Steps of Justice started 2011, when myself (Phil) and a few others realized that there were many injustices in the world that we were not hearing about, but were happening daily. The injustice of human trafficking, slavery, poverty, racism, gender in justice, unclean water and lack of education to name a few. We decided that in order to walk in obedience to what we read in the Bible and heard from Jesus, we had to do something about it. Steps, in its simplest form, is bringing an awareness of injustice to people and providing practical steps that we can be involved in doing justice.
Doing justice to me means bringing restoration to those who have been wronged (feeding the hungry, freeing the slave, educating those unable to go to school) and punishing to unjust, those oppressing others. This has been our focus for the past nine years. This is why we take teams to Cambodia, to educate, learn and partner with local Cambodian run ministries doing justice. This is why we host teams in San Diego, to educate, learn and partner with local San Diego men and woman doing justice.
For the past four years I have been working at a school in the City Heights area of San Diego. The reason, because this neighborhood serves refugees, immigrants and low income residents. I became aware of an injustice in my city, the lack of opportunity and education for certain communities, and I took what steps I could to bring justice, which in this case was taking a job at a school, working with and serving my community.
This is what is happening currently in the USA, with the racial injustice we see against the black community. Many of us have known about this injustice for a long time, but many are just hearing about it for the first time, as we turn on the news, scroll though our social media feed, or see the protests in our cities. Our response should be in this order:
- Wait, listen and learn. Read a book, watch the news (not just one news source) follow some social media feeds (add some professionals) screen a documentary on race, and wait on God, for His heart. There are some resources here.
- Act. Once you have learned a little about racism, sat in the discomfort of it, let your heart be moved by the injustice of it, then it’s time to act. Don’t act based on your feelings alone, get some education behind it. Go to a protest, knowing why you are protesting. Sign a petition, once you know what you are signing, and share your educated voice to those around you who need to hear it, you need to lead them in education and action.
Peace.
