We are surrounded by social issues every day. All around us there are people abusing substances, teenagers falling pregnant and crimes being committed, these are basic examples of negative social issues. The first question I want to pose is this: Are Christians responsible for solving social issues? The answer is an overwhelming, YES. We should be at the forefront of trying to put an end to upward suicide trends and increased gang-related violence, it is part of our mandate. The problem, however, does not lie in the if, it lies in the how.
For decades now Christians have been trying to alleviate poverty by having fundraisers, buying food and clothes with the money raised and then handing it out to the needy, hoping it will solve the problem of having poor people on the streets. Albeit noble, this scenario and the many thousands like it are in vane, temporary at best. We constantly make the same mistake: WE ADDRESSS THE FRUIT AND NOT THE ROOT! The fruit of the issue is poverty, but the root is greed. The fruit of the issue is rape, but the root is evil lust. The fruit of the issue is gay marriage, but the root is deception. The fruit of the issue is wife abuse, but it is rooted in insecurity.
There is an obvious trend to be found concerning the social issues we encounter everyday: They are all issues of the heart. We are told that it is out of the heart that the issues of life flow (Prov 4:23). The apostle Paul does an interesting thing in Ephesians 6, when he addresses the issue of slavery, a major social issue at the time. He does not give his opinion on the merits of slavery, nor does he discredit the practice, instead, he immediatley addresses the heart issue, in the slave-master relationship. In verse 5 he says, "... in sincerity of heart as to Christ" , verse 6 "... doing the will of God from the heart" and verse 9 " ... your own Master is in heaven and there is no partiality with Him"
What Paul has done here, is to successfully break down a highly controversial social issue of the day and make it simple. He didn't start a campaign against slavery, he didn't send out petitions and he didn't mobilize a prayer movement. He addressed the heart of the slave and the heart of the master, because from the heart flows all of life's issues.
The fact is, that we don't put enough faith in the power of the gospel, the power of the good news of Jesus Christ, in order to let the gospel change people's lives. Instead we want to try and change people and their situations from the outside in, instead of from the inside out. The reality is that it is only the truth that will set people free (John 8:32) Only the good news of what Jesus has done for us has the power to break the cycle of poverty in our communities, it is the only force strong enough to forever bring people to their senses from a life-time of selfishness and greed. We must believe that the gospel is the answer, because it addresses the heart of the matter, the root, which will in turn bare good fruit.
We must contend for the hearts of people, communities and nations. We must allow the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and understanding on how best to minister the gospel to people, who believe God has failed them. The people who are worst affected by negative social issues, need to know that God loves them, that He wants the best for them and that no matter what they've done, He still died for them.
Paul sums up what happens to us when our hearts transition from being under satan's control (old man), to a full and vibrant life, living in the freedom of Christ (new man). This is what we should want society to look like.
"17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness" - Ephesians 5:17-24
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