LIVE JUSTLY
Love Tenderly
Walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8)
In the previous article I touched briefly on living justly and stated that according to John the Baptist, it is essential to conversion. The question we must ask though is how do we apply that to our lives in New Zealand?
I want to tell you about a former Kiwi politician. To avoid clouding your judgment I will call him Micah, after the famous quote at the top of the page.
Micah believed in being guided by the Holy Spirit. It was his father’s spiritual advice and it seems this advice made its way into Micah’s psyche.
After leaving university, Micah fell into Social Welfare work, rather than decide to work in this field. Eventually he realized this was the right place to be. The plight of the unemployed and the urgent need to find work for them became his passion. His conclusion was that the longer a person is without work, the more difficult it will be to find it. Being in work, no matter how far away it is from your real desires, the sooner the right thing will turn up.
His concern led him to seek election to Parliament and 9 years as a politician. He never wanted to be a politician, but his concern for the unemployed became his passion. Micah had an instinct he could do something about a pressing social need. The Holy Spirit was at work in him.
After many political battles, Micah’s dreams began to be realized. The construction of WINZ and the work for the dole scheme eventuated. To illustrate the effectiveness of the plan, he tells the story of a conversation he had with someone on this scheme: “How do you like being asked to work here for your pay?” The reply: “It’s great. No one has ever asked me to do anything before?”
There is much more I could tell about Micah. The real point is not whether he was effective, but the fact that he set out to do something about an issue he judged was keeping the people oppressed. The Church’s excellent Social Justice teaching can only be made reality if ordinary people have this mentality.
When politics finished for Micah, a lengthy period of wondering what to do with his life followed. A conscious decision was made to work as a volunteer in a rest home. Possibly the first time he didn’t just fall into an occupation which would give him meaning! Reading his story, I would say that today, in his new position, having lived justly, he is able to love tenderly and walk humbly with his God.
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DISCUSSION: The political world is where we could be most effective in politics. What is your favorite story of an injustice being corrected or enhanced by politicians?
