Principles – Justice 6 – “Social Justice” – Saturday 28th of September, 2013

   We tackled the issue of human justice that appreciates all humanity and does not have double standards or hurts human dignity. A just person does not hasten to judge people as he is longsuffering, broad-minded person who looks for the truth that allows him to judge properly.

   A just person would always seek justice for all the society. Many definitions were given for the social justice and most of them agree on basic rules of social justice: each person must attain their individual rights, workers should get suitable wages. Most importantly, it is providing everyone with the basic needs that assure he lives in dignity in which God created him.

   All religions maintained the same idea and they urged people to help the needy. In Judaism and Islam, God invited people to help the poor and the needy. Prophet Moses says, “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.”( Exodus 22)

   God urged the rich to take care of the poor and not to add to their sadness by giving in a harsh and arrogant way, or using usury.

   “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.“ Exodus 22

   God asks man to offer food and donate the tenth of their crops to the poor and needy.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And try Me now in this,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.” Malachi

   As per the New Testament, Jesus declared that good deeds are the way to heaven. In Matthew we read“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

   St. James presented us with an image of the true believer who shows his faith through his deeds. He says, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?”Thus any person who does not do good deeds, his faith deems dead.

   Moreover, Islam urges people to take care of the needy and poor, it warns people who do not feed the needy that their eternal fate is hell (Surat Al AL-MUDDATHTHIR)“They will say, “We were not of the ones who prayed, And we did not feed the indigent”

   It also calls people to take care of the needy or their faith deemed untrue. “Have you seen him who cries lies to the Doom?That is the one who repulses the orphanAnd does not urge the (offering) of food to the indigent.”  Surat AL- MA’UN

   “Take him, and shackle him up, Thereafter roast him in Hell-Fire; Thereafter in a chain of seventy cubits’ length insert him! Surely he used not to believe in Allah The Ever-Magnificent; And he did not urge (offering) food to the indigent.” Surat Al-Haqqa

   Islam also encourages people to take care of the orphan and the indigent  ” Not at all! No indeed, (but) you do not honor the orphan, And you do not urge one another on (offering) food to the indigent, And you eat the heritage with indiscriminate eating, And you love wealth with an ardent love.” Surat Al Fajr

   Hence, it is crystal clear that all religions urge us to preserve the dignity of our fellow brethrens. It is necessary that any country should fulfill the basic needs of its citizens and preserve their right to lad a decent life.

To be continued

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center