Getting Ruined (in the best way possible)

Yesterday Gary Haugen, from International Justice Mission (IJM) spoke at my church. Rick introduced him, and the mission of IJM. Rick said something along the lines of, "you may be wondering when we are going to stop bringing these stories [of pain, suffering, injustice] before you. The answer is never. We are never going to stop. Our desire is to ruin you. But to ruin you in the best way possible."


Well check off that goal from your list Rick. I feel wrecked after Gary's message yesterday. And I've had multiple conversations with people who attended who feel the same way. I didn't take notes during the service (which is unusual for me). But I'm going to offer up my reflections of Gary's message here, while it is still fairly fresh on my brain.

Is God Good?
Gary basically asked the question, "is God good?" As Christians, we believe God is, indeed, good. And this is an easy cognitive assent for us living in a comfortable culture. But he argued on behalf of the millions of people worldwide who suffer extreme injustice. For a 15 year old girl in India who is sold into prostitution and forced to "service" 20-30 men a day, 7 days a week. For a man in Kenya who suffered abuse and imprisonment unjustly by crooked police. For a 10 year old girl forced to roll 2000 cigarettes a day by hand, or be beaten as a consequence. How can these people possibly think God is good? He gave us several examples. And the wrecking ball was more effective because he put their pictures up on the screen while he spoke. It's very difficult to shake the stories when there is a picture (and even a video at one point, of girls being released from a dungeon that was their brothel).

Abuse of Power
Gary went on to unpack what injustice actually is. He said it is always the abuse of power. And there are millions of people across the globe suffering under abuse daily. But, in his own words, most of us feel "bolted to our chairs" in sheer overwhelming impotency when faced with these stories and realities. So what now?

God's Strategy Against Injustice
Gary unpacked the story of Jesus feeding the 5000, and pointed out how Jesus used one little boy's lunch. 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. It certainly wasn't enough to make a dent in the hunger of 5000. Yet Jesus used what was available. Gary pointed out that God's plan for seeking justice is His people. And God doesn't have a plan B.

The Ruining Process
All of this has begged two questions of me:

1. How am I abusing my own power? Gary never even spoke about this, but it is an unavoidable question if we are being honest with ourselves. I have to ask myself where I have power. I am a father. I certainly have some power over my son. I am a husband. Though I have a very strong wife, I certainly have power in that relationship. I am a pastor, which brings with it power in the shaping of others' lives (for better or for worse).

2. What is my lunch? That is, what do I have to offer? For, to not offer anything is to ignore injustice, and then be very much on the wrong side of God's equation. Not a place I want to be. I want to be careful not to base my motivations out of fear generally. But it is a biblical truth that we should fear the Lord. And then it is also a biblical truth that, if we fear the Lord, we have nothing else to fear. So I'm not afraid to base my motivation in the fear of the Lord. My response, if true and full of integrity, will be worship. To worship is to respond. So how? With my money? With my time? With my influence? With all of the above? I don't know, but I will seeking this hard over the next several weeks.

An Unending Journey
I have a feeling the ruining process is not complete. It's certainly unsettling, and unnerving. But I'm beginning to think there's nowhere else I'd rather go. If you haven't heard Gary speak, or haven't been exposed to IJM, please take some time to check out their website and listen to yesterday's message.