Yes. We can use our own resources. Yes we can build soup kitchens and pregnancy centers.

But believing the church can fix the problem of oppression has us playing God instead of following our gifts into Jesus’ footsteps.
It has us saviors and colonizers instead of servants and relationship builders.

That does not stop the oppression. We cannot stop the oppression until we cut it off at its root. Where does the opression come from?

You guessed it.
Policies created by government officials (most who actually claim to follow Christ; but I believe the proof is in the pudding and the pudding is pretty oppressive.)

Let me say this loudly for those who need to hear it the most: THE CHURCH CANNOT STOP OPPRESSION OF PEOPLES WITHOUT CHANGING GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO CHANGE THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES.

We cannot soup kitchen or pregnancy center oppressive policies away.

Who are our current oppressed peoples who Jesus contextually tells us to stand by? The Black community. The Immigrants. The LGBTQ+ community, especially Black Trans women. The millions of people who do not have adequate and proper access to health care, mental health care, education, housing, or wages they can live off of. All which can lead them to larger struggles such as homelessness, addiction, being vulnerable for abuse including abuse from federal agencies such as the criminal justice system and over-policing.
And yes. Expectant mothers and families who feel unable to care for their babies for any of the reasons and most listed above. For adoptees who don’t have access to their own biological information. For adoptees being deported because we lack federal oversight and policy in adoption.
Jesus tells us to care for those who have experienced Trauma.

So. Pay your taxes as we are commanded to in Matthew 22: 21. Then vote where that money goes so it either helps the oppressed or reduces the oppression.

Thanks for coming to Trauma Church. We will see you next service.