6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
What if the reason that a lot of our prayers go unanswered is not because of a lack of faith, or not saying the right words, or even because of what we typically view as sin in our lives, but because of our oppression of the poor and helpless?
Now most of us would not knowingly do any of these things, but what about the companies we buy from? Slave and near slave conditions occur throughout the world (yes, even here in the U.S.) and the fruits of this slave labor often end up on our tables. (http://www.ciw-online.org/index.html) Or on our backs.
Then there is the question of how our government deals with the world. It wages war that results in the death of innocent people. It uses sanctions that result in children dying. And these are just a few of the things we know about.
So, where do we fit in? If our shoes are made by a company that oppresses the poor (I'm talking to you Nike) then we are guilty by proxy. If our food is harvested by slaves then we are guilty of slavery. If our government kills innocent women and children and we do nothing to stop it we are guilty. And if we are guilty can we expect God to answer our prayers?
As Christians we must no longer be content to sing a few worship songs on Sunday and say that we are close to God. It is impossible to be close to God if we are not reaching out to and helping those he is near -- the broken hearted, the poor, the widow, the outcast, the foreigner (illegal or otherwise), the sick, the imprisoned. When we reach out to these that God has told us throughout scripture to reach out to, then we are close to God. When we stand up for the oppressed then our prayers are answered. When we love those God loves, then our lives and world is changed.
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7 comments:
What you said about "on our backs" resonates with me. I was in a Kohls store recently and saw some really sweet looking jackets. I mean really sweet, like the band General Public would wear in 1984. Anyways, the sign over them, and the words on the label said "Free Country". And the price was amazing too, like $29 for a really sweet retro-1984 jacket. Where were they made? China. Free Country? Hardly. Living wages for a $29 jacket? Not likely.
I don't disagree with your main point, that we bear some responsibility for these things and should try to take some steps to address them. But I find myself wondering, can we really be sure there is a direct link between our guilt and God not answering prayers? After all, while we were still sinners, while we were God's enemies, is when Christ died for us. In Psalm 103 it says "he does NOT treat us as our sins deserve." Jesus said he blesses the just and the unjust with rain...not "see there, they don't have rain because they were abusing their workers." He also said that to be like the Father, we should love those who hate us and bless those who persecute us. So although I agree that there is no excuse for us participating in sin, I'm not sure that it follows that God won't bless us, or answer prayers, because of it. I wonder about where the gospel writer says Jesus "could not do many miracles, because they had so little faith."
Look at 2Chr7:14:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (KJV)
I agree with Nancy's argument to the point that God always hears our prayers, regardless of the sin in which we find ourselves entangled (consciously or unconsciously), but maybe what Paul was getting at was prayer for the BIG THINGS, the miraculous, the huge changes we want God to do for us or others, where we need to 'get right' first before He is willing to respond. In some ways it's a question of faith: do we believe in God enough to be willing to change our behavior - to spend more on food and clothing, to give up drinking coffee or chocolate or cheap consumer electronics - even though there's no direct payoff or benefit to us (actually quite the contrary), so as to honor God by not exploiting the least of His people. And that faith, in part, is what God looks for and blesses. Maybe?
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Where's the Disk???
Welcome to the dark side, Paul. :)
Hm... I have to actually think to respond to your post.
Nancy said "So although I agree that there is no excuse for us participating in sin, I'm not sure that it follows that God won't bless us, or answer prayers, because of it."
But this is exactly what Isaiah 58 says. 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
...and then there's luke 12 where Jesus says "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."
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